Have a ‘holi’some meal!

Festivals in our country are all about family bonding, fun and food. Holi is no exception. Just round the corner, let’s gear up to celebrate the festival of colours with special savouries shared by chefs across the country. Holi is incomplete without these traditional recipes.

THANDAI

Ingredients

• 1 litre milk
• ½ cup sugar
• A few strands of saffron
• 1 cup blanched almonds, cashew, pistachios
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 1tsp cinnamon powder  
• 1 tsp fennel seeds

Method

• Boil the milk with sugar in a heavy bottomed pan.
• Soak the saffron in a small bowl with some warm milk. Then add it to the milk.
• Make a thandai paste using the rest of the ingredients and some milk. Add the paste to the milk and continue to cook. Once the milk thickens a bit, remove from flame.
• Serve chilled.

DAHI WADA

Ingredients

• 500 gm urad dal (soaked overnight)
• 2 cups chilled fresh yoghurt
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying
• A pinch of baking soda
• A pinch of black salt
• A pinch of chaat masala
• A pinch of roasted jeera powder
• Tamarind and mint chutney as desired

Method

• Prepare the wada batter by grinding the urad dal to a fine paste with a bit of water. Add the baking soda and beat with hand till light and fluffy.
• Prepare small wadas using your palms and deep fry till light brown. Drop the wadas into cold water and soak for 10 minutes.
• Remove the wadas from the water and squeeze out the excess.
• To serve, place the wadas in a bowl. Top with beaten yoghurt, a sprinkle of the spices and the chutneys. Garnish with ginger juliennes and serve.

By Atul Upadhyay, executive chef Taj Palace, New Delhi

KHOYA LAUNG LATIKA (4 Portions (12 PCS)

Ingredients

• 300 gm khoya
• 500 gm granulated sugar
• 50 gm almonds, chopped
• 50 gm cashewnut, chopped
• 20 gm raisins
• 1 gm saffron
• 350 gm refined flour
• 1 ltr ghee
• 15 cloves
• 30 gm pistachio slivers
• 2 gm green cardamom powder

Method

• For stuffing grate khoya in a bowl, add chopped nuts, raisins, few strands of saffron, 50 gm sugar, half of pistachios and cardamom powder, mix well and keep in fridge.
• Prepare sugar syrup by adding water and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and cook over medium heat till sugar is dissolved and semi thick syrup like consistency is achieved. Add few strands of saffron. Remove from flame and keep aside.
• Sieve flour, add 50 ml melted ghee and mix well. Add enough water to knead to semi hard dough. Let it rest covered with a wet cloth for 30 minutes.
• Divide the dough in to equal proportions and roll cutting the edges to make square sheets. Stuff each sheet with khoya mixture on the center and cover in the shape of a rectangular pocket concealing the edges with water. When all the sheets are covered keep in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat remaining ghee in a vessel and deep fry the pockets till golden and crisp. Remove from ghee and immediately soak in the sugar syrup for 20 minutes. Remove from syrup and place over a perforated grill to drain excess syrup, pierce every pocket with one piece of clove on the center and serve garnished with remaining pistachio slivers.

By Chef Rajiv Malhotra, corporate chef, Habitat World, IHC, New Delhi

PANI PURI, MASALA COUS COUS, FIVE WATERS

“Pani puri, puchka, golgappa, pani ka batasha, gup chup — all monikers for a very popular street food in India; each has a different name but one heart. I think the world got the idea of a sphere filled with a liquid centre for molecular gastronomy from this Indian street food! As a child, I used to compete with my friends to see who could eat the most puchkas, insisting the puchka-wala make it as chilli hot as possible until our eyes watered. In this variation of the popular snack, we serve both flour and semolina puchkas with a variety of waters-sour, minty-fruity and yogurt-based-so that diners can make their own combinations. In place of the traditional potato filling, I have experimented with a masala cous cous filling to add texture to the dish.”

Ingredients

Pani puri (from an Indian grocery store) 10 nos

FOR MINT WATER

• 4 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 2 green chillies
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tsp jal jeera powder
• ½ tsp ginger, chopped
• 100 ml water

FOR TAMARIND WATER

• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 star anise
• 1 cloves
• 50 gm tamarind
• 150 ml water
• A pinch of cinnamon powder
• A pinch of black salt
• 1 tsp jaggery

FOR PINEAPPLE WATER

• 100 gm pineapple
• ½ tsp ginger, chopped
• ½ tsp mint leaves, chopped
• ½ tsp green chillies, chopped
• 2 tbsp pineapple juice
• A pich of black salt
• A pinch of roasted cumin powder

FOR POMEGRANATE WATER

• 6 tbsp fresh pomegranate juice
• A pinch of cinnamon powder
• A pinch of black salt
• A pinch of red chilli powder

FOR YOGURT-BASED WATER

• 3 tbsp yogurt
• 60 ml water
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp of green chillies, chopped
• 2 curry leaves
• ¼ tsp garlic, chopped
• ¼ tsp ginger, chopped
• A pinch of roasted cumin powder

FOR MASALA COUS COUS FILLING

• 2 tbsp cous cous
• 5 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp boiled chickpeas
• ½ tsp coriander leaves, chopped
• A pinch of chaat masala
• ½ tsp cumin seeds, roasted and crushed

Method

PREPARE THE FIVE WATERS:

MINT WATER:

• Wash and clean the mint, coriander and green chillies.
• Blend with lime juice, jal jeera powder, chopped ginger and water in a blender. Strain prepared water through a muslin cloth.
• Keep chilled till ready to serve.

TAMARIND WATER:

• Pan roast cumin seeds, black cardamom, star anise and cloves.
• Soak 50 gm of tamarind in 150 ml of warm water for about 30 minutes.
• Squeeze out the tamarind pulp.
• Discard the seeds, skin and pith. Simmer the tamarind juice with the roasted spices.
• If the juice begins to thicken, add some water.
• The tamarind extract should neither be too thin nor too thick. Add black salt, cinnamon powder and jaggery. Mix well.
• Strain prepared water through a muslin cloth.
• Keep chilled till ready to serve.

PINEAPPLE WATER:

• Clean and peel the pineapple. Cut into large chunks.
• Roast in a hot oven at 2000C for 15-20 minutes, till the edges are charred.
• Mix with roasted cumin powder, chopped ginger, mint and green chillies.
• Add pineapple juice and black salt.
• Strain prepared water through a muslin cloth. Keep chilled till ready to serve.

POMEGRANATE WATER:

• Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
• Strain prepared water through a muslin cloth.
• Keep chilled till ready to serve.

YOGURT-BASED WATER:
Blend all ingredients together. Strain the prepared water through a muslin cloth. Keep chilled till ready to serve.

PREPARE MASALA COUS COUS FILLING:

• Place cous cous in a bowl. Add boiling hot water. Cover it and leave aside.
• Cous cous will be done in about 30 minutes.
• Mix cooked cous cous, chickpeas, chopped coriander, chaat masala and crushed cumin seeds to prepare the filling.

SERVE:

• Arrange the pani puris on a plate.
• Make a hole on top of each puffed pani puri, and fill with a little masala cous cous.
• Pour the chilled waters into five separate shot glasses.
• Serve the filled pani puris with the five waters, allowing the guests to combine the waters, pour it into each pani puri and eat whole.

By Manish Mehrotra, corporate chef, at Indian Accent Restaurants

Bhapa Sandesh

“A delightful sweet savoury, bhapa sandesh is low in sugar and healthy as it is steamed. We can also control the sugar content in it or make it sugar free.”

Ingredients

• 2 lts cow milk
• 5 gm semolina
• 50gm sugar
• For garnish,
• pistachios, finely chopped

Have a ‘holi’some meal!

Method

• Heat milk and when it comes to a boil add two tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir and continue to heat till all the milk curdles and separates from the whey.
• Strain and hang the chenna in a muslin cloth till all the whey is drained away. Transfer it into a bowl to mix in the semolina and sugar.
• Transfer the mixture into a flat bottomed container. Cover with an aluminium foil. Steam the tray in steamer for about twenty five minutes. Take it out and cut into squares or diamonds.
• Cool, sprinkle pistachios and serve.

By Neelabh Sahay,  Executive Chef, Novotel Kolkata Hotel & Residences