Festivity fiesta

Mattar Khasta Roll
Ingredients
Mattar stuffing
1 cup boiled matter
¾ cup grated coconut
¼ tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp amchur powder
½ tsp green chili-ginger paste
¼ tsp jeera
2 tsp ghee
Salt as required

For the Roll dough
1 cup maida
1 tbsp ghee
¼ cup warm water
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Oil for frying

METHOD
Mix all ingredients for the dough. Sieve and knead into a tight dough. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside. For the stuffing: Heat ghee in a pan. Add jeera and let it crackle. Add green-chilli ginger paste and sauté. Then add boiled peas with all the spice powders and salt. Mix for few minutes and mash the peas. Then add grated coconut and mix. After two minutes take it off the heat, and cool. Then make five to six balls out of the dough and roll them into small roties. Add the stuffing in the centre and brush the edges with water. Then roll it out, vertically and seal the edges. Heat oil for frying. On a medium flame, fry these rolls until they are golden brown. Serve hot with green chutney and imli chutney.

Apple Jalebi

Ingredients
1 apple
Sugar 300 gm
Kesar 1 gm
Water 250 ml
Milk 250 ml
Curd 100 gm
Maida 200 gm
Ghee 500 gm

Method
Mix maida and curd one day in advance for a batter
Melt sugar with water to make a syrup out of it, add milk to the solution to remove the blackness of the syrup.
Cut apple slices and keep aside.
Take a kadhai and heat ghee, dip apple slices in the batter and fry it in the kadhai. Once fried, soak it in the sugar syrup and take out and serve.

Mirchi vada

Ingredient
Green chillies eight to nine (large)
Oil for deep frying

For batter
Gram flour (besan) 1 cup
Turmeric powder 2 pinches
Salt to taste
Water as required

For filling
Potatoes 3 large ones
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Coriander leaves (chopped) fine 1/2
Salt to taste

Method
Slit green chillies, remove seeds and keep aside. Boil potatoes with salt. Peel and mash well. Add chilly powder and coriander leaves. Mix well. Make a thick batter with the flour, turmeric powder and salt. Fill chillies with potato mix. Dip filled peppers in the batter till they are completely covered. Fry in preheated oil till golden brown. Serve hot with sweet Imli (tamarind) chutney.

Festive paneer

Ingredients
Cottage cheese (paneer) 1 kg
Carrot 200 gm
Cashewnuts 100 gm
Butter 100 gm
Coriander (fresh) 100 gm
Fresh cream 50 ml
Garam masala 10 gm
Turmeric powder 10 gm
Red chilli powder 20 gm
Hung curd 100 gm
Broccoli 1 small
Green peas 100 gm
Cauliflower 1 small
Beans 100 gm
Potato 1 kg
Saffron 1 gm
Chat masala 10 gm
Salt to taste
Gold leaf for garnish
Edible flowers for garnish
Desi ghee 100 ml

METHOD
Cut all the vegetables fine and toss with cumin, turmeric, red chilli and season, keep aside. Cut paneer with slicing machine/knife as very thin sheets, stuff it with the vegetable mixture. Make a marination of hung curd, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, chat masala and garam masala apply on rolled paneer. Bake/pan fry it to give a nice pan-fried, golden colour and cut as per desired shape.

For the Sauce: Fry cashewnuts, make a smooth paste along with curd. Heat oil in pan, add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala, adjust seasoning finish with fresh cream. This is a wholesome side dish that can be served alongside various rice preparations for the festival season. Garnish with gold leaf and edible flower to add to the festivities.

— Recipes courtesy Maharaj Jodharam Choudhary, corporate chef, Khandani Rajdhani

Amle ka halwa

Ingredients
Amla 500 gm
Cashewnut 50 gm
Almond 50 gm
Castor sugar 750 gm
Desi ghee 100 ml
Cardamom powder 10 gm
Silver leaves 5 nos
Khoya 100 gm
Mace powder 5 gm
Saffron 1 gm

Method:
Wash amla, boil with half of the sugar, separate seeds from each piece. Mash amla properly. Use mixer, if needed. Heat ghee in a pan, add amla mix and cook it for eight to 10 minutes, add castor sugar and nuts and cook till mixture becomes thick. Add grated khoya mix well, finish with cardamom and mace powder. Serve hot with silver leaf and almond flakes Or make balls, roll over natural seeds like sesame and serve with saffron threads.

— Recipes courtesy Altamash Iqbal, chef-de-cuisine, The Ritz-Carlton