Trick or treat?

Halloween is upon us and we are all set to welcome the spooky night with exquisite dishes. However, you never know, the other kind may get all excited about them too!

There is one ghastly evening in the year when the dead are welcome to the party. Commemorating our ancestors, Halloween is celebrated on the last day of October every year. Now, if you are hosting a party, remember the thumb rule of serving scrumptious delicacies to the guests. And, if one wants the souls to stay on, he or she is bound to cook something that makes them comfortable. Good thing, these Halloween-themed food and beverages should do the trick. Not sure yet about what would work and what won’t? Read on to get an upper hand in the realm of themed gastronomy!

The kids are going to go trick or treating very soon. The custom, which is primarily popular in the US, has children come knocking on your door dressed in spooky Halloween costumes. Either give them sweets, or prepared to be pranked! But in the case of these recipes, there is no trick for you. In fact, with these, we are here to make sure that you are guided towards getting the most appealing treats one can think of — Halloween-themed cocktails.

After Diwali, the dark and eerie atmosphere is ready to take over. Although during the pre-Diwali period, there is a similar day celebrated in eastern India, called Bhoot Chaturdashi (also known as Bengal’s Halloween), the excitement for Halloween is much more and the party and food craze goes beyond one’s imagination.

Vikrant Batra, a restaurateur, shares, “The festival has become immensely popular over time and people in the city are looking for new and different ways of celebrating it.”

But Halloween doesn’t always mean red velvet cake, red wine, and steaks. One can always be a bit innovative and experimental when it comes to the culinary scene. Thus, we have selected some of the cocktails that are unique in every sense.

So, what are you waiting for? Get the ingredients early, and start preparing for the day when the human and not-so-human celebrate together. Who knows, maybe it will really compel the otherworldly beings to join in the festivities, and maybe this time it won’t just be your imagination!

By chef Ashish Singh, Café Delhi Heights

Blood curdling soup

Ingredients
Pumpkin         500gms
Salt             to taste
White pepper         2gms
Bay leaf         2gms
Honey         20ml
Green cardamom     2gms
Aromatic broth     2gms
Curry powder         3gms
Olive oil         50gms
Carrot         50gms
Leeks             20gms
Celery         20gms
Cheddar cheese     30gms
Chilli oil         few drops
Pumpkin seeds     5-7 nos.
Pumpkin skin        8-10 juliennes

Method
Pre-heat the oven at 425°F.
Cut the pumpkin into quarters and keep the seeds aside for garnish.
Take a baking sheet, put the pumpkin pieces and drizzle with two tablespoons of the olive oil, salt  and honey. Bake in a pre-heated oven until tender — 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool until easy to handle.
Remove the skin and blend it to puree in the food processor, till it reaches smooth consistency.
Heat remaining two tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium flame, add green cardamom, bay leaf, celery, leeks, carrots slice, salt; cook for few minutes by stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender (but not brown).
Add salt, white pepper, curry powder; cook further, stirring often. Add aromatic broth and cooked pumpkin; bring to boil, then cover it with lid and simmer it and cook for few minutes.
Remove from the fire and strain it to remove the whole spices.
Put on flame again in a pan, add cheese and stir occasionally with help of whisker. Check the seasoning, remove from fire.
Serve hot garnished with chilli oil, fried pumpkin seeds and fried pumpkin skin juliennes.

By chef Anas Qureshi, Molecule Air Bar

Edible lava coal

Ingredients
Cottage cheese     150gms
Curd     60 gms
Milk powder     8gms
Green chilli     5gms
Coriander     4gms
Salt/yellow chilli/deggi mirch/
pepper/elaichi powder     as per taste
Charcoal powder batter     75gms
Refined oil     75gms
Microgreen packet     10gms
Edible flowers     2 nos.
Tomato     50gms
Sweet chilli sauce     10gms

How to make it
Crumble the paneer, mix it with chopped coriander, chopped green chilli, cardamom powder, milk powder and salt.
Make four cylindrical mounds with the above mixture. Stuff it with curd, chopped green chilli, and chopped coriander.
Make lava ash with dehydrated tomato, salt and deggi mirch.
Dip this mixture in charcoal batter and fry.
Garnish with lava ash, edible flower,
and microgreens.

Bloody whisky sour

Ingredients

Whisky        60ml  
Blood orange juice    25ml
Angostura         2 dash  
Lime juice         10ml
Sugar            10ml
Egg white         1no.              

Method

Take all the ingredients and mix them in a cocktail shaker glass, or if you don’t have a shaker, blend it in a blender. Then, take a whisky glass and pour the alcohol over the ice.  
Garnish it with a Halloween prop and edible blue and red colour.

Spooky fizz

Ingredients

Chilli vodka - 60 ml
Cucumber syrup - 25ml
Lime juice - 15ml
Splash of soda to top it up

Method
Shake all the ingredients together, except the the soda, in a shaker and strain it into a champagne glass and just top it up with splash of soda to keep it fizzy.
For chilli vodka — infuse five green chillies into 500ml of vodka for 24 hours and strain it.