With the festive season upon us, it's time to look forward to some lip-smacking dishes and desserts. So, we asked readers to share their Diwali recipes with us. As part of a continuing series, we present five recipes that we received:
Shikha Singh sends in this quick recipe for Macaroni Salad:
Cuisine: Italian
Type: Vegetarian
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- Macaroni
- Tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Juice of a lemon
Method:
- Boil macaroni. Drain and dip in cold water. Keep aside.
- Chop tomatoes, cucumber and onions into cubes.
- Mix well with the macaroni.
- Add salt and juice of a lemon. Refrigate and have it cold.
Health quotient: Quite healthy since it is a salad.
Next, Jitendra Vyas shares his recipe for Soya Bean Dahi Wada:
Cuisine: Indian
Type: Vegetarian
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 250 gms soya wadi (available prepacked)
- 200 gms curds
- Salt to taste
- Roasted cumin seeds powder, to taste
- Red chilli powder to taste
- Black / rock salt to taste
Method:
- Boil the soya wadi in hot water till soft, drain excess water.
- Dip the wadi in lightly beaten curds, dress with salt, cumin seeds powder, chilli powder and rock salt.
Health quotient: It does not have oil or any fatty items and is quick to make.
Megha sends her recipe for Mushroom Pepper Fry:
Cuisine: Continental
Type: Vegetarian
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 250 gram mushrooms
- 7 pods garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil (or as per requirement)
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- Salt to taste
- Oregano for seasoning
Method:
- Heat oil and add garlic pods followed by pepper.
- Once the garlic turns light golden, add mushrooms and salt.
- Cook till all the water evaporates. Season with oregano after turning off the heat.
Health quotient: This is a very easy recipe that uses olive oil (one of the healthiest) and mushrooms that are high on protein.
Preeti Amonkar shares her recipe for Chicken Cafreal:
Cuisine: Portugese
Type: Non-vegetarian
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 kg chicken, cut into big pieces
- Green peas, cauliflower, carrot, French beans (for the side dish, optional)
- A bunch of coriander leaves
- 10-12 green chillies
- 15 cloves
- 2 small sticks of cinnamon
- 12 peppercorns
- 1/2 cup synthetic vinegar
- Salt to taste
- Turmeric powder
Method:
- Grind the ingredients along with vinegar without adding water to a fine paste.
- Pierce the chicken pieces with a fork.
- Apply half the green masala to the chicken pieces and keep for four-five hours.
- In the meantime, boil some green peas, some cauliflower (big pieces), round pieces of carrot and French beans (cut into two-three pieces) with a pinch of salt till the water evaporates.
- Place a non-stick pan on medium heat, put the chicken pieces in, do not add water. Cover this with a plate and on the plate keep a heavy object, so that the chicken pieces flatten.
- After 10 minutes turn the pieces and put the remaining masala. Once the chicken is cooked add a little oil. In a plate, keep the cooked chicken pieces and serve with boiled veggies and French fries.
Health quotient: It requires very little oil (almost none). Secondly, it is coconut-free so a saving grace for the heart! And last but not the least, it's tasty!
Next is HV Srividya's mum's recipe for Carrot Kheer:
Cuisine: South Indian
Type: Vegetarian
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 kg carrots
- 1 litre milk
- 2 cups
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1/2 tsp cardamom power
- Cashews and raisins
Method:
- Peel the carrots, cut into cubes and pressure cook till soft.
- Once carrot cubes are cool make into smooth paste.
- Meanwhile boil the milk till it thickens.
- Take the carrot paste and put into kadai (wok) and boil it till the raw smell goes away.
- Once the paste becomes thick add sugar and boil till mixed well.
- Once thick, add cardamom powder and the boiled milk and let it boil for two-three minutes and remove from heat.
- Fry the cashews and raisins in the ghee and garnish.
Health quotient: This is healthy because there is not much ghee used. Kids who do not eat raw carrot can be given this. You can serve this either chilled or hot. Chilled tastes much better.
Do you have any special Diwali recipes that you'd like to share with us and other readers? Simply fill in this quick form and we'll publish your recipes right here on rediff.com.