Biryani! Paneer Makhani! Malpua!

This Dussehra make healthy choices by adding nuts and going low on sugar.

Here are some flavourful recipes for you to try:

Vegetable Biryani

Recipe: Chef Sabyasachi Gorai

Ingredients

• 1½ tbsp oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 green cardamoms
• 4 whole cloves
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 green chilli sliced
• 12 walnut halves, smashed
• 2 tsps ginger-garlic paste
• ½ cup frozen green peas soaked in warm water for 10 minutes
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 medium potato, diced into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup cilantro chopped
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¾ tsp salt for taste
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1.25 cups water

Method

• Wash and rinse the basmati rice until water turns clear. Then soak it in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes.
• While the rice is soaking, chop all the vegetables and soak the frozen green peas in warm water for 5-10 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, drain the water from the rice and set it aside. Also, drain the water from the green peas and set it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan. To this, add bay leaf, green cardamom, whole cloves, black peppercorns and cumin seeds. Sauté for 30 seconds until the spices are fragrant.
• Add sliced onions, along with green chilli and walnuts. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions turn light brown.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for a minute.
• Add the vegetables -- potato, carrots and green peas. Also add chopped cilantro, garam masala, smoked paprika and salt.
• Put the drained rice into the pan and toss it in gently with a spoon.
• Add water to the pan. Do not stir anything at this point.
• Close the pan with a lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
• Open the pot and fluff the rice with a fork.
• Garnish with walnuts and serve.

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Paneer Makhani

Recipe: Chef Sanjyot Keer

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 1/2 ginger
• 2-3 Kashmiri red chilli
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 tsp jeera
• 1 tbsp ghee or olive oil
• 1 green chilli
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/4 whisked curd
• A pinch of garam masala
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
• 300 gm paneer
• 1 tsp butter optional

Method

• In a pan add the tomatoes and onion cut in quarters.
• Add garlic, ginger, Kashmiri red chillies, salt, coriander powder, red chilli powder, jeera and some water (approx 200 ml) and cover and cook for about 7-8 minutes.
• Add walnuts and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
• Cool down the mixture and grind it in a mixer grinder. You need a very fine paste.
• In the same pan add a very little amount of ghee, butter or olive oil. Add a slit green chilli and some ginger julienne.
• Sauté for half a minute and add makhani gravy by passing through a sieve.
• Adjust the seasoning, add some honey or sugar and bring to a simmer.
• Whisk the curd very well, lower the flame and add curd.
• Cook for 3-4 minutes and then add paneer cubes.
• Finish with garam masala powder and freshly toasted kasuri methi. Add a tsp of butter to add some buttery flavour.
• Serve hot.

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Malpua

Recipe: Hemasri Subramanian

Ingredients

For malpua batter

• 1 cup all-purpose flour/maida
• 3 tsp unsweetened khoa/mawa
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• Water
• Ghee/oil for frying

For sugar syrup

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp milk
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder

For rabri

• 1 litre milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• A pinch of saffron
• A handful of walnuts

Method

For malpua batter

• Mix all-purpose flour/maida and unsweetened khoa/mawa.
• Add fennel seeds and to it mix.
• Gradually add water and mix to a thick flowing batter.
• Ferment the batter for 12 hours.

For sugar syrup

• Boil water and add sugar and cardamom pods to it.
• Stir it until the sugar dissolves, then let it boil for another 5 minutes on medium flame.
• Keep the sugar syrup aside.

For rabri

• Heat a thick-bottomed pot with milk. Keep the flame on medium low and continuously stir the milk.
• Once the milk reduces to half, add the sugar, cardamom powder and saffron strands, mix well.
• Soak walnuts for 2 hours, then chop them finely and add the walnuts to the rabri and mix well.

To make malpua

• Heat oil in a wide pan.
• Gently pour the fermented batter. Flip them and fry till it turns crisp and golden color. Add the fried malpua to the sugar syrup.
• Soak in sugar syrup for 2 minutes.
• Serve malpua with rabri, chopped walnuts and saffron.

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