Food blogger Siddhi Panchal shares her Diwali recipes. You can share yours too!

Photograph: Courtesy Siddhi Panchal

Palak Mathri

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 cup spinach, finely chopped
• ½ cup coriander, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp green chilli paste
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt to taste  

Method:

• Place a pressure cooker on a flame and add around ½ cup water. Position a stand in the cooker and over it, place a colander.
• Take a cloth, add flour in the middle and make a potli. Twist it and close it tightly. Then place it in the colander. Close the lid of pressure cooker.
• Let it cook for three whistles and then switch off the flame. Let the cooker cool down. 
• Open the lid and take out the potli. Place it on a large plate and break it into pieces so that the flour cools down fast.
• Once the flour cools, strain it onto a plate to avoid chunks.
• Now to the filtered flour add spinach, coriander, green chili paste, sesame seeds and finally salt to taste. Pour oil and mix all the ingredients well.
• Now add water as required and make a soft dough. Cover it with a lid and set it aside for 5-10 minutes.
• Remove the lid and knead the dough once again. Roll out a medium-size ball from the dough and make it flat using your palm. Dust it in dry flour. With the help of a rolling pin, roll it into a thick flatbread. Cut it into the desired shape.
• Poke using a knife or a fork to make its texture crispier. If you like them to be fluffy, avoid making holes.
• Heat the oil in a deep bottom pan. Once the oil is hot enough slowly add mathri to it and fry until it is golden hue and texture appears to be crispy.
• Place the fried mathri on kitchen towel-lined on a plate. Repeat the same process for remaining dough. When the palak mathri is at room temperature store it in an airtight container. 

Nutty Coconut Halwa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar

• ¼ cup ghee

• 1 cup coarsely ground mix dry fruits (cashew, almond, pistachio, walnuts and hazelnuts)
• ½ cup grated fresh coconut
• 1/3 cup finely chopped cashews and almonds
• 1/8 cup raisins

Method:

• Heat a shallow bottom pan (preferably a non-stick) and add ghee.
• Once the oil is hot, add coarsely ground mixed dry fruits and stir it continuously to avoid it sticking to the pan. Let it roast for about 3-4 minutes. 
• Add freshly grated coconut and cook it for a minute. Mix the ingredients well and cook for about two minutes. 
• Add diced almond and cashew nuts along with raisins and give it a nice mix for a minute. 
• On a high flame, add milk and let it boil. Stir continuously. 
• When ghee starts to separate from mixture add sugar. Let the mixture cook on full flame because we want the moisture from sugar to evaporate as well.
• Once the sugar is completely dissolved and the ghee separates from the mixture, switch off the flame.

Dear readers, you can send us your favourite recipes too.

Write in to us at getahead@rediff.co.in (subject: Diwali Recipes) with your NAME, HOMETOWN and any interesting details about the origin of the recipe, along with a photograph of the recipe if possible.

We'll publish the best ones right here on Rediff.com.