This Dussehra make healthy choices by adding nuts and going low on sugar.
Here are some flavourful recipes for you to try:
Photographs: Kind courtesy California Walnuts
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.
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.
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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