Photographs: Stu_spivack at Flickr/Wikimedia Commons
Aditi Bose shares some unique preparations to get you in the mood this festive season.
Each year, I prepare 'food with a twist' for my Christmas party. And this time around, I have decided to incorporate the three main Christmas colours -- red, green and white. Here are some dessert ideas that fit in with this theme.
Strawberry Kheer with Rose Water
- Boil two cups of milk.
- Fry 1/2 cup vermicelli till light gold in a teaspoon of ghee.
- Add milk to it and stir.
- While stirring, add half a cup of fresh cream.
- Make a powder of a few cardamom seeds and add to it.
- Add half a cup of sugar.
- After 10-12 minutes, when the mixture begins to thicken, add a teaspoon of rose water.
- Stir and take it off the heat.
- Puree five to six strawberries and mix it into the kheer once it has cooled down for the red Christmas colour.
- Garnish with slivers of cashew and raisins.
Khoya Pistachio Rolls
- Stir half a cup of khoya with two tablespoons of sugar briskly in a heavy bottomed pan till it begins to leave the sides.
- Mix a few strands of saffron to three to four teaspoons of milk and add to the mixture.
- Add a pinch of cardamom powder and green food colour for the Christmas colour.
- Take it off the flame and add cut pieces of pistachio to it.
- Add a couple of spoons of milk powder and knead well.
- Divide into small chunks.
- Flatten out each piece with your hands and then roll into tubes.
- Decorate with pistachio pieces and serve.
Kiwi Firni
- Boil a litre of milk.
- Add around 50gm of rice flour to it (you can even make a powder of normal rice in the blender if there is no time to go buy rice flour) and stir.
- Add sugar, a pinch of cardamom powder and let it simmer for a few minutes till its thick and creamy.
- Remove from flame and allow it to cool.
- Puree two kiwis with a pinch of nutmeg powder and stir into the firni for the green Christmas colour.
- Pour into earthen bowls and refrigerate.
- Just before serving, add a thin kiwi slice for the garnish.
Betel Leaves Stuffed with White Chocolate and Cherry
- Melt a bar of white chocolate with a little bit of milk.
- While the chocolate is still molten, mix a teaspoon of the following: raisin (soaked overnight), cut pieces of cherry, cashew, date candy.
- Take a betel leaf and fold it into a cone.
- Fill 3/4 of it with the mixture.
- Cover it with the top flap of the leaf and seal it with a toothpick.
- Stick a cherry on top of the toothpick.
- Arrange them on a plate and sprinkle with white chocolate or coconut powder before serving.
- This desert that has all three Christmas colours (red, green and white).
Grape Dumplings in Red Wine Sauce
- Mix flour, sugar and canned grape juice to form the dough.
- Take chunks of it and roll each into thin circles.
- Fill each with three-four pieces of red or green grapes and then fold the dough to form the dumplings.
- Steam it for six or seven minutes.
- To make the wine sauce, mix red wine with two spoons of honey, a cinnamon stick and a small piece of ginger and let it simmer for a few minutes.
- Before serving, pour the warm wine sauce over the dumplings
- The grapes and the wine give the dessert the Christmas colour.
Christmas Special: Indian dessert recipes with a twist!
Image: Pistachio KulfiPhotographs: Stu_spivack at Flickr/Wikimedia Commons
Pistachio Kulfi with Guava Cream
- Boil a litre of milk till it's reduced to half its volume.
- Add a quarter cup sugar and stir so that the milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add a pinch of cardamom powder and half a cup of finely chopped pistachio.
- Stir for a minute and remove from flame.
- Allow it to cool before pouring into kulfi moulds.
- Freeze. It takes eight to 10 hours to be frozen well.
- Mix half a cup of canned red guava juice with fresh cream and pour it over the kulfi before serving.
- The pistachios and guava give the Christmas colour.
Beetroot Halwa with Almonds
- Grate one beetroot.
- Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a frying pan and add the beetroot to it.
- Fry it for a couple of minutes.
- Add a cup of milk and stir.
- Once it starts to bubble, add half a cup of sugar and cashew pieces and keep stirring.
- Remove from flame once the halwa begins to separate from the sides.
- The beetroot gives the red Christmas colour.
Coconut Pomegranate Sheera
- Stir a litre of milk with two cups of coconut cream on low heat.
- Add half a cup of sugar when it's reduced to half its volume.
- Add half a teaspoon of cardamom powder and cut pieces of 10-12 cashews.
- Pour into serving bowl and allow it to cool.
- Stir in the 'red jewels' of half a pomegranate for the red Christmas colour and refrigerate.
- Garnish with pomegranate at the top before serving.
Bhapa (steamed) Sandesh with Strawberry Sauce
- Boil one litre of milk.
- Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and stir a little.
- The milk will begin to curdle to form chana (the Bengali word for paneer or cottage cheese).
- Once the entire chana separates, strain it and press down a little so that the whey is completely removed.
- Put the chana into a plate, add sugar, a little vanilla essence and a pinch of cardamom powder.
- Knead well and then make small balls of the mixture.
- Wrap a banana leaf around each ball and keep it in place with a toothpick.
- Steam for eight-10 minutes.
- In the meantime, puree a handful of strawberries with sugar and a little pineapple or orange juice.
- Once the sandesh has been steamed, just before serving, open the leaf and spread the strawberry puree over it.
- The strawberry and the banana leaf add the Christmas colour.
Aatar Payesh (Custard Apple Kheer) with a Twist
- Scoop out the pulp of two or three custard apples.
- Use your hands to remove all the seeds.
- Boil a litre of milk till it reduces to half.
- Add half a cup of sugar and stir.
- Add the custard apple pulp while stirring.
- Once thick, remove from flame and allow it to cool.
- Pour into small martini glasses and refrigerate.
- Just before serving, decorate with red and green gems for the Christmas colour.
Christmas Special: Indian dessert recipes with a twist!
Image: SandeshPhotographs: kspoddar/Wikimedia Commons
Rose Petal Sandesh
- Boil one litre of milk.
- Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and stir a little.
- The milk will begin to curdle to form the chana (cottage cheese).
- Once the entire chana separates, strain it with a strainer.
- Press it down a little so that the whey is completely removed.
- Put the chana onto a plate and add a few spoons of sugar, half a teaspoon of rose water, a pinch of cardamom powder and a few strands of saffron.
- Knead the mixture well and then roll it into small balls.
- Flatten the balls and place a rose petal on each, for the red Christmas colour.
- Press down the petal so that it sticks to the sandesh.
Apple and Pistachio Rabri
- Cut a green and a red apple each into small pieces and keep aside. Don't remove their skins; that will add the Christmas colour.
- For the rabri, boil half a litre of milk till it reduces to half its volume.
- Add half a cup of sugar and stir.
- Once it's thick, add the slivers of pistachio and remove from flame. Let it cool.
- For serving,use a glass bowl so that the colours show -- make a layer with the cut fruit and pour the rabri over it.
- Add the rest of the fruit over the rabri to form the top layer.
- Refrigerate and serve chilled.
Sweet Rajma with Whipped Cream
- Mix 50gm of flour, 50ml milk, a teaspoon of salt and one egg into a smooth paste.
- Heat oil in a pan and pour some of the batter into it.
- Roll it around so that it forms a circle.
- Flip it when one side is golden.
- Remove from flame for the other side.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter.
- Next, boil the rajma that has been soaking overnight. The rajma's red adds the Christmas colour.
- Once done, blend it with sugar and honey till it's a smooth paste. Strain it if required to remove the skin.
- Spread it on the pancakes.
- Before serving, add a dollop of whipped cream over it and sprinkle some icing sugar.
Green Tea Sabudana (Sago) Kheer
- In a pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of ghee and roast a handful of cashew and raisins.
- Next add the cupful of sabudana that has been soaked overnight (after straining).
- Add four cups of milk and stir briskly so that the sabudana does not form lumps.
- Let it cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes till the sabudana becomes translucent. Keep stirring all the while.
- Add half a cup of sugar and a pinch of cardamom powder when the kheer begins to thicken.
- In the meantime, boil two teaspoons of green tea for a couple of minutes in a little water.
- Once the kheer is done, just before removing it from the flame add the strained green tea water. This will add the Christmas colour.
- Serve warm with a cherry as the garnish.
Jam and Honey Rabri
- Boil one litre of milk in a heavy-bottomed pan.
- Stir it occasionally so that it does not stick to the bottom.
- When it begins to thicken, add a pinch of cardamom powder and stir.
- Once it is of a creamy texture, remove from flame and let it cool.
- Add four or five spoons of honey and stir.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
- Just before serving, add a dollop of strawberry jam or rose marmalade over it for the Christmas colour.
Till next time, here's wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
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