Flavours Of India

The light southerly breeze, the crooning cuckoos, the basant bahar melodies-all herald the arrival of spring season and then comes the holi festival, adding more colors to this sultry weather. No Indian festival is complete without food customized for the occasion, same goes for holi too. Each state of India has its own delicacies to add their local flavor. From sugar candies to intoxicating drinks, there is a mind-boggling range of snacks, sweets and thandais, which add more aromas to the southerly spring air. Try and rustle up these holi delicacies.

Thandai

Ingredients:
1 ½ litre water;1 ½ cups sugar;1 cup milk;1 tbsp almond paste;1 tbsp water melon seeds,skinned;1/2 tbsp poppy seeds;1/2 tbsp aniseed;1/2 tsp cardamom powder or 10 whole pods;1 tsp rose water(optional);1 tsp peppercorns;20 gm rose petals

Method:

Soak the sugar in ½ litre of water and set aside. Wash all dry ingredients (except cardamom powder), soak in two cups of water and let stand for two hours. Grind into a fine paste and mix with water. Strain till you get a dry residue. Add milk, soaked sugar, rose water and almond paste. If using cardamom powder, fold it in now. Refrigerate for an hour. Serve chilled.

Gujia (north Indian dish)

Ingredients:
500 gm Maida(flour);1 kg khoya;75 gm raisins;200 gm almonds,silvered;500 gm sugar;200ml water;200 ml refined oil

Method:

Heat six tbsp oil and mix well with the flour, using your fingers. Add some water and knead lightly into soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside.

Stir -fry the khoya till it turns light brown. Add sugar to it and mix well. Add almonds and raisins. Fry for a few minutes and remove from the fire. Roll out the kneaded dough into small rounds, thicker and smaller than normal chapattis.
Place some khoya mix in the round, fold it into half and seal it, twisting the edges in, so the filling does not ooze out. Heat the remaining oil and deep fry these gujias, till they turn deep golden brown.

Puran poli (maharashtrian dish)

Ingredients:
300 gm chana dal;300 gm jaggary;1 tsp cardamom powder; 150 gm refined flour(maida);3 tbsp ghee;lukewarm water

Method:

Boil the dal in plenty of water till soft. Drain and break it with your fingers. Mash jaggery and mix it with the dal. Put this mixture in a heavy saucepan and cook till a soft lump is formed. Stir continuously, so that the mixture is not charred. Set aside .mix 1 tbsp ghee with flour, adding enough water to make soft dough. Make small balls and roll out into 4 chapattis. Put some dal filling in the centre and seal. Re-roll into 6 chapattis. Roast on a warm tawa till golden brown on both sides. Apply a dollop of ghee on top and serve. Or, shallow fry on tawa like a parnatha. Serve hot.

What’s the point in getting the usual dal makhani, seekh kebabs, rumali rotis home delivered especially when you want to make a difference? The fun is in being experimental. The following tasty recipes would surely help the food lovers, like you, to churn out tantalizing delicacies if you use latest cooking gizmo. So what are you waiting for go raid your kitchen and make the most of what you have in there.

Cottage cheese rings

Ingredients:
1 cup hard (cottage cheese); 2 tsp hard cheese; 6 slices of bread; 1/2 bowl maida; 2 tsp butter (melted)

Method:

Soak the bread slices fully in water and press them lightly. Mix paneer and cheese. Knead carefully after mixing it with Maida. Now make rings of the mixture and apply butter on I with a brush. Bake them at 100 degree Celsius till they turn bright in appearance. Finally, serve it with soups.

Ingredients:
For pancake:
1 cup maida;1/2 cup cornflour;1 cup milk;2 eggs;1/2 tsp baking powder; a pinch of salt

For filings:
¼ kg mushroom;2 onions(grated);1 flower of broccoli;2 tsp maida;1 green chili(chopped);1 tsp ajwain;2 tsp butter;1 tsp salt

Method:

For pancake:
Mix all the ingredients of pancake in a pan and make a dilute mixture. If it seems to be a thick concentrate, add some more water to it. Put ½ tsp butter onto a non-stick pan.with the aid of kalchi, spread the ghol into the pan and fry it on a low flame.

For filling:
Heat the butter in a pan. Fry the onion. Add Maida and green chili. Fry for some time. Mix salt and ajwain. Mix mushroom and broccoli and simmer it for some time. Now fill every pancake with this filling.

Spinach and broccoli protein

Ingredients:
4 potatoes(boiled);1 flower of broccoli;1 cup cream;2 cups cheese;1 bowl spinach;1-2 onions (chopped);6-7 garlic;1 tsp oil;1 cup paneer;2 tsp maida;2 tsp butter; a pinch of sodium bicarbonate;1 bowl curd

Method:

Put the palak in boiled in boiled water for 10 minutes. Drain off water. Put oil in a pan, heat it and fry spinach for some time. Mix onion with salt. Mix the bad well in curd. In crushed potatoes, mix paneer, soda, butter and Maida. Mix well. Bake it for 5-7 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees in a baking dish. Spread the layer of spinach and sprinkle white tartaric acid on it.