It’s that time of the year when both revelry and reverence find company in each other. As we invoke the power of Shakti on these nine days, dolls, dhols and dance performances erupt in vibrant colours across cities of India. Festivities also unravel a treasure trove of flavours.
No wonder then that platters of sundal, makhane ki kheer, ghughni, alu khichdi and kadhi fill up tables in many homes. With each region offering its unique specialities, Vaishali Vijaykumar goes on a virtual tour of Gujarati, Kannadiga, Bengali, Tamilian & Punjabi kitchens to give you an excuse to feast this season.
Bhoger thala by Joyadrita Chatterjee
Luchi
Ingredients
All-purpose flour: 500 g
Salt and sugar to taste
Homemade ghee to knead the
dough and fry luchi
Method
Mix all the ingredients to make a pliable dough. Rest it for 15 minutes.
Pinch out small balls and roll them into round, thin circles.
Heat homemade ghee and fry the luchi until it turns nice and fluffy.
Bandhakopir Ghonto
Ingredients
Cabbage: one medium-sized, thinly sliced
Potatoes: two medium, diced
Tomato diced: one large
Green peas: 1/2 cup Cumin seeds and bay leaf for tempering
Salt and sugar to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Mustard oil
Ghee
Bengali garam masala: tsp
Slit green chilli: 2-3
Method
Temper mustard oil with cumin seeds and bay leaf, add the tomatoes and potatoes. Fry well.
Once fried, add the shredded cabbage. Let it cook. Do not add ghee till the end.
Add all the masalas, except Bengali garam masala.
Give it a stir once and then cover cook until all the vegetables come together and are well cooked.
Temper it with ghee, Bengali garam masala and two or three slit green chilies.
This is a perfect accompaniment for luchi.
Paanch Bhaja
Ingredients
Cauliflower florets: 1 cup, small
Ladiesfinger: 1 cup
Pumpkin: 1 cup, thinly sliced
Potato: 1 cup, cut into thin roundels
Ash gourd: one cup, halved
Method
Marinate all in salt and turmeric powder. Fry them well and serve hot with luchi.
Payesh
Ingredients
Full cream milk: 1 litre
Gobindobhog rice (small-grained,
flavoured rice from Bengal mainly
used for pulao, kheer): 1.5 cup
Nolen gur (date or palm jaggery):
50 g-60 g
Raisins for garnish: 1/2 cup
Method
Soak, wash and drain the rice.
Mix it with a spoonful of homemade ghee (this avoids the kheer from sticking at the bottom).
Reduce the milk to half. Add the rice and keep stirring until it is well-cooked.
Break the jaggery and add it to the milk, you will soon notice a beautiful pinkish hue.
Once the kheer thickens, switch off the gas. Garnish it with raisins.
Kayi sasive shavige by Meena Nikhil
Ingredients
Cooked shavige (semiya): 2 cups
To grind:
Mustard: 1.25 tsp
Grated coconut: 1 cup
Red chilli: 5 to 6
Jaggery: Big gooseberry size
Tamarind: Big gooseberry size
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water
To Temper
Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp
Groundnut: handful
Curry leaves: few sprigs
Coconut oil: 2 tsp
Asafoetida: a pinch
Method
Let the cooked shavige cool down.
In a mixer, take the mustard, chilli and salt. Grind till its powdered.
To this, add grated coconut, jaggery, tamarind, turmeric, little water and grind to a coarse paste.
In a pan, heat coconut oil.
Add mustard. Once it splutters add hing, curry leaves and groundnut.
Fry until the groundnut turns golden.
Next, add the ground masala and saute until the raw smell goes off.
Turn off the stove.
This mixture can be stored in the fridge for a week.It can be also be used as a side dish for dosa.
Mix cooked shavige and the cooked masala well.
Spicy, tangy and a little sweetish dish is ready.
Pathir Pheni by Meena Nikhil
Ingredients
Chiroti rava: 2 cups or normal
rava made into powder
Ghee: 4 tsp
Salt: a pinch
Powdered sugar: 1 cup
Rice flour: 2 tsp
Water: 3/4 cup
Oil for frying
Method
Mix the chiroti rava with 2 tbsp ghee and salt.
Crumble and mix well making sure the rava is moist.
Now, add the water slowly and start to knead the dough.
Knead until the rava turns soft and smooth.
Rest the dough for 15 minutes by covering it with a moist cloth.
Take 2 teaspoon rice flour and 2 teaspoon ghee and make it into a paste. Set aside.
After 15 minutes, make 5-6 balls from the dough. Roll each ball as thin as possible.
Now, spread 1 teaspoon of the rice-ghee paste on one rolled dough and then place another layer of the rolled dough on it.
Repeat this process until all the rolled doughs are placed on top of each other with the rice-ghee paste in between. This process is done to get the layers.
Next, roll this into a tight log.
Then cut the log into 1-inch pieces and press gently into a circle shape, sized to fit into your palm.
Deep fry the pieces in mediumhot oil until it turns golden brown.
Remove and drain off excess oil.
Dust the fried chiroti with the powdered sugar.
You can pour badam milk on the fried chiroti too and have it.
Fresh fruit cream kulfi by Geeta Pal
Ingredients
Full cream milk: 3 litres
Fresh cream: 2 litres
Icing sugar: 400 g
Cardamom seeds: 100g
Kewra flowers: 150 ml
Pistachio: 200 g
Chopped saffron: 5 g
Method
Boil milk for about 45 minutes to one hour, until it is reduced by about half. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
Add sugar and stir until it dissolves.
Cool in an ice bath for 3-5 hours.
When the rabri is cold, add the whipped fresh cream, cardamom, rosewater, pistachios and saffron.
Mix well. When the saffron turns the rabri yellowishgreen, spoon the mixture into a fruit peel or pulp moulds (oranges, melon, papaya or mangoes are ideal) and freeze.
Remove and serve chilled.
Makhane ki Kheer by Priyanka Bhatt
Ingredients
Whole milk: 1 litre
Puffed lotus seeds (makhana/ fox nuts): 1/2 cup
Jaggery: 1/2 cup
Chopped nuts: 2/3 tbsp
Cardamom powder: 1 tsp
Method
In a pan, add milk and fox nuts. Cook on a low flame.
Keep stirring the milk with a spoon to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
The milk will eventually thicken and become creamy; this can take 20 minutes.
It will also have a nice pink colour. Switch off the gas and take the pan out of the flame.
In a separate pan, melt jaggery with approximately 1 tbsp of water. We are just melting the jaggery and not cooking it.
Once the jaggery and milk mixture are at normal room temperature, mix both of them. If either one is hot, milk can curdle.
Garnish with chopped nuts of your choice, and cardamom powder.
This kheer can be enjoyed both cold and warm.
Middle eastern double bean sundal by Vidya Gogul
Ingredients
Double beans: 1 cup
Zatar: 3 spoons
Sumac: 2 spoons
Salt to taste
Lime to drizzle
Carrot: two shredded
Coriander to dress
Olive oil or Tahini one spoon
Method
Soak double beans in water for three hours and boil.
Toss the beans in tahini and spices.
Layer them with carrots and cucumbers ( you can add even pomegranate seeds ).
Serve with coriander and a drizzle of lime.
Bhalla Papdi by Geeta Pal
Ingredients
Urad dal: 2 cups
Water: 1/2 cup
Asafoetida: 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Ginger-green chilli paste: 1 tbsp
Oil to fry
Dahi: 2 cups
Water: 1/2 cup
Black salt: 1/2 tsp
Sugar: 1/2 tsp
Papdis dipped in yogurt: 6
pieces
Boiled yam: Few slices
Boiled potatoes: 1 tbsp
Boiled kabuli chana: 1 tbsp
Yogurt: 8 tbsp
Kala namak (black salt):1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Roasted cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
Sweet tamarind chutney: 1 tbsp
Coriander chutney: 1 tbsp
Garam masala: 1 tbsp
Pomegranate seeds: 1 tsp
Fresh coriander: 1 tsp
Thin sev: 1 tsp
Ginger: 3-4 juliennes
Beetroot: 3-4 juliennes
Method
For bhalla
Soak urad dal for 6 to 8 hours.
Add water and grind into a fine paste. Add hing, salt and ginger and green chilli paste to the paste and mix well.
Heat oil. Take a small ball of this mix and leave in oil.
Deep fry on medium until golden brown.
Soak in cold water for 15 minutes. Remove, press gently to squeeze out water and keep aside.
For chaat
Take yogurt in a bowl. Add water, black salt and sugar. Whisk to blend everything well.
Dip papdis in this yogurt for 20 seconds. Don’t leave it for too long or else the papdis will get soggy.
Use store bought papdis or make a dough using refined flour, salt and ajwain. Flatten with rolling pin and deep-fry until golden brown
Make a bed of soaked papdis.
Crush and place a bhalla on it.
Add two layers of yogurt.
Add boiled potatoes, boiled yam and boiled chana.
Sprinkle black salt, red chilli powder and cumin powder.
Add sweet tamarind chutney and coriander chutney.
Repeat the layers. Add few pomegranate seeds, fresh coriander and sev.
Garnish with ginger and beetroot and serve.
Gulab Jamun cookies by Vidya Gogul
Ingredients
A bar of butter
Oil: 1 cup
Vanilla & cardamom essence: 1tsp
Gulab jamun mix: 1 cup
Maida: 1 cup
Baking soda: 1 tbsp
Baking powder+icing sugar:3/4tsp
Method
Mix all ingredients to make a thickdough.
Make small balls and pat them into flat cookies on parchment paper. Bake at 1800 for 8-10 minutes.
Cool and serve with a drizzle of sugar syrup.
Patishapta or crepe by Joyadrita Chatterjee
Ingredients
Semolina: 1/5 cup
Sugar: 1.5 cup
Water: 2.5 cup
Maida: 1.5 cup
Ghee to drizzle while flipping the crepes
Full cream milk: 500 ml
Sugar: 50 g to 60 g
Method
Mix semolina, sugar and water in a big vessel.
Let it to soak for 7-8 hours as the semolina needs to dissolve completely. Then, mix maida.
Make a batter that is of a freeflowing consistency. If you need to dilute, add little milk.
Meanwhile, boil milk and sugar, and reduce this mixture until it changes to a light brownish hue and becomes crumbly.
Take care not to burn the mixture.
Once done, keep it aside, let it cool a little.
Homemade khoya/mawa is ready. Heat a non-stick/cast iron skillet, pour a ladle full of the batter, and
spread it like a crepe/dosa (smallmedium size). Add the khoya mixture in the centre.
Next, drizzle some ghee, and roll it completely until it looks like an elongated envelope. Patishapta is
ready. Serve it warm.