CHENNAI: Through the nine nights of revering Goddess Durga and her triumph over evil, Navaratri celebrates the idea of spreading victory and love around us. What can spread warmth and affection better than food? While some observe fast during the festival, indulging in indigenous wholesome and light cuisine, some go all out to serve a feast to the goddess.
Chennai-based home chefs share eight colourful additions that can elevate the richness of the festivities.
1. Butterfly Pea Flower Rice
By Rajeswari Vijayanand
(@rakskitchen on Instagram)
Ingredients
Butterfly pea flower (dry) sangu poo/ Aparajita flower: 12
Crushed lemon grass: 2 stalks (optional)
Basmati rice: 1/2 cup
Lemon: 1
Oil: 2 tsp
Mustard: 1/2 tsp
Urad dal: 1 tsp
Chana dal: 1 tsp
Ginger: 1 tsp
Green chilli: 2
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Salt as needed
Method
In a saucepan, boil one cup of water. Add the butterfly pea flower. Add some crushed lemongrass.
Switch off the stove and close it with a lid. Let it steep for 15 minutes. Stir in between.
Wash rice until the washed water drains clear. Soak in hot water for 15 minutes. Fish out the flowers and lemongrass. Start heating and bring to a boil.
Drain water from the rice. Add it to the boiling blue water. Sprinkle salt. Bring to boil.
On low flame, cook covered for 12-14 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
Check the bottom of the pan for water. Switch off the stove and fluff gently. Keep covered.
Do not worry even if some rice is stuck to the pan. The standing time will loosen up the rice making it soft. After 10 minutes, the rice will be softer and fluffier.
Heat a small pan with oil. Splutter mustard, then add urad dal, chana dal, ginger, green chillies, and curry leaves. Transfer to the rice. Drizzle lemon juice and quickly give it a mix.
The colour will change to purple as the lemon reacts with rice. Yet the blue hue will be there.
2. Kosha Mangsho
By Joyadrita Ragavendran Chatterjee
(@ foodofjoyflavoursofbengal on Instagram)
Ingredients
Mutton: 500 g
Potato: 2 to 3 (big ones cut into halves), Curd: 100 g
Onion: 2 medium-sized chopped finely
Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 2 tsp
Red chilli powder: 2 tsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder: 2.5 tsp, Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Whole green chillies: 5-6
Ghee: 2 tbsp
Garam masala powder: 1 tsp
Hot water: 2-2.5 cups
Salt and sugar as per taste
Mustard oil for cooking
Whole garam masala (clove, green cardamom, cinnamon) for tempering
Method
Marinate mutton pieces overnight with all the dry spices (except garam masala powder), ginger-garlic paste and curd.
Heat an iron wok, add mustard oil, deep fry the halved potatoes, and keep them aside.
Add some more mustard oil if needed and temper it with whole crushed garam masala. Once fragrant, add chopped onion. Fry until translucent.
Add the marinated mutton and fry on high heat for 4-5 minutes. Once the oil is separated, add hot water and cook.
Add the fried potatoes in the last 30 minutes of the process.
The mutton is cooked when the pieces are intact yet the texture is soft. The cooking time depends on the quality of the meat. Finish off with ghee, garam masala powder and whole green chillies.
3. Sabudana Kichadi Curd
By Yogita Uchil
(@yogitauchil on Instagram)
Ingredients
Sabudana: 1 cup (washed 2-3 times and soaked in 3/4 cup of water for 2-3 hours or overnight)
Oil: 1-2 tbsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Potato: 1/2 cup (boiled and diced)
Ground nuts: 1/4 cup (roasted and roughly chopped or pounded)
Green chillies: 1-2 (finely chopped)
Curry leaves: 3-4 (shredded)
Coriander leaves: Handful (finely chopped)
Red chilli: 1 for seasoning (optional)
Salt & sugar to taste
Method
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they crackle, add green chillies and curry leaves and saute for a minute.
Add potatoes. Sauté for a few minutes till they turn soft brown. Add sabudana, peanuts, salt and sugar and cook on medium-low flame for 4-5 minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Add fresh curd to the sabudana kichadi to have it as a complete meal.
4. Sweet Potato Halwa
By Parul Bhatt
(@parulsmagic on Instagram)
Ingredients
Sweet potato: 200 g (Steamed and grated)
Plain khoa/mawa: 50 g (grated)
Sugar: 100 g
Ghee: 40 g
Cardamom powder: 1/4 tsp
A pinch of nutmeg powder
Few strands of saffron
Method
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan.
Add grated sweet potato.
Cook on a slow flame and keep stirring. Cook till moisture evaporates from sweet potato.
Add grated khoa or mawa, cook for five minutes.
Add sugar and cook till it releases ghee. Add cardamom, nutmeg and saffron. Mix well.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Note: You can pressure cook sweet potato but they tend to get soggy. Adjust sugar to your taste.
5. Basonti Polao or Bengali Style Yellow Sweet Pulao
By Joyadrita Ragavendran Chatterjee
(@foodofjoyflavoursofbengal on Instagram)
Ingredients
Gobindobhog rice: 1 kg
Sugar: 100 to 150 g
Raisins: 100 g
Cashew nuts (halved or broken): 100 g
Turmeric powder: 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Cumin powder: 2 tsp
Ginger paste: 2 tsp
Hot water for cooking
Whole garam masala (clove, green cardamom, cinnamon) for tempering
Salt as per taste
Ghee for cooking
Method
Marinate the rice with the salt, sugar, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, ginger paste and 1/4 cup ghee. Keep it aside for 30-45 minutes.
Heat a deep bottom pan, add the remaining ghee, fry the raisins and cashews. Drain and keep them aside.
Add the whole garam masala. Once fragrant, add the rice and the fried dry fruits.
Keep frying this on medium heat until the rice grains become opaque. Add water and let it cook on a slow flame for 15-20 minutes.
Once finished, give it a standing time of another 10 minutes. Open the lid and fluff up the rice.
Garnish it with some slit green chillies. Serve it with Kosha Mangsho or Bengali mutton curry.
Note: Be mindful of the water quantity as Gobindobhog rice becomes too mushy if the water is too much.
6. Sesame Laddu
By Shobha Satish
Ingredients
Black sesame seeds: 1 cup Jaggery: 1/2 cup, Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp, Water: 1/4 cup
Method
Dry roast the sesame seeds and allow them to cool down completely.
Grind the roasted sesame seeds in a mixer and add cardamom to it.
Dissolve jaggery in water and boil the syrup.
Mix the sesame-cardamom mix with the jaggery syrup.
Allow it to cool down and make small balls out of the mixture.
7. Rose Jalebi
By Priya Shiva
(@priyakichenette on Instagram)
Ingredients
Maida: 1 cup
Rose syrup: 4 tbsp
Eno/fruit salt: 1 tsp
Sugar: 1 cup
Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp
Oil for deep frying
Method
Heat sugar in 3/4 cup of water in a saucepan. Keep stirring till you reach one string consistency. Switch off the flame. Add two tablespoons of rose syrup and cardamom powder.
Mix flour, two tablespoons of rose syrup, and Eno. Add water to make a smooth batter. Make sure there are no lumps. Pour the batter in a ketchup squeezer.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Once oil is hot, lower the flame and squeeze the ketchup bottle in circular motion.
Deep fry in low flame. Strain and dip in sugar syrup for 5-10 seconds. Hot jalebis are ready. You can even serve it with rabdi.
8. Pista Badam Burfi
By Priya Shiva
(@priyakichenette on Instagram)
Ingredients
Pistachio: 1/2 cup
Almonds: 1/2 cup
Sugar: 1/2 cup
Water: 1/4 cup
Dry milk powder: 2 tbsp
Green cardamom powder: 1 tsp
Ghee: 2 tsp
Method
Roast pistachios and almonds on low flame for 2 minutes. Let them cool down completely. Grease a square plate with 1 tsp ghee and keep it ready.
Add all the nuts in your grinder and powder it in one go. If you take too much time to grind, it will start oozing oil and become sticky.
Boil sugar and water in a pan and lower the flame when it comes to one-string consistency. To check one string consistency, take a drop of the water and sugar mixture and try making a string with your index finger and thumb.
Add powdered nuts, milk powder, cardamom powder and one teaspoon of ghee and keep stirring. In a few minutes, it will automatically turn into a dough.
Remove from the gas stove, pour the mixture into a greased plate, and spread the stove and pour the mixture into a greased plate and spread evenly.
When it cools down, cut it into equal pieces and store it in a cool place. You can garnish with some chopped or powdered pistachios.