Diwali Delicacies

It is the time of year when people gorge on yummy food. Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor shares his recipes to make Diwali a tasty affair

BADAM HALWA COINS

Ingredients
½ cup almonds (badam), blanched and peeled
½ cup semolina (suji)
1 eight-inch chocolate sponge cake
3 tablespoons ghee
2 cups milk
⅓ cup Sugar Free
¼ teaspoon green cardamom powder

Method

• Sliver 3-4 almonds for garnishing and grind the rest coarsely.
• Heat ghee in a non-stick kadai, add the semolina and sauté on low heat, stirring continuously, till it begins to change colour.
• Add ground almonds and continue to sauté till the mixture turns golden.
• Boil the milk with 1 cup water in a deep non-stick pan and add to the semolina mixture. Cook, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes.
• Add Sugar Free and cardamom powder and continue to cook, stirring continuously, till the sugar dissolves completely.
• Cut quarter centimeter thin slices of the sponge cake horizontally. Cut small round coins from the cake slices with a cookie cutter.
• Heat a non-stick tawa, place the cake coins on it and toast lightly on both sides.
• Arrange these coins on a serving plate. Shape halwa into quennels with 2 teaspoons and place on the coins.

METHI MATHRI

Ingredients
2 cups refined flour (maida)
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
5 tablespoons oil
for deep-frying

Method

• Take flour in a bowl; add salt, carom seeds and dried fenugreek leaves and mix well.
• Add oil and mix well. Add sufficient chilled water and knead into hard dough. Cover and rest the dough for 15 minutes.
• Divide into 24 equal balls and flatten them slightly. Roll them out thinly into small puris and fold in half and then fold again to make a triangle. Stick a clove at one corner making it appear like a paan. Lightly prick them with a fork so that the mathris do not rise like puris.
• Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Slide in the mathris and deep-fry on medium heat till golden brown and crisp. Drain on absorbent paper and cool completely.
• Serve or store in air tight tins.
• Serve hot garnished with the almond slivers.

BHAJANEE CHAKLI

Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
Oil for deep-frying
Bhajanee flour
4 cups rice
1 cup skinless split black gram (urad dal)

Method

• For the bhajanee flour, dry-roast the rice and black gram separately. Cool completely and grind separately to a powder. Sift both the flours and mix.
• Place 2 cups bhajanee flour in a bowl. Add oil, salt, cumin powder and chilli powder, and mix well. Divide the mixture in half. Take one half and knead into a soft dough with ½ cup water. When the dough is used up, make a dough of the remaining flour.
• Put small portions of the mixture into a chakli mould and press out several chakli onto a plastic sheet.
• Heat sufficient oil in a non-stick kadai till moderately hot. Deep-fry the chakli till light golden brown and crisp.
• Drain on absorbent paper and set aside to cool. Store in an airtight container.

MAKAI BADAM AUR AKHROT KI TIKKI
Ingredients
1½ cups corn kernels (makai), boiled and ground
20 almonds (badam), blanched, peeled and ground
16 walnut (akhrot) halves, chopped
200 grams lotus roots (bhein/nadru)
2 tablespoons oil + for shallow-frying
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (shahi jeera)
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
1 teaspoon fennel (saunf) powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1 teaspoon chaat masala
100 grams cottage cheese (paneer), grated
Salt to taste
½ cup grated processed cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 inch ginger, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
24 raisins, chopped

Method

• Clean and scrape lotus roots. Grate and boil until soft. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Grind to a paste. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a non-stick kadai, add caraway seeds and sauté till fragrant. Add corn paste, almond paste, lotus root paste and sauté till the mixture dries up.
• Add chilli powder, pepper powder, fennel powder, garam masala powder and chaat masala and mix well.
• Add cottage cheese and salt and mix well. Cook till the mixture leaves the sides of the kadai.
• Remove from heat, add processed cheese, lemon juice, ginger and coriander leaves. Cool the mixture.
• Divide into 20 equal balls. Stuff the balls with walnuts and raisins and shape them into tikkis.
• Shallow-fry the tikkis in a non-stick pan using a little oil. Drain on an absorbent paper.
• Serve hot with green chutney.