Recipes
for Indian Festivals:
Navaratri
Sundal
|
Sweet Boondi
| Keerai Vadai
| Rawa Kesari
| Kadubu
| Kachhe Kele
ki Sabzi
| Kootu
Rajgiri Parathas
| Pumpkin Chutney
| Potato
Pumpkin Pancakes
| Arbi Yam
Oondhiya
| Navaratri Raita
| Navaratri Salad
| Batata Vada
SUNDAL
|
Ingredients:
|
Steps:
-
Soak chana over night in water. Drain,
add fresh water and cook till soft but not mushy. (can be cooked in
pressure cooker, with salt)
-
Drain away the excess water, retaining
about 3-4 table spoons.
-
Heat oil in a wok, add mustard. When it
splutters, add red chili, curry leaves and asafetida.
-
Add chana, green chilies and salt.
Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
-
Add grated coconut, mix well and remove
from fire.
Variations : This sundal may be
prepared with Kabuli chana (chick peas), dried yellow peas or dried
green peas. 3-4 tbsp of finely chopped raw mango pieces may be added
after removing the sundal from fire. |
SWEET BOONDI
|
Ingredients:
-
Besan (chick peas flour) - 2
cups
-
Orange food color - little,
optional
-
Ghee or oil - to deep fry
-
Raisins - 2 tbsp
-
Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
-
Sugar - 1 ½ cup
-
Water - ¾ cup
-
Cardamom powder - ½ tsp
|
Steps:
-
Mix besan with water and make a thick
batter as for pakoda or bhaji. Add color, if using.
-
Heat oil or ghee till moderately hot.
(if a drop of batter is dropped into the oil, it should puff).
-
Hold a large perforated ladle over the
oil and pour some batter on it. Small drops of batter will fall into
the oil and puff like beads. Fry till they are just crisp. (avoid over
cooking). Drain on kitchen paper. Use up all the batter thus.
-
Fry the raisins and cashew nuts in the
same oil or ghee and add to the boondis.
-
Mix sugar with water and prepare a two
thread syrup. Add cardamom powder.
-
Add the boondi mixture and stir till
the syrup coats the boondis,
Khara Boondi : Prepare boondis as
explained above, but add salt to the batter and fry the boondis till
crisp and light brown. Fry cashew nuts and add to the boondis. Heat 2-3
tbsp of oil, season with mustard, curry leaves, ½ tsp each of chili and
turmeric powders . Add to the boondi and mix well. |
KEERAI VADAI
|
Ingredients:
-
Black gram (urad) dal - 1
cup
-
Rice flour - ½ cup
-
Green chilies - 2-3, chopped
-
Finely chopped keerai
(use spinach or radish leaves) - 4 tbsp
-
Salt - to taste
-
Oil - to deep fry
|
Steps:
-
Soak black gram dal in water for 2
hours. Drain well
-
Reserve 2 tbsp of the soaked dal and
grind the rest with salt, to a smooth, stiff paste. (use as little
water as possible)
-
Add the reserved dal and rest of the
ingredients except the oil. Mix well.
-
Take a lime size balls of the mixture
and flatten to1/8" thick discs on a piece of greased plastic sheet.
-
Drop about 4-5 discs in moderately hot
oil, fry till crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
-
Use all the batter thus. Serve hot with
chutney.
|
RAWA KESARI
|
Ingredients:
|
Steps:
-
Heat 2 tbsp of ghee, fry raisins and
cashew nuts, drain and reserve.
-
Add semolina to the remaining ghee and
roast till pale brown. Transfer to a plate.
-
Boil water in the same kadai. Lower the
flame and add semolina little at a time stirring well so that no lumps
are formed. Cook for 5 minutes.
-
Add sugar. When the sugar is dissolved,
add the remaining ghee, little at a time and cook stirring till the
mixture forms a thick lump.
-
Add color, mix well and transfer to a
serving dish.
-
Garnish with fried raisins and cashew
nuts.
|
KADUBU
|
Ingredients:
For Dough
-
Maida - 1 cup
-
Rice flour - 3 tbsp
-
Ghee - 1 tbsp
-
Salt - a pinch
-
Milk - to mix
For Filling
-
Desiccated coconut - 1 cup
-
Powdered sugar - ½ cup
-
Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp, chopped fine
-
Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp, roasted
-
Cardamom powder - ½ tsp
-
Milk - little
-
Oil or ghee to deep fry
|
Steps:
For Dough
-
Combine all the dry ingredients together. Add enough milk and make a
stiff but pliable dough. Keep covered.
For Filling
-
Combine all the dry ingredients together.
-
Sprinkle some milk to bind them.
-
Divide the dough into small balls. Divide the filling into same
number of portions.
To prepare kadubu
-
Roll out a ball of dough into a thin poori. Place a portion of
filling on one half of the poori, fold the other half to cover the
filling. Press the edges together to seal well. Use all the dough and
filling thus.
-
Deep fry 4-5 kadabus at a time in moderately hot oil or ghee till
crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. Cool and store in air tight container.
(keeps well for 3-4 days)
|
KACHHE KELE KI SABZI
|
Ingredients:
|
Steps:
-
Put plenty of water in a bowl.
-
Add a tsp. of salt
-
Peel and immediately chop bananas to pieces.
-
Let pieces fall into salted water, or they will
discolor.
-
Put some water to boil drain and add banana to
boiling water.
-
Add a pinch of turmeric, allow to boil till pieces
are tender but not mushy.
-
Drain and keep aside to cool a little.
-
Sprinkle curds, turmeric, salt, over banana, mix
gently.
-
Heat oil in a heavy pan, add cumin and curry
leaves, allow to splutter.
-
Add banana pieces, stirring gently.
-
Add 1/4 cup water, cover and simmer for 2-3
minutes.
-
Sprinkle arrowroot powder, lemon juice stir to
blend.
-
Garnish with coriander, serve hot with kootu
chapathi.
|
KOOTU RAJGIRI PARATHAS
|
Ingredients:
-
1 1/2 cups
kootu flour
-
1 tbsp. oil salt to taste
-
1 cup rajgiri toasted
-
1 potato boiled and mashed
-
1 tbsp. coriander leaves finely chopped
-
2 green chilies finely chopped
-
1 tsp. ginger grated
-
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
-
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
-
1 tsp. lemon juice extracted
-
salt to taste
-
Oil to shallow fry
|
Steps:
For dough
-
Mix all ingredients for dough.
-
Knead to a soft pliable dough.
-
Cover with a moist cloth, keep aside.
Heat oil in a heavy pan, add cumin seeds.
Add ginger, allow to splutter.
Add mashed potatoes, lemon juice, coriander, mix
well.
Fold in toasted rajgiri grains.
Keep aside till required.
For
parathas
-
Divide dough into six parts, shape into balls.
-
Divide filling into 6 parts.
-
Roll one ball of dough, to a rounds 5" in diameter.
-
Place one portion of filling in centre.
-
Bring together all edges of round over filling.
-
Press lightly to form a thick round.
-
Dust lightly with kootu flour.
-
Roll into a paratha 6" in diameter.
-
Heat skillet (tawa), roast both sides lightly.
-
Drizzle some oil, flip and allow to become golden,
on low flame.
-
Repeat for other side.
-
Serve hot with coconut or pumpkin chutney.
Variation: You may substitute kootu flour with either singhara flour,
rajgiri flour, or a combination of all three.
|
PUMPKIN CHUTNEY
|
Ingredients:
-
1 cup pumpkin,
peeled, chopped, diced
-
1 small apple, peeled, chopped, diced
-
1 tsp. coriander leaves, finely chopped
-
1 tsp. lemon juice
-
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
-
1 tsp. red chili powder
-
1 tbsp. sugar
-
salt to taste
|
Steps:
-
Place pumpkin and apple pieces in a pan.
-
Add enough water, to barely cover contents.
-
Add turmeric powder and lemon juice.
-
Heat and bring to a boil.
-
Cook till both are soft.
-
Take off fire, small very lightly, with a potato
masher.
-
Do not make pasty, allow small pieces to remain.
-
Add sugar, return to fire, cook till sugar
dissolves.
-
Once excess moisture evaporates, add
chili, salt.
-
Mix well take off fire.
-
Cool, mix in chopped coriander with a spoon.
-
Serve as a relish for pancakes, parathas, etc.
|
POTATO PUMPKIN PANCAKES
|
Ingredients:
|
Steps:
-
Run ginger and chilies in mixer to crush finely.
-
Grate potato and pumpkin into a bowl of cold salted
water.
-
Take flours in a deep bowl.
-
Make a well in centre, put coriander.
-
Press out water from grated veggies completely.
-
Add in centre, with chili-ginger.
-
Add salt, mix everything into an even batter.
-
Add some water if required.
-
Batter must be thick enough to spread on nonstick
pan.
-
Keep aside for 30 minutes.
-
Heat 1 tbsp. oil, add to batter, mix well.
-
Heat nonstick taw or flat pan.
-
Pour one ladleful batter in centre.
-
Spread to form a pancake, thin as possible.
-
Allow to cook, drizzle with some oil.
-
Roast further till crisp.
-
Serve hot with pumpkin chutney or coconut chutney.
Variations: Pancakes can be varied widely, by adding toasted rajgiri,
soaked granules of sago (sabudana), grated coconut, etc.
|
ARBI-YAM OONDHIYA
|
Ingredients:
-
1 cup arbi,
peeled & chopped in chunks
-
1 sweet potato, peeled & chopped in chunks
-
1 potato, scrubbed, unpeeled, chopped in chunks
-
1 raw banana, unpeeled, chopped in chunks
-
1/2 cup pumpkin, peeled, chopped in chunks
-
3-4 water chestnuts, peeled and halved
-
2 slices raw papaya, grated
-
1 lemon juice extracted
-
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
-
1 tbsp. kootu or singhara powder
-
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
-
salt to taste
-
3-4 tbsp. oil
-
1 cup coconut grated
-
3-4 green chilies
-
1/2 cup coriander leaves
-
1/4 cup curry leaves
-
1" piece ginger
-
4 black peppercorns
-
2 small cardamoms
|
Steps:
-
Peel And grate papaya with coarse grater.
-
Sprinkle salt and lemon juice over it.
-
Keep aside.
-
Heat oil in a pressure cooker.
-
Add cumin seeds, allow to splutter.
-
Add ground paste, bring to a boil.
-
Add all chopped chunky veggies, except papaya.
-
Add salt, kootu powder, stir and resume boiling.
-
Cover cooker with lid, allow for one whistle.
-
Once all steam is given out, open cooker.
-
Check to see that veggies are cooked but not at all
mushy.
-
Further simmer for 2-3 minutes, or till gravy is
thickened.
-
Pour into serving dish, garnish with fresh
coriander.
-
Serve hot with kootu rotis, or boiled varai.
|
NAVARATRI RAITA
|
Ingredients:
-
1 sweet
potato, boiled, chopped
-
1 potato, boiled, chopped
-
1 cucumber, chopped
-
4-5 water chestnuts (singhara), boiled, peeled & chopped
-
1 cup fresh thick curds
-
1 tbsp. coriander finely chopped
-
1 small green chili finely chopped
-
1 tbsp. whole roasted peanuts
-
1/2 tsp. cumin seed powder
-
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds whole
-
salt to taste
-
sugar to taste
-
1 tsp. oil
|
Steps:
-
Beat curds in a deep salad bowl.
-
Add cumin powder, salt, sugar, chili, mix well.
-
Add all prepared vegetables, peanuts, mix to blend
well.
-
Chill well till required.
-
Heat oil in a small crucible, or tempering spoon.
-
Add cumin seeds, allow to splutter.
-
Pour sizzling tempering over raita.
-
Garnish with chopped coriander.
Note: To save a lot of time in chilling raitas, chilled prepared
ingredients well ahead of time. Minimum time will be required in then
preparing them for serving.
|
NAVARATRI
SALAD
|
Ingredients:
-
1/2 cup
peanuts shelled, boiled
-
1/2 cup tender water
chestnuts, boiled, peeled, halved
-
1/2 cup cucumber chopped
-
1/2 cup pineapple chopped
-
1/2 cup apple chopped
-
1/2 cup paneer (cottage cheese) chopped
-
1 tbsp. paneer grated
-
1 tbsp. coriander leaves finely chopped
-
1 green chili crushed
1/2" piece ginger crushed finely
-
2 tbsp. peeled watermelon seeds
-
10-12 puffed, roasted lotus seeds (makhanas)
-
1 1/2 lemon juice extracted
-
1 tsp. sugar
-
1/2 tsp. pepper powder
-
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
-
salt to taste
-
1 tsp. oil
|
Steps:
-
Steam pineapple pieces for 2-3 minutes, keep aside
to cool.
-
Sprinkle apple pieces with ½ tsp. lemon juice, keep
aside.
-
Lightly roast makhanas till aroma
exudes. Keep aside.
-
Mix in a small bowl: oil, remaining lemon juice,
salt, sugar, 1 tbsp. water.
-
Add ginger, chili, half coriander, pepper powder,
mix thoroughly.
-
In a large salad bowl, mix drained pineapple,
apple, paneer pieces, Cucumber, water chestnuts, peanuts.
-
Chill in refrigerator till required.
-
10 minutes before serving, add lotus seeds,
watermelon seeds, mix well.
-
Drizzle prepared dressing, toss very well with
wooden fork till blended.
-
Garnish with grated paneer and remaining coriander.
-
Serve chilled.
|
BATATA
VADA
|
Ingredients:
For Filling
-
3 potatoes, boiled & mashed
-
3 green chilies finely chopped
-
2 tbsp. coriander leaves finely chopped
-
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
-
1 tbsp curry leaves finely chopped
-
Juice from
1 lemon
-
salt to taste
-
1 tbsp. oil
Other ingredients
|
Steps:
-
Mix all ingredients to make a smooth batter.
-
It should coat the back of a spoon thickly.
-
Keep aside till required.
For Filling
-
Heat oil in a pan.
-
Add curry leaves, cumin seeds, chilies.
-
Add potato, lemon juice, salt, coriander, mix well.
-
Cool a little, make round balls, keep aside till
required.
To Proceed
-
Heat oil in frying pan.
-
Dip each ball in batter, let gently into hot oil.
-
Fry on medium heat till light golden.
-
Drain on absorbent paper.
-
Repeat for all.
-
Serve hot with coconut chutney.
|
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