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Festival Recipes
 

CHRISTMAS TREATS 

by Aanchal P Achipalya


Christmas isn’t as cheerful if it is not accompanied with delightful food. However, if you are watching your weight, the spread of sinful delicacies could depress you. We show you the middle path with our healthy but equally mouth watering Christmas special recipes.

Rolled Oat Cookies (Does not require baking)

Easy to prepare and crunchy to eat, this recipe is low in cholesterol and a good source of protein.

Ingredients
• 4tbsp sugar
• 150ml milk
• 3tbsp Low fat butter
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla essence
• 3tbsp peanut butter
• 1cup rolled oats (regular)

Method
1. Combine sugar, milk, butter and salt, in a vessel. Stir well. Bring to a full boil. Boil for 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and peanut butter.
3. Stir until smooth. Add rolled oats. Mix well.
4. Cool until mixture holds shape, slightly. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper.
5. Cool for 20 mins and serve.

Christmas Wheel Cookies

Ingredients
• 3 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 3/4 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 drops teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 drops red food coloring, or as needed
• 2 drops green food coloring, or as needed

Method
1. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a bowl. Resift again into another bowl.
2. Beat the butter with the brown and white sugars in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until evenly blended. Gather the dough into a ball, and divide into two equal parts. Place one half in a second bowl. Add red food colouring to the dough in one bowl, and green food coloring to the dough in the other bowl. Use a fork or a wooden spoon to blend the food colouring into the dough until evenly blended. Add additional drops of food colouring to make the desired shade.
3. Roll out the red dough to 1/4 inch (5mm) thickness. Roll out the green dough to 1/4 inch (5mm) thickness, and place on top of the red dough. Beginning on one edge, roll the doughs to make a log so the two colours spiral inside each other. Wrap the log in waxed paper, then in a cotton towel, and refrigerate at least for 8 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.
5. Unwrap the dough log, and place on a clean, lightly floured surface. Slice the log into rounds 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick, and place on prepared baking sheets.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until set, 5 to 6 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent edges from browning. Remove from oven, and cool on racks.
   

DELICIOUS HOLIDAY RECIPES 

by Aanchal P Achipalya


Holidays are meant for immense enjoyment. It’s the time when you feel like pampering yourself and your family. The special recipes cooked during holidays add a special charm and make these days more fun filled. Here are a few delicious recipes that may be a little tedious to whip up but are totally worth the effort...

Spaghetti and Meatballs with a Homemade Sauce

Ingredients

For Meatballs:
• 2 eggs
• 100 ml cup milk
• 2 slices bread, crumbled
• 150 gms lean ground beef
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 clove garlic, smashed, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

For Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried leaf basil
• Ό teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree
• 250gms thin spaghetti
• Parmesan cheese to garnish

Method
To make meatballs,
in a medium bowl, beat eggs lightly; add milk and bread and let stand for about 5 minutes. Add ground beef, onion, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper; mix gently until well blended. Shape into about 24 meatballs, about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Place meatballs in a greased large shallow baking pan. Bake meatballs at 450° for 25 minutes.

For the sauce, in a pan, heat oil over medium flame, sautι onion until it just begins to turn golden. Add remaining sauce ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, if necessary. Add meatballs; cover and simmer for 10 to15 minutes, stirring from time to time.

To cook spaghetti, bring 500ml water to boil, add a pinch of salt and let it cook till soft. Once they are boiled, put them under running water to separate the strands and then add 1tsp of oil.

Serve spaghetti topped with meatballs in sauce; sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Mango Pudding Recipe

A holiday meal is incomplete without a relishing a seasonal dessert. And nothing is more synonymous with summers than mangoes, so here is a mango delicacy that will surely leave you craving for more.

Ingredients
• 400 ml fresh milk
• 250 ml ice water
• 250 gm whipping cream
• 40 gm gelatin powder
• 300 gm mango puree
• 300 ml water
• 20 gm butter
• 200 gm sugar

Method
Mix gelatin powder, sugar and water, stir well and bring to boil till sugar dissolves in water. Keep aside. In a separate bowl, stir and mix well mango puree, ice water, fresh milk and whipping cream. Mix the sugar solution and puree, stir well. Pour the mixture into a desired shape mould. Chill well and serve.
 

SWEET RECIPES FOR GUDI PADWA 

by Aanchal P Achipalya


Any festival is incomplete without sweets. To make your celebrations delicious, here are 3 recipes apt for whipping up during the traditional festival Gudi Padwa.

1. Puran Poli

Ingredients

• 1 cup Maida
• 1 pinch turmeric powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tsp ghee
• Water enough to make dough
• 6 tbsp oil
• Oil / ghee for frying
  Inner Filling
• 1 1/2 cup jaggery
• 1 1/4 cup Bengal gram dal
• 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder

Preparation
• Blend the ghee and masala with the maida. Using water make a soft smooth dough.
• Leave under a wet cloth for 40-50 minutes. Knead again.
• Put in 6 tbsps oil and knead till completely absorbed. Cover and leave aside for 4 hours.
• Put the dal in the cooker till one whistle. Drain the water.
• Grind to a paste with the jaggery and cardamom powder. The filling should not be watery.
• Make small balls of the filling. Divide the dough into small balls and flatten them.
• Place one ball of filling on the dough and cover and seal up the filling.
• Carefully roll out the dough into thick puris making sure the filling does not come out.
• Fry on a tawa pouring ghee around it. Cook on both sides. Puran Poli is ready to be served.

2. Shahi Toast

Ingredients

• 10 bread slices
• 100 gm sugar
• 115 gm condensed milk
• 115 gm khoya
• 1 cup milk
• Ghee to fry
• 16 Silver leaves
• 4 Small cardamoms
• Saffron color
• Rose water
• 15 gm pistachios

Preparation
• Remove the crust of bread slices.
• Deep-fry the slices to a golden brown color.
• Boil the milk and add sugar to it.
• Boil them to a thick consistency and add fried bread slices to it.
• Add condensed milk, cardamoms, khoya and a few drops of rose water and saffron color to it and cook on slow fire to a very thick consistency.
• To serve, arrange the slices on plate and sprinkle shredded nuts and silver leaves.

3. Chocolate Surprise Sandesh

Ingredients

• 250 gms cottage cheese mashed
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• Around 8 raisins
• 1tbsp cocoa powder
• Few drops of vanilla essence
Preparation
• Crumble the cottage cheese and powdered sugar and knead till smooth.
• For chocolate Sandesh: In 1/3portion add cocoa powder and knead. Heat for 2 mins. Cool and divide into 8 portions and roll into balls.
• For basic Sandesh: In the balance 2/3rd - add vanilla essence and mix well. Heat for 2 mins.Cool and divide into 8 portions and cover chocolate balls completely and evenly.
• Garnish each Chocolate surprise Sandesh with a raisin.
• For variation add essence, color, dry fruits, saffron, cardamom or fresh fruits of your choice. Shape the mixture using moulds or shape as per your choice.
 

GUILT FREE DIWALI DELICACIES


Are you dreading gorging on those delicious Diwali sweets, scared that Diwali will leave you behind with too many kilos to shed? Are you tired of keeping chocolates away from your children and are your guests refusing to eat sweets to watch their calories? Worry not! Just give them something healthy and yummy to eat this Diwali. Here are 2 innovative recipes with which you can celebrate your Diwali in a ‘Guilt free’ way:

Walnut Barfi

Ingredients
1 Cup Walnut powder
1/2 Cup condensed milk
6 Marie biscuits
Nutmeg Powder -1/4 tsp
Cardamom Powder-1/4 tsp

Method
Mix all the ingredients together till it turns like dough. Spread the dough on a plate or a sheet. Refrigerate it for 10 mins. Now, cut it in square shaped pieces. Walnut barfi is ready to serve.

This recipe is a good source of Vitamin E and omega-3 as it has walnuts. It can also be alternated with almonds.

Carrot cinnamon muffins

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup sugar powdered
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1-1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup melted butter
11/2 cup carrot grated
2 tbsp raisins

Method
Sieve together the dry ingredients (plain flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar powdered, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon powder) 2-3 times. Mix milk and butter till well blended. Gently stir in sieved ingredients. Fold in carrot, raisins. Do not mix too much, lumpy batter makes better muffins. Bake in preheated oven at 200oC, for 20 minutes or till an inserted skewer/fork comes clean. Drop spoonfuls into paper cups, which are ovenproof. This makes 10 muffins.

This recipe ensures everyone happiness and good health. So, go ahead and let everyone binge on it!
 

TRADITIONAL HOLI RECIPES


Holi is just around the corner and what better way to cool off after a morning of playing around with water and color than digging in to some homemade festive savories.

Malpuas

Ingredients
3 cups wheat flour
2 cups jaggery (grated)
1 cup semolina (suji)
1 tbs peppercorns
2 cups milk
1 tbs curd
2 tbs ghee
1 Lime
Salt & soda to taste

Method
Put the semolina and the flour in a vessel together with the curd, milk, jaggery and some salt. Beat the ingredients together for five to seven minutes till the mixture is light and fluffy.

Pound the peppercorns thoroughly and add them to the mixture along with two teaspoons of ghee. Mix this, cover the vessel and let it stand in a warm place for about eight hours.

The time will allow the mixture to rise as much as possible. Stir this. If you think that the mixture has gotten too thick, you can add some milk or water to it, till it is good enough to pour. Now add some lime juice and soda. Mix well.

Heat a frying pan with ghee. When it is hot enough, lower the flame and add a tablespoon of the batter into the ghee. Fry till the malpuas turn golden brown in color. Once they’re off the flame, place them in a strainer so as to drain out all the excess oil.

Puran Poli

Ingredients

2 cups refined flour
2 cups of chana dal (pre-soaked in water for 4 hours)
2 cups of jaggery (as per sweetness requirement)
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
3 tbs oil
Saffron

Method
Drain the chana dal and cook it in a pressure cooker till it is soft. Drain out the excess water and make sure the dal is completely dry. Add the jaggery and cook for some more time till it has blended well. Mash this into a soft paste and add saffron, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and mix thoroughly. Make small balls of equal size.

Put together the flour, water, oil and turmeric powder to make a soft dough and knead it well using oil. Grease your palms, take one portion of the dough and flatten it into a disc the size of your palm. Place the previously made balls of jaggery into this disk and cover them completely from all four sides. Place this on a well floured board, and roll out the poli. This can be a very tricky because the paste may slide out. Use flour just in case this happens.

Place each poli on a hot girdle. Do not use any ghee or oil while cooking. You can apply it on both sides once the poli is ready. Puran Polis are served with a bowl of milk.
 

 

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