Diwali, the festival of lights, is almost here. The festival is synonymous with house parties, card games, and gorging on mouth-watering sweets and other tasty snacks with your loved ones.
While you are going to be bombarded with a lot of sweets brought by family, friends, and even colleagues, the namkeen (salty food items) are a perfect choice to break the sweetness in your mouth.
There are various namkeens in India that are worth mentioning, including various chaats. Here are recipes for three mouth-watering delicacies specially curated by Maharaj Bhawar Singh, Corporate Chef, Khandani Rajdhani.
Mirchi Vada Chaat
Ingredients
You need 6 slit and seeded Bhavnagri chillies and oil
For the stuffing masala: 1 cup boiled and mashed Potatoes, 3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon Coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon Roasted cumin powder, 1/2 teaspoon gram masala powder ; Salt
For Batter: 1 cup Gram flour, 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder, ¼ tea spoon Ajwain, and 1/4 teaspoon Chaat masala
Method
Heat oil in Kadai. Add chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and garam masala. Mix the mashed potatoes well, and stir a little. Add salt, mix again, and set aside to cool. Fill the bhavnagri chillies with this mixture. Set aside.
Mix together the gram flour, turmeric powder, salt, and remaining red chili powder in a bowl. Add sufficient water and whisk to make a smooth and lumpless batter of pouring consistency.
Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Dip the stuffed chillies in the gram flour mixture and deep-fry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
Sprinkle chaat masala, sweet chutney, coriander chutney, curd, and red chili powder on top and serve warm.
Shakarpara
Ingredients
For the Shakarpara, you will need 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 pinch powdered saffron, 1/4 teaspoon ghee, 1 dash powdered green cardamom, 125 ml refined oil, 1/4 cup water, and 1/2 cup sugar.
Method
To prepare this Shakarpara recipe, take a wide bowl and add ghee and maida with a little water. Combine these ingredients using your hands and knead into a thick dough. Take small portions of the dough and make large pooris out of it. Once done, cut these freshly prepared pooris into desired shapes (squares or triangles).
Meanwhile, take a pan and heat it over medium heat. Then add the remaining oil for deep frying, and once the oil is sufficiently hot, carefully put the squares in the pan. Deep-fry them till they turn slightly golden. Keep the flame low. Once done, drain the excess oil using absorbent paper and transfer it to a plate.
Meanwhile, take another pan and add the water and the sugar to it. Heat the pan over medium heat. Then add saffron powder and simmer the mixture till it gets thick and sticky in texture. Then remove it from the flame and keep it aside.
Add the deep-fried squares to the sugar syrup and mix so that the sugar syrup is well coated. Once the syrup is properly soaked, remove the Shakarparas and transfer them to a plate. Sprinkle cardamom powder on it and let the Shakarparas attain normal room temperature. Serve the delicious, sweet delight with tea or coffee.
Khajoor Ni Pattice
Ingredients:
For the Covering: You need some boiled potatoes 500 gm, arrowroot 20 gm, green chilli 20 gm and salt.
For Stuffing Masala: Chopped Dates 100 gm, Kaju chops 20 gm, Kismis chops 10 gm, Pomegranate seeds 10 gm, Elaichi powder ½ tea spoon, Ghee 10 gm and Mawa 20 gm.
Method:
Heat the oil in Kadai and add the boiled aloo, arrowroot, green chili, and salt to taste for the covering. Mix it well and keep it aside.
For the stuffing, add the chopped dates, Kaju chops, Kismis chops, pomegranate fresh seeds, ½ teaspoon elaichi powder, ghee, and mawa in a pan and cook over a slow flame. Cool. Fill the Aloo mixer with this mixture. Set aside.
Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Dip the stuffed patties in the deep-fry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
Serve the pattice with green mint chutney or any sauce of your choice.
