FOOD SPECIAL ....... Festive Flavour

Festive Flavour

Nutritionist Suman Agarwal shares a few healthy Diwali recipes with Rama Sreekant

Steamed Dahi Vadas With the same great taste as the original, these guilt-free vadas will keep you coming back for more Makes: 12 vadas Serving size: 2 vadas Serves: 6 Pre-preparation time: 2 hrs Preparation time: 5 mins Cooking time: 40 mins Ingredients l ½ cup uncooked split green moong dal (soak for 2 hours) l 8–10 fresh spinach leaves l 1 ½ litres low-fat curd, made from double-toned milk (1.5% fat) l 1 tsp fruit salt (Eno) l 3 tsp sugar, powdered l 3–4 green chillies l 1-inch piece of ginger l 2 tsp coriander seeds l 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped finely l 1 tsp saunf (aniseed) l 2 pinches hing (asafoetida) l ½ tsp chaat masala l ½ tsp jeera powder (cumin powder) l 1 tsp oil l 1 tsp salt Method 1. Hang curd in a muslin cloth for at least half an hour. 2. Rinse and drain soaked dal. Grind in blender with spinach, ginger, green chilli, coriander seeds, saunf, hing, salt, oil and 1 tbsp water. 3. Beat the batter. Ensure you stir only in one direction, for 2–3 minutes. 4. Grease plates of idli maker with oil. Pour water into the base of the idli maker; once it comes to the boil, add fruit salt to the batter, stirring continuously for half a minute. 5. Immediately pour batter into the greased plates. Steam for 15 minutes. Remove the plates and let cool. 6. Meanwhile, remove curd from cloth; add sugar, jeera powder, chaat masala and salt. 7. Once cooled, remove vadas from the idli plates using a sharp knife. Arrange on a platter. Spread the curd over the vadas and top with fresh coriander. If desired, garnish with grated carrots. Jain:Omit ginger Gluten-free Calories 178 kcal Protein 13 gm Fat 2.2 gm Carbs 26 gm Calcium 413 mg Fibre 0.6 gm Iron 1 mg ---------------- Chole Tikki Soft-centred vegetable cutlets, crisp on the outside, topped with spicy chickpea gravy Makes: 6 cups chole and 12 tikkis Serving size: 1 cup chole with 2 tikkis Serves: 6 Pre-preparation time: 6–8 hrs Preparation time: 30 mins Cooking time: 35 mins Ingredients Chole l 1 cup uncooked chickpeas (soak for 6–8 hours) l 1 large onion, chopped coarsely l 3 green chillies, slit l 2-inch piece of ginger, julienned l ¼ cup tamarind l 2 tsp chole masala l 2 tsp coriander powder l ½ tsp jeera powder (cumin powder) l ¼ tsp garam masala l 2–3 bay leaves l 2 tbsp oil l Salt as per taste Tikkis l 2 slices brown or white bread (4”x 4”) l 4 cups cauliflower (~300 gm after discarding stems and dividing into small florets) l 2 medium potatoes, boiled l 2 tsp oil l Salt as per taste Method Chole 1. Drain and rinse chickpeas; pressure-cook with 1 tsp salt and 5 cups of water for 8–10 whistles. Drain; reserve the water. 2. Soak tamarind in ½ cup water for 30 minutes. After it becomes soft, sieve through a strainer and reserve water. This is the tamarind water. 3. In a mixer, grind onions and green chillies. 4. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp oil; toss in bay leaves and ginger. Add the onion paste and sauté for 15 minutes or until brown. Add coriander powder and chole masala and sauté for another 2 minutes. 5. Mix in the boiled chickpeas along with water. 6. Add garam masala, jeera powder, tamarind water and salt. If required, add water to achieve desired consistency. Cook for 3–4 minutes. Tikkis 1. Boil cauliflower until tender. Drain and squeeze out all the excess water. Mash along with boiled potatoes. 2. Grind bread slices in a mixer. Add to the cauliflower-potato mixture along with salt. 3. Divide into 12 portions and make small round tikkis. Roast on a non-stick pan using 2 tsp oil. To serve 1. Spread 1 cup chole on two tikkis and garnish with fresh coriander. 2. If desired, drizzle with sweet chutney and green chutney. Sweet Chutney Makes: ¼ cup Ingredients l 1 cup (100 gms) dates l 2 tsp jeera powder (cumin powder) l 2 tsp red chilli powder l ½ tsp black salt l 2 tbsp sugar l Salt as per taste Method 1. Soak dates in 1 cup of boiling water for 10–15 minutes; allow to cool. 2. Mash by hand, then sieve and add ½ cup water. 3. Transfer to a pan. Add remaining ingredients and boil for about 5 minutes. 4. Cool before serving. Green Chutney Makes: 1¼ cup Ingredients l 5–6 green chillies l 2 cups fresh coriander l 1-inch piece of ginger l 1 tbsp roasted peanuts l Juice of 1½ lemon l 2 tbsp water l Salt as per taste Method 1. Grind all the ingredients together in a blender to make a smooth paste Calories 256 kcal Protein 8 gm Fat 8 gm Carbs 38 gm Calcium 94 mg Fibre 2.5 gm Iron 3 mg ------------------------------ Dudhi Halwa with Dry Fruits A melt-in-your-mouth delight… so good you would never guess it’s low in fat Makes: 3 cups Serving size: ½ cup Serves: 6 Preparation time: 5 mins Cooking time: 35 mins Ingredients l 4 cups dudhi (bottle gourd), grated l 1 litre fat-free milk (0–0.8% fat) l 1/3 cup sugar l 17 almonds, julienned l 16 cashewnuts, julienned l ½ tsp cardamom powder Method 1. Boil milk over a low flame, stirring constantly, till it reduces to half its quantity. 2. Squeeze dudhi to reduce the water content. Sauté in a non-stick pan for 2–3 minutes. 3. Cover the pan; steam for 10 minutes. Add the reduced milk, stirring constantly, and cook for 1 minute. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. 4. Stir in sugar, almonds and cashews; cook for 2 minutes or till halwa reaches a thick consistency. Remove from heat and add cardamom powder. 5. Serve hot or chilled. Shelf life: Keep refrigerated and consume within 24 hours. ------------------------------ Shahi Tukda Saffron syrup-soaked bread, drenched in a sweetened milk reduction Makes: 16 pieces Serving size: 2 pieces Serves: 8 Cooking time: 30 mins Ingredients l 4 slices white bread l 750 ml toned milk (3.5 % fat) l 750 ml fat-free milk (0–0.8 % fat) l ½ cup sugar (for syrup) l 4 tsp sugar (for milk) l 12 almonds, julienned l 1 tsp saffron l 2 tsp ghee Method: 1. Combine both types of milk. Bring to boil; continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to ¼ th. 2. Meanwhile, for the syrup, bring 1½ cup of water to boil and add ½ cup sugar. Simmer till the sugar melts completely. 3. Remove from heat and add saffron. Set aside to cool. 4. Preheat the oven at 160°C for 7–10 minutes. 5. Apply ½ tsp ghee on each slice of bread. Cut each slice into quarters; toast all 16 pieces in pre-heated oven for 5–7 minutes until evenly browned. 6. Add 4 tsp sugar to the reduced milk and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 7. Dip each toasted bread piece in the sugar syrup and arrange on a serving dish. 8. Just before serving, pour reduced milk over bread pieces. 9. Garnish with almonds. Serve immediately. Shelf life: Keep refrigerated and consume within 12 hours. Calories 183 Kcal Protein 7 gm Fat 6 gm Carbs 25 gm Calcium 229 mg Fibre 0 gm Iron 0 mg

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