Diwali recipes from Sanjeev Kapoor

New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS) Traditional sweets and snacks are of the essence when it comes to Diwali and the celebrations are simply incomplete without home-cooked stuff. This time celebrate the festival by indulging in some sweet as well as tangy treats.

Here are some mouth-watering recipes by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

1. Bhajanee chakli

   Ingridients:
   2 tablespoons Nutralite
   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 of preparation:

   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.

   Put bhajanee flour in a bowl. Add Nutralite, salt, cumin powder and chilli powder, and mix well. Divide the mixture in half. Take one half and knead into a soft dough with 1/2 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.

2. Methi mathri

   Ingridients:
   2 cups refined flour (maida)
   Salt to taste
   1/2 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
   1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
   5 tablespoons Nutralite
   Oil for deep-frying

   Method of preparation

   Take flour in a bowl, add salt, carom seeds and dried fenugreek leaves and mix well.
   Add Nutralite and mix well. Add sufficient chilled water and knead into a 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.

3. Chocolate and nut karanji

   Ingridients:
   1 1/2 cups refined flour (maida)
   3 tablespoons pure ghee
   Oil for deep-frying
   Stuffing
   1/2 cup grated dark chocolate
   1/4 cup chopped almonds
   1/4 cup chopped walnuts
   1/2 cup grated mawa/khoya
   2 tablespoons Sugar Free

   Method of preparation:
   Put the flour in a deep bowl. Add ghee and add 2-3 tablespoons of chilled water or chilled milk. Knead into a medium-soft dough, adding more chilled water or milk as you go along. Divide into small balls and let them rest, covered with a damp cloth.

   To make the stuffing, mix the khoya/mawa, Sugar Free, walnuts, almonds and chocolate in a bowl. Chill it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Roll out the dough balls into small round puri. Place a puri on the worktop; moisten its edges.

   Place some stuffing in the centre and fold one side of the puri over the other. Press the edges to seal and further twist the edges with your finger tips in a decorative manner. Or cut the edges with a serrated cutter. You can also make the karanji using a mould.

   Keep the karanji in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes.
   Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Deep-fry the karanjis, a few at a time, till light brown. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot or allow them to cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container.

4. Banana halwa burfi

   Ingredients:
   cup chopped ripe Nendrabale bananas
   1 cup grated khoya/mawa
   1/2 cup Sugar Free
   1/2 cup coarsely ground cashewnuts
   Ghee for greasing
   1/4 cup milk

   Method of preparation:
   Grease a straight-sided shallow tray with a little ghee. Heat a non-stick pan, add bananas and khoya/mawa and cook on medium heat, stirring at regular intervals to prevent the mixture from scorching.

   Cook till the ghee begins to ooze from the mixture. Add the Sugar Free and cashewnut powder, and mix. Continue to cook, stirring continuously, till the mixture turns a rich brown.

   Add milk and cook till it starts leaving the sides of the pan. Pour the mixture into the greased tray, level the surface and set aside to cool.
   Cut into desired shapes and serve.