If you believe that dishes including Air Dried Halwa, Strawberry Yoghurt Kulfi, Spinach Kofta Curry and Fish Curry are best enjoyed at fancy restaurants, think again. What if you are told that one could easily cook any of these in the comfort of your own kitchen? And, because you control the ingredients, you could also save on calories, fat, sodium, and sugar? What often stands between a restaurant-quality meal and a homemade dinner is an approachable, easy-to-follow recipe. Here are some quick DIY homemade recipes to try this weekend and enjoy tasty food.
Air Dried Halwa, Strawberry Yoghurt Kulfi
For Halwa
Ingredients
Semolina: 20 gms
Ghee: 25 gms
Caster Sugar: 100 gms
Skim Milk: 250 ml
Pealed Pistachio: 10 gms
Dried Rose petals: 1 gms
Beet Root juice: 3 gms
Saffron water: 1 gms
Method
Place the semolina in a large shallow pan with the milk, sugar and ghee. Slowly bring to a simmer, then continue to cook until very stiff, sticky and the mixture forms a ball in the centre. Turn out onto a greased silicon mat. Place another silicon mat on top and roll out until very thin (about 2mm). Back onto the mixture and lightly roll the surface to set the pistachio and rose into the halwa. Allow to set and lightly dry at room temperature for 24-48 hours before cutting into rectangles for sheets. Now splash saffron water and beetroot juice on halwa sheet. Cut rectangles can be stored layered with baking paper in the chiller before use.
For Strawberry Yoghurt Kulfi
Ingredients
Fresh strawberry: 250 gms
Demerara sugar: 75 gm
Cream: 68 ml
White chocolate: 20 gms
Yoghurt: 200 gms
Liquid glucose: 18 gms
Method
Place the puree in a saucepan with the cream, glucose and demerara sugar. Gently bring the mixture to a simmer to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat. Fold in yoghurt and blend the mixture with a hand blender until smooth. Strain the mixture, pour into a beaker and freeze for 18 hours. Now churn the mixture and put in four cylindrical tubes freeze for one hour and roll into halwa sheet.
For Strawberry Tequila Compote
Ingredients
Fresh Strawberry: 100 gms
Caster Sugar: 4 gms
Tequila: 25 ml
Method
Place strawberry in a saucepan with the sugar over low heat and simmer until just soft enough. Now Pour in tequila, cover it by lid and cook for just 2 minutes. Cool it down and reserve in a glass container.
Spinach Kofta Curry
For Kofta Stuffing
Ingredients
Oil: 5 ml
Black Cumin Seeds: 1gms
Ginger chopped: 3 gm
Green chili chopped: 1 gms
Spinach blanched: 50 gms
Dried fenugreek: 1 gms
Salt to taste
Apricot: 10 gms
Almond chopped: 10 gms
Cashew nut chopped: 7 gms
Prunes chopped: 12 gms
Method
Heat oil in a pan add black cumin seeds and allow to splutter, now add chopped ginger and chill. Now add spinach and sauté for 3 minutes and turn off the heat. Now mix rest of the ingredients and reserve.
For Kofta
Grated Paneer: 225gms
Boiled Grated Potato: 25 gms
Cardamom powder: 2 gms
Mace powder: 1 gms
Corn Flour: 24 gms
Salt: 3 gms
Sunflower oil to fry
Method
Mix all the ingredients and make eight balls of 35 gm each and fill 13 gm of stuffing in each ball and fry on slow heat till kofta turn light golden in colour.
For Curry
Roasted Peanuts: 13 gms
Roasted Sesame Seeds: 10 gms
Roasted Coriander Seeds: 4 gms
Roasted Cumin Seeds: 2 gms
Roasted Kashmiri Chili: 8 gms
Fry cashew nut: 3 gms
Roasted fresh coconut: 12 gms
Fried onion: 8 gms
Turmeric: 2 gms
Ghee: 35 gms
Chopped Garlic: 12 gms
Chopped Ginger: 9 gms
Chopped onion: 35 gms
Method
Make paste of all the ingredients except ghee, ginger, garlic and chopped onion. Heat ghee in a pan and add chopped garlic and onion and sauté till onion turn lite brown. Now add chopped ginger and paste all roasted spices, and cook oil slow heat. Now add 500 ml of water and allow to simmer for 25 minutes. Now strain the sauce and put kotas into the sauce and serve hot.
Fish Curry
For Fish
Fish Baramumdi: 300 gms
Salt to taste
Red Chili Powder: 3 gms
Turmeric Powder: 2 gms
Ginger paste: 3 gms
Garlic paste: 5 gms
Mustard Oil to shallow
Method
Marinate the fish with all spice powders, salt, ginger and garlic paste and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Now heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the fish to half cook and keep aside.
For Mustard Sauce
Mustard oil: 30 ml
Yellow mustard seeds: 50 gms
Turmeric powder: 3 gms
Red chili powder: 4 gms
Red chili whole: 2 pcs
Bay Leaf: 1 no.
Ginger paste: 5 gms
Garlic paste: 6 gms
Onion slice: 1 large onion
Tomato diced: 1 large
Chopped coriander leaves: 4 gms
Method
Soak mustard seeds overnight and make a fine paste out of it. Heat oil in a pan till smoke point and allow it cool down a little bit. Now add bay leaf and red chili whole allow it release flavour in oil. Now add sliced onion and cook lite brown in colour and add ginger and garlic paste and cook on slow heat till it releases pleasant flavour. Add all powdered spices and mustard paste on this occasion and cook till fat leaves the masala. Now add tomatoes and saute till it mash. Add boiling water to masala and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Put fish pieces into the curry and simmer for 8-10 minutes and add chopped coriander and serve it with rice or roti.
Note: Traditionally rohu fish is used at our house, fort restaurant and sustainability keeping in mind we use barramundi fish in our kitchen.
(Recipe Courtesy: Chef Aditya Jha)