A welcome feast

Nutty Gajak

Ingredients
Sesame seeds - 3/4 cup 
Pistachios or Cashew -  ¼ cup 
Jaggery- 3/4 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp 
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp 
Water  - 1/2 cup

Method

• Roast the sesame seeds on a pan kept on a low flame.
• Keep stirring constantly to prevent the seeds from spluttering.
• After roasting the sesame seeds, allow them to cool down and then pound them.
• Prepare a thick syrup of jaggery by boiling it with 1/2 cup water on a low flame.
• Take out the roasted and pounded sesame seeds from the pan and add them to the syrup with the nuts.
• Spread a thin layer of oil on a rolling board.
• Spread the sesame-jaggery mixture over the oil film. Press it to 1 cm thickness.
• Cool the mixture sufficiently and cut it into square pieces.

- By Mani Pathak, chef, Fox in the Field

Mysore style Avarekalu Baath

Ingredients
Fresh coconut grated - 200g
Ginger peeled - 20g
Garlic - 40g
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - ½ inch
Red chili powder - 1.5 tbsp
Coriander powder  - 1.5 tbsp
Onion sliced - 300g
Tomato chopped - 500g
Hyacinth beans skinned - 400g
Oil - 80ml
Ghee - 60ml
Salt - to taste
Rice bullet - 1kg

Method

• In a grinder, add coconut, ginger, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, chili powder and coriander powder with a little water and grind to a smooth paste.
• Heat oil in a pan
• Add onion and cook till translucent. Add tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes soften
• Add ground paste and cook till the oil leaves the sides
• Add the hyacinth beans in the ghee and cook for 
• a few minutes
• Add rice and 2.5 litres of water, check for seasoning
• Cover and cook till done or you can pressure cook.
• Serve with raita

- By Suresh Venkataramana, executive chef, Oota Bangalore 

Sugarcane juice kheer

Ingredients
Sugarcane juice
(strained through a fine
sieve or a muslin cloth) - 1 litre
Rice - 100 gm
Cardamom powder
optional - 1/2 tsp 
Finely chopped dry
fruits - 2 tbsp

Method

• Pick, wash, and soak the rice in sufficient water for half an hour.
• Heat the cane juice in a cooking pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add milk. (This step is optional so vegans can skip it)
• After a few minutes, a scum layer may appear on the top. Remove that using a spoon/ladle or a small sieve.
• Drain water from the rice and add the rice to the boiling cane juice. Stir well and cook on low heat, uncovered.
• Stir occasionally and cook till the rice is done and the juice becomes syrupy. (The kheer should have a smooth texture)
• Switch off the heat and stir in the cardamom powder. Add toasted or fried nuts of your choice and serve hot, warm, or chilled.  

By Neel Sharma, founder, Griham

Rasgulliya

For mini gulab jamun
Mawa/Khoya, grated - 250 g 
Paneer, grated - 3 tbsp
Refined flour - 3 tbsp
Cardamom powder - ¼ tsp 
Baking powder - ¼ tsp 
Gulkand for stuffing (rose petal jam) -2 tbsp
Almond, sliced for garnish - 1 tbsp
For sugar syrup
Sugar - 300g
Water - 200 ml
Saffron - ½ g 
Rose water - 5ml 
Dried rose petals - ½ tsp 

Method

• In a large pan, combine the sugar with water and bring to a boil.
• Simmer over a slow flame till the syrup is 1-string consistency, or coats the back of the 
• wooden spoon.
• Add the saffron, rose water, dried rose petals and keep the syrup warm and aside.
• In a bowl, combine mawa, paneer, baking powder and refined flour into a soft pliable dough. If required, add a few drops of milk to knead into a smooth dough.
• Divide the gulkand into really small 24 balls.
• Divide the mawa mix into small equal 24 portions. Stuff each ball with gulkand and roll into smooth round marble-sized balls. These should have no cracks on the surface.
• Deep fry in ghee over a medium flame till the jamuns are golden brown in color.
• Drain and immerse the fried mini gulab jamuns in the hot sugar syrup. Soak for 30 minutes before serving.
• Garnish with sliced almonds and serve hot. 

- By Vikas Seth, chef and culinary director, Embassy Leisure. 

Nuggets

New blends of instant filter coffee liquid launched
iD Fresh Food has announced the launch of three new blends of their Instant Filter Coffee Liquid. You just need to add milk and sugar to the liquid to make this coffee. While ‘Strong’ offers a traditional blend of 70 per cent coffee and 30 per cent chicory, ‘Bold’ is a combination of 80 per cent coffee and 20 per cent chicory, and ‘Intense’ is 100 per cent coffee. This is available in retail stores  and Amazon, BigBasket, etc. 

Flavoured  teas for winter
Fernweh Agro, a brand which offers organic tea, has different types of tea for the cold weather. These include Firenze Lavender Tea or Chamomile Tea, Bleu Amor Tea from Fernweh for better skin and anti-aging properties, Kashmiri Kahwa Green Tea or the Ayurvedic Healing Tea for better immunity. The products are available on fernwehagro.com.