Chefs Avinash Kumar And Gaurav Paul Share Winter-Special Recipes

Winter brings different memories for different people. Some people enjoy sitting in the sun while others like to dress up for a bonfire. Some people put on layers of sweaters, others wish for the temperature to drop further. It’s only foodies who wait for winter so they can relish gajar ka halwa, moong dal ka halwa, sarson ka saag, methi malai matar, and other seasonal delicacies.

Chef Avinash Kumar, Director of Culinary, Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach, and Chef Gaurav Paul, Executive Chef, Hilton Bangalore Embassy Golflinks, shared some winter-special recipes with Slurrp. Following this short guide, you can learn new recipes and serve delicacies at the next gathering.

Macher Jhol By Chef Avinash Kumar

Ingredients

• 100 grams of chopped onion
• 15 grams of ginger garlic paste
• 30 grams of chopped garlic
• 70 grams of tomato puree
• 10 grams of slit green chillies
• 300 ml water
• 5 grams of red chilli powder
• 5 grams of cumin

Method

• Heat Mustard oil in a pan and fry the marinated fish, potato, and eggplant.
• Add oil and shallow fry onions until they are translucent. 
• Drop in garlic, slit chilly, turmeric powder, chilli powder, and tomato Puree. 
• Add water and cook for 15 minutes.
• Garnish the dish with fresh coriander leaves.

Also Read: Winter Dishes For Non-Vegetarians

Finger Millet Bao By Chef Gaurav Paul

For Stuffing

• 80 grams of broccoli
• 5 grams of ginger
• 5 grams of garlic
• 1/4 tsp seasoning of your choice
• 5 grams of chopped green chilli
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

For Bao

• 80 grams of finger millet
• 70 grams of maida
• 3 grams of yeast
• 5 grams of baking powder
• 15 grams of castor sugar

Method

• Boil broccoli and chop the vegetables. 
• Add chopped ginger, garlic, green chilli, and seasoning. Mix well. 
• Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep aside.  
• In a bowl, add maida, finger millet flour, baking powder, sugar, and yeast. 
• Put water and knead the ingredients into a soft dough.
• Keep the dough aside to rest for 30 minutes. 
• Make small balls of 50 grams each and stuff them with the broccoli mix.
• Keep the stuffed balls aside for 10 minutes.
• Take a steamer, and bring it to full steam. 
• Put a banana leaf on the perforated tray and put the baos for steaming.
• Let them steam for 5 to 7 minutes, till they become spongy.  
• Take out the boas and serve them with any readymade sauce.

Puran Poli Pinwheel By Chef Avinash Kumar

Ingredients

For Filling

• 1 cup jaggery
• 1 cup chana dal
• 1/3 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder

For Pinwheel Rolling

• 100 grams of icing sugar
• 100 grams of hung yoghurt
• 50 grams of chopped dry fruits
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder

For Poli Dough

• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 cup atta

Method

Knead a soft dough using flour, ghee and enough water to have 5 equal-sized soft balls of dough read. Rest them under a moist cloth.

Cook the soaked chana dal with water for about 20 minutes in a pressure cooker. Drain the excess water and keep the dal aside.

Cook the drained chana dal with jaggery, nutmeg, and cardamom powder in a pan for around 8 minutes until the jaggery melts. 

Keep mashing and mixing the ingredients at regular intervals and divide them into 5 equal parts. Allow the mixture to cool off.

Place the jaggery mixture in the centre of the flattened soft dough ball, seal the edges of the dough,h and roll into a flat round shape with the jaggery mixture spread evenly inside. 

Use ghee while cooking puran poli on a hot griddle.

Once cooled, spread the beaten sweetened yoghurt and dry fruits over it evenly and roll it.

Cut diagonally into equal parts. Sprinkle some more chopped dry fruits on top and serve.