The Flavour Of Diwali: 10 Indian Chefs Add Festivity In Food

DIWALI is here, and we are already munching on several delicacies that are cooked at home, especially for the festive season, From gujiyas to gulab jamuns; mathris to mixtures -- traditional Indian homes have a full food fare around Diwali. Each family comes with its gastronomical tradition, ingredients and methods of preparation, and yet the spirit of food remains common.

Food, for many of us, is deeply intertwined with memories and nostalgia. And festive food isn't any different. However, it makes for an interesting study to look at food through the lens of the cook. Is it possible to look at festive cuisines beyond the timing of the cook. 

This Diwali, Slurrp reached out to chefs across India and asked them if they could think of any recipe that is devised keeping the essence of Diwali in mind. When we think of Diwali, we think of the diyas, the patakhas and the rangolis essentially. So then, could we perhaps consider recipes where components such as flavour bursts (citrus-y or mint-y), warmth (from spices or spirits) and colours (from edible flowers or saffron) take precedence? Interestingly, we did find many and here is the collection:

Shahi Tukda Shots with Cashew Rabdi | SOUGATA GHOSH

INGREDIENTS

White bread - 4 slices

Corn flour - 2 teaspoon

Ghee - 50 grams

Green cardamom - 4-5 no

Sugar - 100 grams

Milk - 1litre

Mixed nuts (optional) - 50 grams

Cashew powder: 25 grams

METHOD

-- Knead a dough with the bread, corn flour and cardamom. Make small roundels out of it and shallow fry them in the ghee.

-- Make sugar syrup with 200 millilitres water and 100 grams sugar. Soak the bread dumplings in the syrup.

-- Reduce the milk to 50 percent. Add cardamom powder, cashew powder and soaked bread dumplings.

-- Garnish with mixed nuts and saffron. Serve cold.

Kheer (Phirni) | SAMEER SEWAK

INGREDIENTS

Small grain rice: 50 grams 

Full cream milk: 1 litre

Brown sugar: 80-100 grams 

Dry fruits (chopped almonds, cashews, pistachios): 1/2 cup

Cardamom, powdered: 1/2 teaspoon 

Saffron: 12-15 strands 

METHOD

-- Wash and soak the rice in water for 20-30 minutes. 

-- Coarsely grind the rice and soak it in half a cup of milk. 

-- Boil milk in a thick pan over low heat continuously stirring till it reduces by half.

-- Add the rice and bring to a boil for a minute. Reduce the heat and let the milk and rice simmer for almost 30 minutes, while continuously stirring until it thickens.

-- Add dry fruits, cardamom, saffron, and sugar, and mix everything.

-- Remove from heat, transfer to a shakura (mud bowl), garnish with chopped almonds, pistachios, and rose petals.

-- Refrigerate overnight or 12 hours. Serve chilled 

Hazelnut Coffee Chikki | POOJA DHINGRA

INGREDIENTS

White chocolate, melted: 200 grams

Castor sugar: 95 grams

Roasted hazelnuts: 80 grams

Instant coffee: 1 teaspoon

Milk: 1 teaspoon

Oil: 1⁄4 teaspoon

METHOD

-- Get a silicone mat or sheet of parchment paper ready on a work surface before you start.

-- Melt the sugar in a small pan, until it turns dark and golden.

-- Add the nuts to the caramel and mix well.

-- Pour this chikki mixture over a silicone mat or parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten

it while still warm.

-- Let it cool down completely and break it into medium-sized pieces.

To make the dip:

-- In a small bowl, mix instant coffee, milk, and oil.

-- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a microwave.

-- Add the coffee mixture to the melted chocolate and combine well.

To finish:

-- Dip each piece of chikki into the coffee dip, using a fork.

-- Let it set on a fresh sheet of parchment paper or a clean silicone mat.

Motichoor Cheesecake | SHIVESH BHATIA

INGREDIENTS

For the base

Crushed biscuit - 1+1/2 cups (150 grams) 

Pistachio - ¼ cup (25 grams)

Ghee - ½ cup (95 grams) 

For the boondi

Besan - ½ cup (50 grams) 

Water - ⅓ cup (80 millilitres)

Orange food colouring - 1 teaspoon (2.5 millilitres)

For the sugar syrup

Water - ⅓ cup (80 grams) 

Sugar - ½ cup (100 grams)

Rose water - 1 teaspoon

Orange food coloring - 1 teaspoon

For the filling

Cream cheese - 2 cups (360 grams)

Cardamon - ¼ teaspoon (1 gram)

Saffron - 4-5 strands 

Whipping cream - ¾ cup (180 grams)

Cornflour - 1+1/2 tablespoon (18 grams)

Condensed milk - 1+1/2 cup (484 grams)

METHOD

-- In a bowl add crushed biscuits, powdered pistachios, and melted ghee. Mix all of these till everything is coated in ghee evenly.

-- Transfer the biscuit mixture to your springform pan. Use the back of a glass to push down and cover the base of the pan with the biscuit mixture. Set it aside in the refrigerator.

-- For the boondi, in a mixing bowl take besan and gradually add water while whisking continuously. Make sure there are no lumps. Lastly, add a few drops of orange food colour and mix well.

-- In a kadhai set over medium heat, add ghee and wait for it to reach the temperature. Gradually pour the batter over a spider spoon very carefully.

-- Let the boondis fry for a while before taking them out.

-- For the sugar syrup, take a pan and add water, sugar, rose water and orange food colour. Let the sugar dissolve. 

-- Immediately dunk your boondis into the syrup while it’s still hot. Let it sit for a while.

-- For the cheesecake filling, in a small bowl add whipping cream and cornflour and mix this till its lump free. Set it aside.

-- In a large bowl add softened cream cheese. Use a spatula to smooth it out. Add in cardamom with saffron and mix well.

-- Now add in the cornflour slurry that was kept aside, along with condensed milk. Bring everything together till there are no large lumps.

-- Bring out the springform pan from the refrigerator and transfer the filling over your biscuit base.

-- Lastly, top the filling with homemade sweet boondis.

-- Prepare a hot water bath and put the cheesecake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 40-45 minutes. Let it cool down completely.

-- Top it with some more boondis, powdered pistachios and gold leaf for decoration and enjoyment.

Falooda Pannacotta | VAIBHAV BHARGAVA

INGREDIENTS

Basil seeds -  10 grams

Soya milk - 50 millilitres

Khand - 200 grams

Rose syrup - 20 millilitres

Pistachio nuts - 50 grams

Greek yoghurt - 300 grams

Agar agar - 10 grams

Heavy cream - 200 grams

Falooda - 100 grams

METHOD

-- Toast the nuts in a heated pan for 2 to 3 minutes and cool down. Keep them aside, once cooled down make the slivers.

-- Dissolve the agar agar in hot milk.

-- Take a bowl and mix hung yoghurt, rose syrup and half cream and mix well.

-- On a gas range, take a pan with cream and khand and mix them well till Khand dissolves in cream.

-- Now add the agar agar mix in the hot cream mix and once mixed well, add in the yoghurt mix and stir them well so that all the components blend nicely.

-- Divide the pannacotta mixture into different mould ramekins. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and chill until set, at least for 2 hours.

-- Soak the basil seeds in water for at least 30 minutes so that they form like a jelly.

-- To serve, remove the pannacotta from the ramekins or moulds, set it on a plate and serve

with falooda and basil seeds. You can also add cherries if needed.

Paan Katli | SALONI KUKREJA

INGREDIENTS

Cashews, ground into a powder - 1 cup (200 grams)

Milk powder - 1/2 cup (60 grams)

Milk - 100 millilitres

Sugar - 1/4th cup (50 grams)

Green food colour - 2-3 drops

Paan leaves (for infusion) - 4 nos

Cardamom, powdered - 1/8th teaspoon

For the filling

Paan leaves - 2 nos

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tablespoon 

Sugar - 1 teaspoon

Desiccated coconut - 3 tablespoons 

Gulkand - 1.5 tablespoons

Rose water - 1 teaspoon

Almonds - 1 tablespoon

METHOD: 

-- Simmer the milk with the paan leaves and infuse them for 10 minutes.

-- Take out the paan leaves; add sugar, milk powder and cashew powder. 

-- Cook the cashew mixture on low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes until it starts leaving the sides of the pan.

-- Add in the cardamom powder and green colour if you’d like and mix it in.

-- Take the mixture off the heat, let it cool down and once it is manageable knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until it's smooth.

-- To make the gulkand filling, blend all the ingredients (as mentioned above) until it comes together. 

-- To make the paan-shaped katlis, take a small portion of your cashew dough and roll it out between two sheets of greased parchment.

-- With the help of a cookie cutter or a bowl, cut a circle and using a knife, divide it into four equal parts.

-- Make a cone with the dough, fill the centre with the paan-gulkand filling 

-- Garnish and enjoy.

Rainbow Boondi | SANJEEV KAPOOR

INGREDIENTS

Spinach puree - 2 tablespoons

Carrot puree - 2 tablespoons

Beetroot puree - 1½ tablespoons

Turmeric powder - ½ teaspoon

Besan (gram flour) - 2 cups

Salt to taste

Oil - 4 teaspoons + for deep frying 

METHOD:

-- In a large bowl, add gram flour, salt and add 1 cup water little by little, whisking continuously.

-- Divide the mixture into 4 bowls, add spinach puree in one bowl, carrot puree in another one, beetroot puree in the third one and turmeric powder in the remaining bowl. 

-- Add 1 teaspoon of oil in each bowl and mix all except for the one with turmeric till well combined. Add 2 tablespoons water in the bowl with turmeric and whisk well. 

-- Heat sufficient oil in a kadhai, place a small perforated spoon on top of the kadhai, place a portion of the yellow batter and gently tap directly into the hot oil. Deep fry the boondi till crisp. Drain on an absorbent paper. Similarly, make boondi with other batters. Allow to cool completely.

-- Store in an air-tight container and serve as required.

Pistachio Makhan Malai Pound Cake Soaked in Saffron Spiced Reduced Milk and Pistachio Poppy Granola | DHRUV OBEROI

INGREDIENTS

Eggs - 5 no

Sugar - 330 grams

Vanilla - 6 grams

Cream - 150 grams

Flour - 250 grams

Baking powder - 9 grams

Unsalted butter - 112 grams

Milk Reduction:

Full cream milk - 1.5 litres 

Sugar - 125 millilitres

Saffron - 0.5 grams

Green cardamom - 4 pods

(Reduce this to 500 ml)

Pistachio Malai:

Pistachio paste - 150 grams

Whipped cream - 250 grams

Malai (homemade) - 100 grams

Garnish:

Salt and toasted pistachio in caramel - 100 grams

METHOD

-- Whip eggs, sugar, vanilla and cream until double in volume. Mix flour and baking soda and fold into the egg mix

-- Add melted butter to the mix and pour the batter into a cake mould. Bake at 180°C for 22-25 minutes.

-- Soak the cake in the milk reduction.

-- Pipe the pistachio malai and add the chopped toasted pistachio granola. Garnish with warq (silver foil).

Chocolate Fudge | RAKESH RAGHUNATHAN

INGREDIENTS

Milk powder - 1 cup

Sugar- 1 cup

Chocolate powder - 4 tablespoons

Ghee - 1 tablespoon

METHOD

--Mix the milk powder and the chocolate powder.

-- For 1 cup of sugar, add 1/2 cup of water. Keep stirring cooking until it forms a one-string consistency. Switch the gas off at this point.

-- Add ghee to it and then add the milk powder-chocolate powder mix. 

-- Pour the entire mix on the greased plate/tray. Fflatten it, wait for it to cool down and cut it into pieces

Goat Cheese and Raisin Gujiya | ANUJ WADHAWAN

INGREDIENTS

For the dough:

All-purpose flour - 2 cups

Ghee (clarified butter) - 2-3 tablespoons

Water, as needed

A pinch of salt

For the filling:

Goat cheese, crumbled - 1/2 cup

Raisins - 1/4 cup

Sugar, powdered - 2 tablespoons

Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Saffron (optional) - 3-4 strands

Nuts (almond, pistachio), chopped - 1/2 cup

For frying:

Vegetable oil

METHOD

Preparing the dough

-- In a mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, a pinch of salt, and 2-3 tablespoons of ghee.

-- Add water gradually and knead the dough until it's smooth and firm.

-- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

Preparing the filling

-- In a separate bowl, mix the crumbled goat cheese, raisins, powdered sugar, cardamom powder, saffron strands (if using) and chopped nuts (if using).

-- Ensure that the filling is well combined. Adjust sugar to your taste.

Assembling the gujiya

-- Take a small portion of the dough and roll it into a small disc (about 4-5 inches in diameter).

-- Place a spoonful of the goat cheese and raisin filling in the centre.

-- Fold the disc in half to form a semicircle.

-- Seal the edges by pressing them gently with a fork or your fingers to create a decorative pattern.

-- Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan for deep frying the gujiyas over medium heat. The oil should be hot but not smoking.

-- Let the goat cheese and raisin gujiyas cool slightly before serving. They can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.