Utsav Food Festival Is Back To Celebrate India’s Diversity

Whether you call it Pongal, Sankranti or Lohri there's only one way to celebrate the harvest festival - by gorging on food. To revel in the festivities, Khandani Rajdhani presents to its patrons, with its most lovedfood festival - Utsav with a special menu that revels in India’s colourful cultural pot-pourri. With an aim to celebrate India's myriad cultures and its festivals, the four-day food festival starting from 12th January 2023 to 15th January 2023, across all its outlets will bring regional delicacies to your palate. Offering a tempting thali comprising assorted delicacies of winter specialities made using authentic and fresh ingredients, the royal menu consists of flavoursome seasonal surprises.

Inviting all foodies to indulge in a kingly feast with special winter delicacies, the Utsavthali will comprise of delectable preparations like Puran Poli, Surti Undhiyu, Besan Ladoo, Til Gud Ladoo, Til Gudki Gajak and Makai Heli to name a few. These tempting indulgences prepared by Maharaj Bhawar Singh, Corporate Chef, Khandani Rajdhani, are sure to persuade your taste buds for more servings.

Ready to be served on a rotational basis, the Khandani Rajdhani promises to deliver innovative recipes with wholesome flavours to revel in a delightful dose of winter wonderland. Here are few recipes that you can try at home.

Puran Poli

Ingredients

For The Dough

• 2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 tablespoon Oil
• 1 cup Water

For The Filling

• 1 cup Tuver dal
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder

Other Ingredients

2 teaspoon Ghee

Method

To make the dough

• Mix the whole wheat flour and oil in a bowl. For two parts of flour add one part lukewarm water in the bowl.
• Knead thoroughly with your fingers and make soft dough.
• Rest the wheat dough for 15 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and keep aside.

To Make Puran Filling:

• Rinse the toor dal thoroughly in water and pressure cook it for 10 minutes.
• Drain the excess water from boiled dal and mash it using spatula or spoon.
• In a pan heat ghee and add boiled toor dal.
• Add sugar and cook the mixture for 10 minutes till the mixture thickens.
• Add the cardamom powder and mix well.
• Let the puran mixture gets cool and divide it into 10 equal portions.

To Make Puran Poli

• Roll out one piece of wheat dough into roti size dishes (3-4 inch diameter).
• Place one portion of Puran mixture on rolled roti dough and fold the edges of dough. Seal the mixture properly by pinching the dough edges.
• Apply pressure on dough using hand and flatten it. Again roll the dough filled with puran mixture carefully to avoid over spilling of puran mixture.
• Cook the rolled puran poli on a tawa (pan) on both sides till it changes color to golden brown.
• Apply ghee on each puran poli and serve hot.

Surti Undhiyu

Ingredients

For Base (For grinding):

• 1/2 cup Green Garlic 
• 1/2 cup Grated Coconut (Without the dark skin)
• 1 tbsp Peanuts Raw
• 6 tbsp Green Coriander Fresh

Spices & masala mix:

• Green Chilli Paste – 1 tbsp
• Ginger Paste – 1 tbsp
• Haldi Powder – 1 tsp
• Dhania powder – 1 tsp
• Jeera Powder – 1 tsp
• Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp
• Ajwain – 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• White Til – 1 tbsp
• Sugar – 1 tbsp
• Hing – 1 tbsp
• Green Garlic – 100 gms
• Whole Jeera – 1 tbsp
• Whole Mustard – 1 tbsp
• Imli – 50 gms
• Fresh grated Coconut – 100 gms
• Chopped fresh green coriander – 100 gms

For Stuffing Masala:

• Fresh Grated coconut – 30gms
• Green Dhaniya – 30gms
• Haldi – 1tsp
• Salt – 3gms
• Coriander powder – 1tsp
• Cooking oil – 1tbsp

Fresh Vegetables:

• Shakarkand – 75 gms
• Purple Yam (Ratalu) – 75 gms
• Suran – 75 gms
• Baby Potato – 75 gms
• Tindola – 50 gms
• Small baingan – 04 pcs
• Raw Banana – 01 pc ( Cut into 6 Pcs)
• Surti Papdi – 75 gms
• Green Peas – 75 gms
• Suran – 75 gms
• Lilva Dana – 50 gms
• Tuvar Dana – 50 gms

For tempering (Tadka):

• Cooking Oil – 100 gms
• Garlic paste – 1 tsp
• Hing – 1 tsp
• Ajwain – 1 tsp
• Green Chilli paste – 1 tsp
• Mustard – 1 Tsp
• Green garlic – 50 gms

For Methi Muthiya:

• Fresh Methi – 2 Cups
• Green chilli paste – 2 tsp
• Ginger paste – 1 1/2 tsp
• Garlic Paste – 1 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• White Till – 1 tbsp
• Hing – ½ tsp
• Haldi Powder – 1 tsp
• Sugar – 1.5 tsp
• Curd – 1 tbsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Besan – 1 Cup
• Atta Kar Kara – ½ Cup
• Maida – ½ Cup
• Whole Dhaniya – 1 tsp
• Whole Jeera – 1 tsp
• Water – As needed to knead dough

Method

• Take all the ingredients for base and grind to a coarse consistency.
• Mix the ingredients for stuffing masala.
• Slit the vegetables for stuffing – Baby potato, Banana, small baingan, tindola, raw banana and stuff with stuffing masala.
• Cut the vegetables - Purple Yam, Shakarkand and Suran to approx 1 inch dice size pieces & deep fry in the oil.
• Mix the ingredients for methi muthiya, form small roundels & deep fry.
• Heat the oil in cooking pan, add tempering ingredients & sauté well
• Add coarsely ground base masala, all the mixing masala.
• Add stuffed vegetables and Surti Papdi, Green Peas, Lilva Dana, Tuvar Dana & pour hot water.
• Add deep fried vegetables & mix well.
• Add Methi muthi once all the sabji are cooked
• Surti Undhiyo is ready, serve in a serving pot with puri.

Besan Laddu

Ingredients

• 2 cups gram flour (besan)
• 1 and 1/2 cup sugar (grinded)
• 1 cup ghee
• 1 tsp each almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts (chopped)

Method

• Mix gram flour and ghee over a low heat in a kadhai
• Keep stirring constantly to avoid lumps, till it releases aroma.
• Allow it to cool.
• Add sugar and nuts to the gram flour and mix thoroughly.
• Now form roundels of the mixture to form ladoo.
• Besan Laddoo is ready to be served.

Til Gud Ladoo

• ⅓ cup white sesame seeds or 50 grams
• ¼ cup peanuts
• ¼ cup desiccated coconut
• ½ cup or 100 Gms powdered jaggery or grated jaggery
• 3 tablespoon water
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (ground cardamom)
•  oil – a bit for greasing the palms

Method

Roasting Ingredients

• On a low flame roast the sesame seeds. Stir at intervals.
• The sesame seeds pop and change color. On a low heat, this takes about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not brown them.
• Remove and set aside in a plate.
• Then add the peanuts. Dry roast the peanuts on a low heat stirring often until they become crunchy and get a few black spots or blisters on them.
• Remove the peanuts in a mortar-pestle or on a plate. Allow them to cool.
• In the same pan, add the desiccated coconut.
• Stir continuously and roast the coconut until it become light golden or golden.
• Allow it to cool and then crush them coarsely.
• Add the coarsely crushed peanuts to the roasted coconut and sesame seeds.
• Next add the cardamom powder.
• Mix very well and Set aside.

Making Jaggery Syrup

• Mix the powdered jaggery or grated jaggery and simmer on low flame.
• Keep on stirring till its starting bubbling set it aside at soft-ball stage (drop in cool water to test it should form soft balls).

Ladoo Making

• Mix the above mixture & jaggery syrup evenly
• Form small roundels to make ladoo while it is warm
• Allow it to cool and ladoo is ready to serve.

Til Gud ki Gajak

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sesame / til white
• 1 tbsp Pure Ghee
• 1 cup Jaggery /Gud

Method

• Dry roast sesame on low flame till it crackles; set it aside before it gets brown.
• In a Kadhai, mix ghee & jaggery on a medium flame
• Keep stirring it till it forms thick shinny syrup.
• Simmer the flame and add roasted sesame seeds.
• Stir well making sure jaggery syrup coats well.
• Pour the hot mixture over butter paper or onto steel plate greased with ghee while it is hot
• Mix well forming a block, be careful as the mixture will be very hot.
• Roll the block using a rolling pin evenly to ½ inch thickness.
• Allow to cool for a minute, and cut into pieces while it is warm
• Set aside till to cool and then it is ready to be served.

Makai Heli

• 1 Cup Boiled American corn
• 2 tbs Oil
• 1  Panch Hing
• ½ tbsp Haldi
• ½ tbsp Green Chilli
• 1 tbsp Chilli Powder

For heli

• 1 Cup White til
• 1 Cup Gud
• 1 tbsp Til Oil

Method

• Temper boiled corn with jeera, hing, green chilli, haldi powder, chilli powder & salt to taste in a pan.
• Mix hot water & Roasted White Sesame and grind it to fine paste.
• In a pan add til oil and sesame paste & reduce it on low flame.
• Add jaggery and to melt in mixture to make Heli.
• Makai & Heli is ready to serve.

Makai with heli is offered in Makar Sankranti puja during sun rise & consumed as prashad. Most dishes on this list are perfect for your Sankranti feast.