During Navratri, people abstain from non-vegetarian food and staple grains and opt for alternate and ‘saatvik’ ingredients such as kuttu ka atta, or buckwheat flour, barnyard millet, raw banana flour and rajgira, to name a few. The nine days of festivities are marked by the partaking of dishes such as kuttu kadhi, potato kheer, sabudana or sago khichdi, and more. However, now people are innovating with these traditional ingredients to whip up something different. Kuljyoti Dhingra and Aman Singhal, two food content creators on Instagram, have come up with recipes that mix convention with creativity.
Kuttu ki tikka chaat
By Kuljyoti Dhingra
Ingredients:
2 boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes
2-3 tbsp kuttu ka atta
Salt to taste
1 tbsp coriander powder
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp amchur or dry mango powder
1 tbsp coriander leaves
4-5 tbsp roasted and ground peanuts
Oil for deep frying
Method:
In a bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with kuttu ka atta, salt, coriander powder, green chillies, dry mango powder, coriander leaves, ground roasted peanuts. Now, shape this mixture into a tikki and keep aside. Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the tikkis on medium flame. Garnish with curd, pomegranate seeds, tamarind chutney, chopped grapes, green chutney, salt and roasted cumin seeds.
Kuttu cookies
By Aman Singhal
Ingredients:
1.5 cups of buckwheat flour or kuttu
Half cup powdered sugar
¼ cup powdered almonds
Half tsp cardamom powder
Half cup ghee
A pinch of sendha namak
Method:
Mix together ghee, powdered sugar, cardamom powder and sendha namak in a bowl. Now add kuttu ka atta and water to knead a dough. Cover the bowl with a cloth and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, knead again for a minute and make small balls out of the dough. Flatten and place on the baking tray. Preheat the oven for five minutes and then bake at 150 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes or till the cookies are firm. After 10-15 minutes, your kuttu ka atta cookies will be ready to be served.
Kuttu ke atta ka dosa
By Kuljyoti Dhingra
Ingredients:
For the dosa
1 cup of kuttu atta
Half cup of water
One-fourth cup yogurt
Salt to taste
1 inch ginger
2 tbsp oil
For the filling
2-3 medium sized, boiled potatoes
2 green chillies
¼ tbsp pepper powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
Method:
For the dosa, blend all ingredients together (except for the oil) and keep aside for 10 to 20 minutes. Now heat some oil in a non-stick tawa and spread the batter. Cook for a minute or two until the dosa is ready. For the filling, put 1 tablespoon oil in a wok and add half teaspoon of mustard seeds and the curry leaves to it. Now tip in the mashed potatoes with salt, red chilli powder and pepper. Cook on medium heat for four to five minutes until the stuffing is ready.