Raksha Bandhan is a popular festival celebrated between siblings as a day filled with love, joy and delicious delicacies. This year, show your love and appreciation for your siblings by cooking together or surprising them with special homemade delicacies. Chef Kunal Kapur recommends three easy and traditional recipes – Gujarati Khaman Dhokla, Punjabi Chole Bhature and Pineapple Barfi – to make the day memorable and celebrate the festival.
Cooked in multi-source edible oil, these recipes provide a good balance of healthy MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acids) and PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids), antioxidants and vitamins, making these recipes the perfect meal to munch on in between hearty snacks. Prepared with the right ingredients, these easy snacks can be eaten by everyone.
Gujarati Khaman Dhokla
This is a delicious recipe which consists of light and spongy steamed gram flour cake.
Material
For the Dhokla Batter
• 2 cups gram flour
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup curd
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 tsp green chilli paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp Saffola Gold Oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• A small sheet of butter paper
For the tempering
• 3 tbsp Saffola Gold Oil
• 3 teaspoons mustard seeds (choti rai)
• 6 green chillies
• Handful of curry leaves (optional)
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp sugar
• salt to taste
• ¼ cup lemon juice
Steps to follow
• Begin the preparation by setting up the steamer. Add water to the steamer and bring it to a boil
• Lightly grease an 8-inch round tin mould and place a round butter paper at the bottom. Keep it aside.
• To make the batter, sift the gram flour in a bowl and add salt and turmeric to it. In a separate bowl, mix green chilli paste, ginger paste, sugar, curd, water and Saffola Gold oil.
• Pour three-fourth of this mixture on the dry gram flour. Beat the batter in a clockwise direction for about 5 minutes till the batter becomes light and fluffy
• Then add lemon juice and baking soda to the mixture, mix them slowly in the same clockwise direction and wait for 30 seconds
• Pour the batter into the mould, place it in the steamer, cover with a lid and cook for 30 minutes
• After 30 minutes, turn off the flame and let the dhokla remain in the steamer for another 10 minutes
• Meanwhile, prepare the flavoured syrup by heating a pan and adding Saffola Gold oil to it. Add mustard seeds, let them crackle in the hot oil and then add chopped green chillies and curry leaves.
• After a minute, add water, sugar, salt and lemon juice and boil it. Then remove the syrup from the flame
• Carefully remove the tin mould from the steamer. Run a knife around the edges of the mould and transfer the dhokla to a plate.
• When the dhokla is hot, pour the syrup on it. This will ensure that the dhokla absorbs the syrup completely
• Wait for 10 minutes and then serve Khaman Dhokla
Punjabi Chole Bhature
A popular and delicious dish that blends the spiciness of chickpeas with a fried, fluffy Indian bread.
Material
For the Chole
• 1½ cups soaked chickpeas
• 1 black cardamom
• 6-7 black peppers
• 3 cardamoms
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 pieces dried Indian gooseberry
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• salt to taste
• 3 cups water
• A small piece of muslin cloth
For the Bhatura
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp semolina
• Salt – a pinch
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tbsp curd
• Water – as required
For the seasoning
• 5 tbsp Saffola Gold Oil
• 1 teaspoon carom seeds
• ½ tbsp chopped garlic
• ½ tbsp chopped ginger
• 1 cup chopped onion
• Half teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• ½ tbsp cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon chole masala
• 1 cup fresh tomato puree
• salt to taste
• ¼ teaspoon fenugreek leaves powder
• ½ tbsp dry mango powder
Steps to follow
• First, soak the chickpeas overnight
• Take a small muslin cloth, add black cardamom, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and dried amla in it and tie it to make a small spice bag.
• Put the soaked chickpeas and the spice bag in a deep-bottomed vessel and add baking soda and 5 cups of water. Boil the chickpeas until they become soft and mushy. Then, remove the spice bag and keep the chickpeas aside
• To make the dough, take flour in a vessel and add salt, curd, semolina, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and some water and knead it well and keep it aside for 2 hours
• Meanwhile, heat Saffola Gold oil in a pan and add carom seeds, chopped garlic and ginger. Saute it, then add chopped onions and cook them until they turn light brown. Then, add turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and chili powder and continue cooking
• Add fresh tomato puree and continue cooking the masala till it leaves oil. Add salt, fenugreek leaves powder and dry mango powder to the masala. Then add boiled chickpeas to the pan along with water and continue cooking for 20 minutes, till it reduces and thickens. Check the seasoning and serve hot
• To make bhatura, heat Saffola Gold oil in a deep pan. Apply some Saffola Gold oil on your hands and make small round balls
• Take a small ball of dough, place it on the kitchen counter and roll it evenly. Cook the puri on both sides and deep fry it. Follow the same procedure with the rest of the small balls. Take them out and serve hot with chole.
Pineapple Barfi
A delicious and simple sweet dish that is part of the traditional festival meal
Material
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups water
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• 2 cups chopped pineapple
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• some water
• 1 cup custard powder
• 4½ tbsp Saffola Gold Oil
• Handful of chopped nuts
Steps to follow
• Boil sugar, 3 cups water and cardamom powder in a deep bottom vessel. Cook it till the sugar dissolves and then remove it from the flame. The syrup should be like thin water
• Grind pineapple and coconut with some water to make a puree. Filter it and extract clear juice of pineapple and coconut. Add custard powder to this juice and whisk it to avoid lumps
• Pour this mixture into the hot sugar syrup and mix slowly. Keep in mind that the gas should be turned off while making the mixture
• Once the mixture is ready, turn on the flame and keep stirring the mixture till it thickens and keep the flame on low to medium-high. Add one tablespoon of Saffola Gold oil and keep stirring the mixture for about 3 minutes.
• Add another tablespoon of Saffola Gold oil and keep stirring the mixture until it is evenly mixed. Continue this step until all the oil is added to the mixture. Keep stirring and cooking the mixture until it is cooked well
• Spread butter paper on a tray and pour the cooked mixture on it. Garnish the barfi with chopped nuts and let it cool completely. Then keep the barfi in the fridge for an hour
• After an hour, take the tray out of the fridge and flip the tray to take out the barfi pieces. Remove the butter paper, cut it into square pieces and serve. If kept in the fridge, the barfi remains edible for a week
