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Navratri 2019: How to turn fasting on Navratri into a feast you’ll love

Hindustan Times | By
Oct 01, 2019 07:36 PM IST

Turn fasting into feasting, during the nine days of Navratri as you seek blessings from nine different forms of the Goddess Durga. Here are easy recipes that’ll please your taste-buds.

Our temples are all decked up as we observe fasts due to spiritual reasons during Navratri, however, they’re also scientifically said to give rest to the gut due to seasonal changes. Navratri is a Hindu festival that lasts nine nights, and is usually practised twice a year, one in the month of April and the other in October. Here are easy recipes that’ll please your taste-buds this Navratri.

Beetroot Halwa:

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Ingredients

Grated beetroot (2 cups), Sugar (¾ cup), Milk (2 cups), Cardamom powder (1/4 tsp), Almonds (10), Cashew nuts (a few), Ghee (1/4 cup), Khoya (100 grams, optional)

Method

Wash, peel the skin and grate beetroot.

Put almonds in boiling water, remove the skin and pat it dry. Cut it into thin strips.

In the pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee, add grated beetroot and fry on low heat until the raw smell goes.

Then add 2 cups of milk and cook the beetroot on low flame, stirring in between. Cook till the beetroot becomes soft and all the milk evaporates. Add sugar, khoya and cook till sugar dissolves and gets mixed well with the beetroot.

Add cardamom powder, remaining ghee and cook stirring for a few more seconds on low heat.

Garnish with cashew nuts, almonds and mix well. Serve hot or warm. (Recipe by chef Vaibhav Bhargava)

* Arbi ke kebab:

Ingredients

5-6 boiled arbi, chopped ginger (1 tablespoon), chopped green chillies (2 tablespoons), fresh mint leaves (10-12), sendha salt (to taste), chaat masala (1 teaspoon), oil to shallow fry and 1 boiled potato.

Method

Boil arbi in cooker with 1 whistle or in pan for about 15 minutes.

Cool, peel and mash and add salt as per taste with green chillies and ginger in mixture.

Heat the oil in frying pan.

Shape the mixture into even sized round kababs. Fry kebabs till evenly golden

Serve hot garnished with green chutney (Recipe by chef Arvind Kumar Bharti, Corporate Chef, Swad Desh Videsh Ka)

* Sabudana Khichdi:

Ingredients

Sabudana —Sago or Tapioca pearls (¾ cup), oil (1 ½ tbsp), cumin seeds (½ teaspoon), chopped green chilies (2), curry leaves (7-8), potato cut into small cubes (1 small or ½ cup), rock salt ( to taste), roasted peanuts (2 tbsp), desiccated coconut (1 tablespoon), lemon juice (1 teaspoon), sugar (½ teaspoon) and few sprigs of finely chopped cilantro or coriander leaves

Method

Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat, once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Then saute chopped green chilies and curry leaves for 30 seconds. Then mix in cubed potatoes and rock salt. Cover the pan and cook till potatoes are soft and cooked. Then add crushed peanuts and coconut. Mix and cook for 1-2 minute.

Then add drained sabudana and mix gently. Do not stir or mix too much otherwise, it will end up in a lumpy, sticky mess. Cook for 4-5 minutes till sabudana pearls are soft and transparent.

Finally add some lemon juice, sugar and cilantro. Mix well (Recipe by chef Vaibhav Bhargava)

* Amaranth-Coated Arbi Cutlet:

Ingredients

Colocasia root (300gm), finely chopped onion (100gm), finely chopped green chilli (20gm), red chilli powder (5gm), turmeric powder (10gm), cumin powder (5gm), garam masala powder (10gm), sugar (10gm), gram flour (30gm), finely chopped coriander Leaves (30gm), Amaranth roasted (100gm), salt (to taste) and cooking oil

Method

Boil the water and put the arbi in it and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or you can use pressure a cooker also and cook for 3 to 4 whistles. Cool down the arbi and keep aside. Mash all the arbi.

In a mixing bowl, add all the chopped ingredients, spices, salt to taste and the mashed arbi along with besan and mix it thoroughly. Divide the mixture equally into medium sized patties and coat it evenly with Amaranth.

Heat a non stick flat bottomed pan with enough oil to pan fry the patties. Place the patties and pan fry them on both the sides till it turn golden brown.

You can relish the Arbi Cutlet along with Dhaniya-Pudina chutney. (Recipe by chef Vaibhav Bhargava)

* Gulab ki kheer

* Ashthamrit

* Wonder Aloo Chaat

Ingredients

Potato (250 gm), lemon (60 gm), chat masala (1 teaspoon ), coriander (20 gm), jeera powder (half teaspoon), ghee/oil (to fry )

Method

Peel, wash and cube potatoes.

Add ghee in a kadhai and add potatoes.

Fry until crisp and golden brown.

Transfer potatoes in bowl and add rest of the ingredients.

Serve hot topped with coriander leaves. (Recipe by Chef Ashish Singh, Cafe Delhi Heights)

* Kuttu Atta Puff Burger

Ingredients (for puff)

Kuttu atta (2 cups), black salt (1 tbsp), vinegar (1.5 tbsp), yeast (½ tsp), puff margarine (3/4th cup) and kuttu atta for dusting

Method

Combine kuttu atta, black salt, vinegar and yeast in a bowl, mix and knead into a stiff dough using 1 cup ice cold water. Knead the dough and add margarine, stretching it for 10 to 15 minutes on a clean dry surface till it is glossy.

Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for half an hour. Take out and divide into 6 small pieces.

Keep it in a warm place to ferment the yeast for half an hour. Place the pieces in a baking tray and put inside a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes. Take out from the oven and let it cool it down.

Ingredients (for pate)

Olive oil (1 tbsp plus extra for drizzling), finely chopped cashew (2 tsp), 1 peeled and diced sweet potato, black lentil (140g), thyme (3 sprigs), veg stock (500ml), red wine vinegar (1 tsp)

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add cashew and cook until golden. Add sweet potato, black lentils, thyme and stock.

Simmer, cook for 20 mins until potato and lentils are tender.

Add vinegar and seasoning, and roughly mash the mixture.

Chill for 1 hr, and drizzle with olive oil. Put in piping bag

Method (For plating)

Slit the puff, pipe out the pate and close with top of puff. (Recipe by Chanchal Datta, Brand Executive Chef)

* Vrat Ki Kadhi:

Ingredients

Sendha namak (as required), red chilli powder (1½ tablespoon), water chestnut flour (1 cup), powdered turmeric (1 tbsp), yoghurt (1½ cup), ginger (1 tsp crushed to paste), ghee (1 tablespoon) and coriander leaves (1 handful)

Method

Take a bowl and add water chestnut flour, yoghurt, red chilli powder, and water. Mix them well.

Next, heat oil in a kadhai and add red chillies and curry leaves. Lower the flame and add the curd mixture into it stir it until it become a thicken mixture.

Add rock salt and simmer it for 10-15 minutes. The kadhi is ready to be served. Garnish it with chopped coriander and curry leaves. Serve warm with pulao or pooris. (Recipe by Chef Arvind Kumar Bharti, Corporate Chef, Swad Desh Videsh Ka)

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