Raksha Bandhan is a popular festival that celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters on a day filled with love, joy, and delicious foods. This year, show your love and appreciation for your siblings by cooking together or surprising them with special homemade dishes. Chef Kunal Kapur recommends three easy and traditional recipes (Gujarati Khaman Dhokla, Punjabi Chole Bhature, and Pineapple Barfi) to mark the day and celebrate the festivities.
Cooked in multi-sourced cooking oil that offers a good balance of monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins, these dishes are the perfect snack between heartfelt conversations. Prepared with the right ingredients, these easy finger foods can be enjoyed by everyone.
Khaman Dhokla from Gujarat
A tasty treat featuring a light and fluffy steamed chickpea flour cake.
Ingredients
For dhokla dough
• 2 cups chickpea flour (Besan)
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 cup of water
• ½ cup curd
• 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon green chili paste
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 2 tablespoons of Saffola Gold oil
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• A small sheet of parchment paper
To temper
• 3 tablespoons of Saffola Gold oil
• 3 teaspoons of mustard seeds (small rai)
• 6 pinches of green chilies
• A handful of curry leaves (optional)
• 2 cups of water
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• Salt – to taste
• ¼ cup lemon juice
Preparation time: 50 min.
Serves: 4
Steps to follow
• Begin preparation by setting up the steamer. Pour water into the steamer and bring to a boil.
• Lightly grease a 20cm round cake tin and line the bottom with a round of baking paper. Set aside.
• To prepare the batter, sift the gram flour into a bowl and add salt and turmeric. In a separate bowl, mix the green chilli paste, ginger paste, sugar, curd, water and Saffola Gold oil.
• Pour three-quarters of this mixture over the dry chickpea flour. Beat the dough clockwise for about 5 minutes until it becomes light and fluffy.
• Then add lemon juice and baking soda to the dough, mix them gently in the same direction clockwise and wait for 30 seconds.
• Pour the batter into the mold, place it in the steamer and cook the batter for 30 minutes covered.
• Turn off the heat after 30 minutes and leave the dhokla in the steamer for another 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the flavoured syrup by heating a pan and spraying with Saffola Gold oil. Add the mustard seeds, let them sit in the hot oil and then add chopped green chillies along with curry leaves.
• After a minute, add the water, sugar, salt and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Then remove the syrup from the heat.
• Carefully remove the tin mould from the steamer. Remove the dhokla and place it on a serving platter, running a knife around the sides of the mould.
• Pour the syrup over the dhokla while both are warm. This will allow the dhokla to absorb the syrup completely.
• Wait for 10 minutes and then serve the Khaman dhokla.
Punjabi chole bhature
A popular and tasty dish that combines the spiciness of chole with puffed and fried Indian bread.
Ingredients
For Chole
• 1½ cup soaked chickpeas
• 1 piece of black cardamom
• 6-7 peppercorns
• 3 nos Cardamom
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 no. of cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 dried gooseberry (amla) segments
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• Salt – to taste
• 3 cups of water
• A small piece of muslin cloth
For Bhature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (Maida)
• 2 tablespoons of Semolina
• Salt – a generous pinch
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of curd
• Water – as needed
For Masala
• 5 tablespoons of Saffola Gold oil
• 1 teaspoon Carom (Ajwain)
• ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• ½ tablespoon chopped ginger
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon of coriander powder
• ½ tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of Chole masala
• 1 cup fresh tomato puree
• Salt – to taste
• ¼ teaspoon fenugreek leaf powder
• ½ tablespoon dried mango powder
Preparation time: 1 hour 15 min.
Serves: 4
Steps to follow
• To start, soak the chickpeas overnight.
• Take a small muslin cloth, add black cardamom, peppercorns, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and dried currants and tie it to make a small spice bag.
• Transfer the soaked chickpeas and the spice bag to a deep-bottomed vessel and add baking soda along with 5 cups of water. Boil the chickpeas until they are soft and tender. Then, remove the spice bag and set the chickpeas aside.
• To make the dough, place the plain flour in a bowl and add the salt, curd, semolina, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and a little water. Knead well and leave to rest for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat the Saffola Gold oil in a pan and add the caraway seeds, chopped garlic and ginger. Sauté them, then add the chopped onions and cook until they turn a light brown colour. Next, add the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and chilli powder and continue cooking.
• Pour in the fresh tomato puree and continue cooking the masala till it releases oil. Add salt, fenugreek leaf powder and dried mango powder to the masala. Then pour the boiled chickpeas along with the water into the pan and continue cooking for 20 minutes, till it reduces and thickens. Check the seasoning and serve hot.
• To prepare bhature, heat Saffola Gold oil in a deep vessel. Apply a little Saffola Gold oil on your hands and form small round dough balls.
• Take one of the small dough balls, place it on the kitchen counter and spread it evenly. Deep fry the poori in plenty of oil cooking both sides. Complete the same process with the remaining dough balls. Remove and serve hot with chole.
Pineapple barfi
A delicious and simple sweet dish that is part of a traditional festive meal.
Ingredients
• 2 cups of sugar
• 3 cups of water
• ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder
• 2 cups diced pineapple
• 1 cup chopped coconut
• A splash of water
• 1 cup custard powder
• 4½ tablespoons Saffola Gold oil
• A handful of chopped walnuts
Preparation time: 45 min.
Serves: 6
Steps to follow
• In a deep container, add the sugar along with 3 cups of water and the cardamom powder and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar dissolves and remove from heat. The syrup should have a liquid and watery consistency.
• Blend the pineapple and coconut with a splash of water until it forms a puree. Strain to extract a clear pineapple and coconut juice. Add custard powder and whisk to prevent lumps from forming.
• Add this extract mixture to the hot sugar syrup and mix it slowly. Remember that the gas must be turned off while mixing.
• Once mixed, turn on the heat and continue stirring the mixture until it thickens and continue to moderate the heat from low to medium-high. Add a tablespoon of Saffola Gold oil and continue stirring the mixture for about 3 minutes.
• Add another tablespoon of Saffola Gold oil and continue to stir the mixture until it is evenly mixed. Continue this step until all the oil has been added to the mixture. Continue to stir and cook the mixture until it is thoroughly cooked.
• Line a baking tray with baking paper and pour the cooked mixture onto it. Decorate the barfi with chopped walnuts and leave to cool completely. Then place the barfi in the refrigerator for one hour.
• After an hour, remove the tray from the fridge and turn it upside down to release the barfi block. Remove the parchment paper, cut into squares and serve. The barfi will keep for a week if stored in the fridge.
Gather your family and loved ones and make the day special and fun with these easy and delicious recipes. From the delicious Gujarati Khaman Dhokla to the tasty Punjabi Chole Bhature and the festive and colorful Pineapple Barfi, let these delicacies continue the tradition of good food that marks these gatherings and festivities.
