Diwali recipes: Feast on Paneer Butter Masala, Corn Biryani and more

First up is Piyush Khandelwal's recipe for Paneer Butter Masala:

Cuisine: Indian

Type: Vegetarian

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Next we have Prerna Saxena's Corn Biryani preparation:

Cuisine: Indian/ Hyderabadi

Type: Vegetarian

Preparation time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 500 gms corn (boiled)
• 3-4 onions (adequate for the masala)
• Garam masala (cinnamon sticks, badi elaichi, 1-2 laung, shahzeera, bay leaf (tejpatta))
• Red chillie powder or green chilly paste (subject to availability and taste)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 300 gms curd
• Salt to taste
• 4-5 tbsps oil
• Coriander leaves
• 1000 kgs rice (not over-cooked)

Method:

• In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil and add garam masala (as mentioned in ingredients) till it crackles, then add onions. Fry till the onions are golden brown.
• Add coriander leaves and fry a bit, as they enhance the taste.
• Add corn -- please make a note that it should be properly boiled beforehand.
• Add haldi, red chilly powder or green chilly paste, followed by coriander powder and salt.
• Cover the pan for about 15 minutes and simmer.
• Remove the pan and add beaten curd -- always remember never to add curd when the pan is on the flame, as it starts breaking and the gravy becomes watery.
• Mix all the contents and cover the pan, cooking till the gravy thickens a bit and remove it from the flame.
• Grease a separate heavy-bottomed vessel with melted ghee, add a layer of rice followed by a layer of the corn masala and alternate till the last layer is that of rice on top. Add coriander leaves, deep-fried onions and ghee, cover the vessel and put on a medium flame to cook till you see steam coming out of the vessel from under the lid.
• Garnish with onions and coriander leaves.

Health quotient: Corn provides carbohydrates, curd is a source of Vitamin A and ghee gives the body its quota of 5 mgs of fat per day.

Here's how to cook Dum Aloo by Khadija Sayeed, who has submitted a friend's recipe:

Cuisine: Kashmiri

Type: Vegetarian

Preparation time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 18-20 small potatoes 18-20
• Oil for deep-frying
• 5-6 Kashmiri red chillies
• A generous pinch of asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
• 1 tsp dry ginger powder (soonth/sonti)
• 2 tbsps fennel (saunf) powder
• 1/4 cup mustard oil
• A generous pinch of clove powder
• 2 cups yoghurt
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder

Method:

• Peel, wash and prick the potatoes with fork. Soak in salted water for 15 minutes. Drain and wipe dry.
• Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry potatoes on medium heat till golden brown. Keep aside.
• Remove stems and make a paste of Kashmiri red chillies using a little water.
• Whisk yoghurt with Kashmiri red chilly paste, cardomom powder, dry ginger powder and fennel powder.
• Heat mustard oil in a pan. Add clove powder and asafoetida. Add half a cup of water and salt to taste and bring to a boil.
• Stir in yoghurt mixture and bring to a boil again. Add fried potatoes and cook till the potatoes absorb the gravy and oil floats to the top.
• Serve hot, garnished with roasted cumin powder and garam masala powder.

Health quotient: Nutritious, but to be made occasionally as it can be heavy.

Shweta sent in her mother's recipe for Paneer Chilla:

Cuisine: Indian

Type: Vegetarian

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

For chilla:

• 1 cup moong dal (peeled)
• 1 tbsp rice flour (optional)
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste (optional)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• Salt to taste
• 1 pinch soda bicarb (optional)
• Oil for frying

For stuffing:

• 200 gms paneer (grated)
• 50 gms cheese (optional)
• 3-4 finely chopped green chillies
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1/2 inch grated ginger
• 1 small bunch chopped coriander leaves
• 1 pinch salt

Method:

• Soak moong dal for 2-3 hours, rinse and grind till smooth like dosa batter.
• Add rice flour and other ingredients of the chilla and mix properly; set aside for 15-20 minutes. The consistency should be like dosa batter.
• Mix all the ingredients for stuffing together.
• Heat a dosa tava and make chilla from the batter (the thickness should be similar to a dosa).
• Fry it using just a few drops of oil at medium heat till golden-brown.
• Stuff with the paneer mixture and fold.
• Serve with green chutney or tomato ketchup.

Health quotient: It's a healthy recipe full of protein and calcium. You can avoid cheese if you have a bp problem. If you don't want to use rice flour, then chilla can be made using moong daal only; don't use soda if rice flour is not added to the batter. Paneer can also be replaced by tofu -- then it becomes even more healthy. Try using very little oil while making the chilla to avoid extra calories.

And finally, here is a Soya Kurma preparation from DS:

Cuisine: North Indian

Type: Vegetarian

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 250 gms soya (mini chunks)
• 2 small tomatoes (finely sliced)
• 1/2 an onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp chilly powder
• 1 tsp dhaniya (coriander powder)
• 1/2 tsp Sombu (saunf)
• 1 tsp masala (preferably meat masala powder)
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

• Pour the oil in a cooker and let it heat well. Put in the saunf and let it splutter.
• Next, add the chopped onions and saute for 1-2 minutes, then add the ginger garlic paste. Saute for 3-4 minutes until you can smell the aroma.
• Add turmeric, chilly and pepper powders in that same order.
• Add dhaniya (coriander) powder and then meat masala. Saute for another 2 minutes until you smell the aroma of the spices.
• Add diced tomatoes, pour 2 cups of water and add the soya chunks. Mix well and let it simmer on a medium flame for 5 minutes.
• Close the pressure cooker. Wait for 3-4 whistles.
• Turn off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot chapati or any Indian bread.
• If the gravy is too watery, let it simmer on a low flame for 5-7 minutes after the lid has been taken off.

Health quotient: The recipe uses very little oil and soya chunks are a healthy food option for vegetarians.