Make your Independence Day exciting with these chef-special recipes

As we come to terms with being under lockdown for more than four months now, working from home and surviving on home-cooked meals has become the new normal. However, we all have a long list of our favourite food that we would want to have once this pandemic is over.

Independence Day is also different from the ones we have celebrated over the years. But, it doesn’t have to be gloomy and sad. You can make the day better with these quick and fun recipes. Tanuj Nayyar, executive chef, Jaypee Residency Manor, Mussoorie, has come up with this easy-to-make delectable Independence Day recipe exclusively for Opoyi. It is surely going to lift your mood and make your day extra special.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can prepare ‘cabbage lentil wada with beetroot and walnut chutney’.

Ingredients:

For Wada

Chana dal 120 grams

Cabbage 320 grams

Ginger paste 1 tablespoon

Garlic paste 1 tablespoon

Garam masala powder 1 teaspoon

Red chili powder ½ teaspoon

Green chilies chopped Handful

Curry leaves Handful

Coriander leaves Handful

Rice flour 3 tablespoons

Salt to taste

Refine oil 1litre

FOR BEETROOT CHUTNEY

Beetroot 100 grams

Walnut (soaked) 40 grams

Fine sugar 2 teaspoons

Salt 1 teaspoon 

Fine sugar 2 teaspoons

Lemon juice 2

Cumin seeds ½ teaspoon

Curry leaves 4-5

Green chilies 1-2

Garlic 1 teaspoon

Whole red chilies 2-3

Oil 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

FOR CABBAGE WADA

1. Wash and soak chana dal for one and a half hours.

2. Drain the water after the dal is soaked.

3. Cut cabbage to quarters and remove the core.

4. Dip them in water and leave it for 5 minutes.

5. Drain and rinse well in freshwater in a pot

6. Drain water completely and finely chops cabbage.

7. Add the cabbage to mixing bowl along with coriander leaves, salt, chopped green chilies, curry leaves, ginger paste, garlic paste, and half chana dal.

8. Grind the remaining chana dal in a mixer to a coarse mixture without adding any water.

9. Add this to cabbage mixture along with garam masala powder and red chili powder.

10. Mix all well and keep aside for 10 minutes.

11. Now add 2-3 tablespoons rice flour and mix.

(Mixture should bind well if required add more rice flour to the mixture.)

12. Divide the mixture into equal portions, make small balls and keep aside

13. Heat oil, flatten the balls with the palm of your hand, apply some oil on the palm so that mixture doesn’t stick. 14. Fry until golden.

15. Drain them in kitchen tissue paper so that all extra oil gets absorbed.

FOR BEETROOT AND WALNUT CHUTNEY:

1. Heat pan with oil.

2. Add walnuts, fry them till golden brown.

3. Now add curry leaves, garlic, red chilies, and green chilies.

4. Add cumin and fry for some time till cumin crackles.

5. Fry until leaves are crispy, keep some fried curry leaves for garnishing.

6. Fry the beetroot in a separate pan until slightly tender.

7. Now take everything in the mixer and blend everything by adding minimum water only if required.

8. Take out in a bowl and now add salt, sugar, and lemon juice.

9. Garnish with fried curry leaves.

Serve with hot wadas.

Nitin Bajaj, Executive Chef, The Roseate New Delhi, also helped Opoyi in making the day special for its readers with another delicious recipe. Take a look at ‘Tiranga barfi’ recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Condensed milk 400 grams

Water 1 cup

Milk powder 8 cups

Powdered green cardamom 1 teaspoon

Ghee 2 tablespoons

Pistachios Handful

For Garnishing

Gold Vark as required

Saffron, Vanilla, and pistachio essence. 

Method

This will be made in three different batches.

The first batch will have – Saffron Essence

The second batch will have – Vanilla essence

The third batch will have – Pistachio essence

Rest all three steps will be followed the same – 

1. Take a large bowl and add milk powder in it along with condensed milk. Make a rigid dough using these ingredients. Once done, keep the dough in the freezer and freeze it for at least 20 minutes.

2. Take the dough and grate it in a bowl. Keep this grated dough aside for further usage. Take a deep bottomed pan, keep it on low flame and heat ghee in it.

3. Add the grated dough to this pan with water. Mix well and stir in cardamom powder in the pan, cook this mixture until the water dries out and the mixture accumulates in the center of the pan. And add three different Essence in three different doughs

4. Pour the three prepared mixtures in one pan. Green at the bottom, then white in the middle followed by saffron on the top. Let the mixture cool for 45 minutes in the freezer and cut the barfi into square shapes. 

Garnish with gold vark and pistachios.

Try and let us know what do you think about it.