We have teamed up with Sainsbury’s to offer you delicious and easy recipes using a wide assortment of ingredients to help you make the ultimate Diwali feast.
Light Appetisers
Onion Pakoda
Ingredients:
Onion - 5 Large [4 Cups sliced]
Green Chillies - 3
Minced Ginger - 1/2 tsp
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
Chopped Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - 4 tbsp
Chopped Curry Leaves - 2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1/2 tsp [optional]
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Chickpeas Flour/Besan - 1 1/2 Cups
Rice Flour - 3 tbsp
Cooking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Water - As Needed
Oil - To Deep Fry + 3 tbsp
Method:
Peel, rinse and slice onion. Finely chop green chillies, coriander leaves, curry leaves, mince ginger. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok. Take sliced onion, green chillies, coriander & curry leaves, ginger, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander seeds powder and salt in a wide bowl. Mix everything well and add chickpeas besan, rice flour. Mix everything to combine the flour with onion pieces, sprinkle water and mix well to bring everything together. Add lemon juice mix and add 3 tbsp of hot oil and mix again. Drop around a small amount of mixture in oil with hand or using a spoon, make 6-7 pakoda in a batch. Make pakora of the size you prefer small, medium or big and cook in medium flame until all sides are golden brown. Drain the pakoda in kitchen paper and cook remaining pakoda in batches. All the ingredients are available in Sainsbury’s stores.
Steamed Methi muthia
INGREDIENTS
For making the muthia dough:
• 2 cups besan/chickpea flour
• 1 tbsp water or yoghurt - add more if required
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 2.5 cups chopped methi leaves
• 1 tsp salt or as required
• 2 tbsp semolina
• 1 tsp turmeric/haldi
• 1 tsp cumin/jeera powder
• ½ tsp red chilli powder/cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• oil for frying the muthia
For tempering the steamed muthia:
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• a pinch of asafoetida
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
For garnishing the steamed muthia:
• few chopped coriander leaves
• some freshly grated coconut
Method:
Mix all the ingredients except water/yoghurt then keep aside for 15-20mins and add water to make a smooth dough.
Making steamed muthia:
From half of the dough, make sausage shaped long rolls and place them in a greased container. Steam the rolls for 17-20 minutes, once warmed and cooled, slice the rolls. Temper the ingredients mentioned in the tempering list and add the sliced muthia and fry for 2-3 minutes. Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut. All the ingredients are available in Sainsbury’s stores.
Traditional curry
Vegetables Mixed Dal
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 Cup - Mixed Dals
• 2 Cups - Mixed Chopped Vegetables
• 1 Medium - Onion
• 1 Medium - Tomato
• 3 - Green Chillies
• 1 tsp - Red Chili Powder
• 1 tsp - Coriander Powder
• 1/2 tsp - Turmeric Powder
• 2 tsp - Ginger-Garlic Paste
• 1 tbsp - Oil or Ghee
• A Pinch - Asafoetida/Hing
• 1 tsp - Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp - Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tsp - Garam Masala
• To Taste - Salt
• 1 tbsp - Chopped Coriander Leaves
Method:
Soak the dals for 15 mins. You can use equal portions of Toor dal, chana dal, whole masoor dal, green moong dal, yellow moong dal, lobia and rajma (if using lobia, rajma or chana, soak for a min of 2 hrs). As the dal’s soak, prepare vegetables of your choice. Finely chop all the vegetables, slice onion, chop tomato, green chillies, coriander leaves. Wash the soaked dal’s and add in a pressure cooker along with all chopped vegetables (except onion, tomato, green chillies, coriander leaves), pressure cook for 4 whistles. Heat oil or ghee in a pan or wok, add hing, cumin seeds and allow to splutter. Add onion, green chilli, ginger-garlic paste and fry until onion becomes light brown. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and mix well, then add tomato mix and cook until tomato gets mashed. Add mashed dal with 2 to 3 cups of water, salt and bring it to boil, now keep the flame in medium and simmer for 5 mins. Add lemon juice, coriander leaves mix well and off the flame. All the ingredients are available in Sainsbury’s stores.
Aloo Paneer Kofta
ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
• 200 gms paneer/cottage cheese, grated
• 3 medium sized aloos/potatoes, which have been boiled & peeled and then grated
• 11/2 tbsp almond flour or 1 tbsp milk powder or 11/2 tbsp khoya (i used almond flour)
• ½ tsp black pepper powder or crushed black pepper
• ¼ or ½ tsp red chilli powder/lal Mirch powder
• ¼ or ½ tsp garam masala powder
• 1 or 1.5 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta
• 1.5 or 2 tbsp corn flour/corn starch
• 2 to 3 tbsp mixed chopped dry fruits - almonds, cashews, pistachios and raisins
• vegetable oil for frying
• rock salt or regular salt as required
• chaat masala as required (optional)
Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, except the dry fruits. Check the seasoning and add more salt or spice powders if required. Take a medium sized ball from the mixture and flatten it slightly. Place the dry fruits in the centre and bring the edges toward the centre and cover the dry fruits completely. Seal the kofta well, make sure they do not break while frying, make all the koftas this way. Heat oil for shallow frying or deep frying in a kadai or pan. Add the stuffed koftas and fry till golden brown from all over and drain the kofta on paper tissues before serving. All ingredients are available at Sainsbury’s stores.
Seasoned Ruska Biryani
INGREDIENTS:
• 2 Cups - Basmati Rice
• 1 tbsp - Ginger-Garlic Paste
• 2 Medium - Onion
• 2 Medium - Tomato
• 1 - Green Chilies
• 1 tsp - Red Chili Powder
• 1/4 tsp - Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 tsp - Garam Masala (optional)
• 3 1/4 Cups - Water or as required
• To Taste - Salt
• 1 tbsp - Chopped Coriander Leaves
For Tadka or Tempering
• 3 tbsp - Oil
• 2 - Bay Leaf/Tej Patta
• 1- Black Cardamom/Badi Elachi
• 1 - Star Anise/Chakri Phool
To Roast and Grind
• 1 tsp - Cumin Seeds/Jeera
• 1 tsp - Fennel Seeds/Saunf
• 4 - Cloves
• 2 inch - Cinnamon
• 2 - Green Cardamom
• A Pinch - Grated Nutmeg
To Grind
• 1/4 Cup - Coriander Leaves
• 1/4 Cup - Mint Leaves
• 2 - Green Chilies
Method:
Wash and soak rice until we needed it or for 15 to 20 mins. Peel and finely chop onion, tomato, green chillies. Grind pudina (mint) leaves, coriander leaves, green chilli and keep aside. Dry roast all the ingredients except nutmeg listed under 'To Roast and Grind' for a minute, allow to cool and grind with nutmeg into powder. Heat oil or ghee in a pressure cooker, add all the ingredients listed under 'For Tempering' and allow cumin seeds to splutter. Add onion, green chillies and fry until onion becomes soft, add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, fresh spice mix and mix well and cook for a min in low flame. Add the tomato, mint-coriander paste, mix well and cook on a slow flame until tomato gets mashed. Once tomato gets mashed add 2 tbsp of water mix again and cook for 2 minutes in slow flame, now add the soaked, drained rice and mix gently, fry it for 2 mins with gentle stirring. Add 3 1/4 cups or 3 1/2 cup water, salt to taste, coriander leaves mix and close cooker, cook for 1 whistle after that keep flame to low and cook for 5 mins, off the flame and allow to cool pressure cooker before you open, gently fork rice to mix everything. All the ingredients are available in Sainsbury’s stores.
Traditional Dessert
Gajar Ka Halwa
Ingredients
Carrots - 2 cups (app. 4 carrots)
Milk - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tblsp
Nuts & Raisins - 1/4 cup (Almonds &/ Cashews)
Cardamon - 2 (crushed or use 1/4 tsp cardamom powder)
Method:
Wash, peel and grate the carrots or grind them. Grating leaves some texture to the carrot at the end. Heat the ghee in a small pan and fry the nuts and raisins. Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed pan and add the carrot. Cover and cook on medium flame, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking to the bottom. After 15-20 minutes, after all the milk is absorbed by the carrot, add sugar and stir continuously. After 8 minutes as the oil starts getting separated from the halwa, add cardamom powder, fried nuts and raisins and 1 tablespoon of ghee. Mix for another minute and switch off. To make cardamom powder, grind it with a little sugar to get a fine powder. All ingredients available in Sainsbury’s stores.
