Healthy Winter Indian Recipes

Tamatar ka Halwa

Winters mean a lot of seasonal produce and we at Fitness Roar love to eat local and seasonal. Foods, when eaten according to their season, have a more dense nutrition packed in them. In winters tomatoes, corns and pineapples are all available locally. So we got Executive Chef Anil Dahiya, Hotel Bristol, Gurugram to share some guilt-free recipes. For the diet conscious use stevia or any sugar-free. Here are Pineapple Rice Salad, Tamatar ka Halwa and Bhutte ki Kees for you to try this weekend:

Pineapple Coconut Cashew Rice

Pineapple Rice Salad

Ingredients Quantity
Long grained rice  1 1/2 cups
Crushed pineapple chunks (In the form of pineapple juice)  1 (20 oz. Can)
Unsweetened coconut milk  1 (13.5 oz. Can)
Sweetened coconut flakes  3tsp.
Thai red curry paste  1 tsp.
Garlic powder 1 tsp.
Ground ginger  1/2 tsp.
Salt     1/2 tsp.
Pepper   1/8 tsp.

For Garnish

Ingredients Quantity
Lime juice (According to taste)  3tsp.
Salted roasted cashews    1/2 cup
Chopped cilantro 1/2 cup

Freshly cracked salt and pepper

Method

  • Pour pineapple juice (collected from crushed pineapple) in a measuring cup. Add coconut milk in 3 equal cups – add water if necessary.
  • Transfer the liquid into a large pan and bring to a gentle simmer
  • Stir rice, coconut milk, sweetened coconut flakes, thai red curry paste and onion powder.
  • Bring it to a boil then cover and reduce heat to low (dial should be a little above lowest setting).
  • Simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until rice is tender, stir for 15 minutes and add water if necessary.
  • When rice is tender, remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes.
  • When ready to serve (not before), stir in lime juice, cilantro and cashews.
  • Taste and season with freshly cracked salt and pepper and additional lime juice to taste if desired.

Tomato Halwa

Tamatar ka Halwa

Ingredients Quantity
Tomatoes 10-12
Sugar 2 cups
Ghee   1/2 cup
Cashewnuts 20
Raisins 2 tablespoons
Green cardamoms   6
Cloves 4
Tulsi leaves  1/4 cup
Rose petals   1/4 cup
Edible camphor (optional)   1 a pinch

Method

  • Wash the tomatoes, remove the eye and make an incision on the lower side.
  • Boil water and blanch the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes. Drain, peel, deseed and chop.
  • Reserve the pulp with the juices. Grind the cardamom with 1 tablespoon sugar to a fine powder, sieve and keep aside.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and fry the Cashewnuts and Raisins to golden brown.
  • Wash and shred the Rose petals and Tulsi leaves and reserve.
  • Boil the sugar with ½-cup water and make a single-thread syrup and keep aside.
  • Heat the ghee in a wide kadai (utensil), roast the cloves in it, till they start to crackle.
  • Add the tomato pulp and cook till the liquid dries up. Cook on low heat.
  • Increase heat and add the hot syrup slowly.
  • Reduce to low heat, keep stirring to avoid burning and cook till it starts to leave the sides.
  • Sprinkle the Cardamom powder, Rose petals, Tulsi leaves and the Camphor.
  • Mix well
  • Garnish the halwa with fried Cashewnuts and Raisins and serve warm.

Bhutte ka Kees

Bhutte Ka Kees

Ingredients Quantity
Medium sized corns  4
Ginger 2-3 (1/2 inch)
Turmeric 1 tsp.
Chilli powder  1-2 tsp.
Mustard seeds  1 tsp.
Oil   2 tsp.
Milk    1/2 cup
Water     1/2 cup
Lemon juice          2 tsp.
Sugar           1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste       

A pinch of Asafoetida (Heeng)

Chopped coriander and grated coconut for garnishing

Method

  • Grate the corn with a hand grater to make a coarse paste. (You can also use a food processor or mixer grinder but it will affect the taste. It tastes better if you use the hand grater)
  • Chop the ginger and green chilli finely.
  • Add oil in a pan. Add asafetida (heeng) and mustard seeds till it splutter.
  • Add green chillies and chopped ginger.
  • Add corn paste, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Stir it occasionally to make sure that no lumps are formed.
  • Cook it for approx.10-15 mins until the liquid in the corn paste gets dried off and the colour of the mixture changes to golden yellow.
  • Add milk and water. Continue stirring till its consistency becomes like halwa or upma.
  • Add sugar and lemon juice.
  • Garnish it with chopped coriander, grated coconut and serve hot.

The above recipes have been shared by Executive Chef Anil Dahiya, The Bristol Hotel, Gurugram.