By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe

January 26, 2023 (IANSlife) As we celebrate the 74th Republic Day, some individuals start their day by watching the flag-hoisting ceremony, while others start slowly, expecting to spend the holiday relaxing. In any case, everyone will be surrounded by the essence of this national event. But, as we all know, no Indian event is complete without authentic Indian cuisine. So, for all foodies out there, why not try these delectable step-by-step recipes from some of the industry's most well-known chefs?

AHUNA GOSHT FARA

A few iconic recipes have survived over time in Indian manuscripts; these long-lost dishes are the cornerstones of the renowned Indian cuisine that the rest of the world enjoys today.

Anirudh Deshpande, the executive chef at The Westin Goa, carefully selected these recipes to pay homage to these Golden meals and serve them with a modern twist. The Fara Taco with Ahuna Gosht is one of the specialty dishes from the Trendsetter Kitchen of the Westin, Goa.

Fara are lentil-filled dumplings that come from Eastern Uttar Pradesh's sun-kissed plains. The dish is typically prepared to commemorate the Harvest Festival and represents happiness and wealth.

While Ahuna Gosht has roots in the prosperous farmlands of Bihar. The meal is a lamb stew cooked in one pot with whole garlic cloves, spices, and the meat's own fat and curd. The Dum Pukht way of cooking, which the Nawabs of Lucknow under the direction of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah have rather mastered, is the main cooking technique used by Ahuna Ghost.

For Ahuna Gosht I Yield: 1 portion

Ingredients

• Mutton curry cut 250gm                                  
• Onion Finely Chopped 20gm
• Tomato Paste 20gm
• Ginger Paste 10gm
• Garlic Paste 10gm
• Kashmiri Red Chili Powder 02gm
• Garam Masala Powder 02gm
• Coriander Powder 02gm
• Turmeric Powder 01gm
• Cumin Powder 02gm
• Green Chili Chopped 02gm
• Ginger Julienne 01gm
• Chat Masala 02gm
• Lemon 01gm
• Oil 100gm
• Salt To Taste                 
• Chopped Coriander to Garnish 10gm
• Cinnamon 01gm
• Cardamom 01gm

Method

• Heat Oil in a pan and add Cinnamon, Cloves, and Green Cardamom and sauté it for half a minute
• Add chopped onions and fry this until it’s golden brown, after which you need to add a fresh ginger garlic paste
• Add the mutton and cook it till it turns brown and then sprinkle all the spices
• Add a fresh tomato puree and adjust the seasoning as per your taste cook for a few minutes and then let it sit for a while whilst it simmers
• Once the gravy is of a medium-thick consistency garnish with Chopped Coriander, and grated ginger and put it aside to cool to stuff the fara

For Fara I Yield: 3 portions

Ingredients

• 4 cups White Urad Dal (Split)
• 1 cup Chana dal (Bengal Gram Dal)
• 1 cup Arhar dal (Split Toor Dal)
• Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon Garam masala powder
• 1/3 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Red Chilli powder
• 1 tsp Asafoetida
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 2 Green Chillies, paste
• Salt, as required

For tempering

• Oil, as required
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 10 Curry leaves
• Asafoetida (hing) , A Pinch

For garnish

• Coriander (Dhania) leaves, a few springs chopped

Method

• Soak the urad dal, chana dal, and mutter dal for about four to five hours.
• Make a coarsely ground yet fine paste of all dals and mix in the dry masalas, garlic, and chili paste (salt as required)
• Meanwhile prepare the dough by adding wheat flour, water, and salt.
• Make thick puri out of the dough and add the dal paste on one side of the puri and cover with the other side like a resting taco
• Cook the far in a steamer for about 20 to 30 minutes, then cool.
• Heat oil in a pan and add cumin, curry leaves, and asafoetida and sauté the fara
• Once it is done, stuff in the Ahuna Gosht and garnish it with fresh coriander

 

Tiranga Pulao by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa

Ingredients

• Cooked rice 300gm
• For orange rice
• Small onion (chopped) 20gm
• Tomato purees 50gm
• Red chili powder 2gm
• Garam masala 1gm
• Mustard seeds 1gm
• Ghee 10gm
• Salt to taste
• For white rice
• Ghee 20gm
• Mustard seed 1gm

For Green Rice

• Boiled Spinach (puree) 50gm
• Green chilies 02nos
• Cashew nuts Paste 20gm
• Mustard seeds 1gm
• Ghee 10gm

Method

• Orange rice: Heat the ghee in a big pan and add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add onions and sauté for a minute. Add tomato puree and stir for a while. Add salt, red chili powder, and garam masala. Cook till the ghee is released and starts floating to the surface. Add the cooked rice and mix with the masala.
• White rice: Heat ghee and add the mustard seeds till they start spluttering. Add salt, cooked rice and mix very well.
• Green rice: Grind the green chillies, spinach and cashew nuts in a mixer grinder (with water) till they turn into a thick paste.
• Heat the ghee and add mustard seeds till they splutter. add green paste and mix well
• Saute till the raw smell is gone.
• Add the remaining cooked rice, salt and mix well.
• Arrange the three types of rice according to the national flag of India and serve hot!

 

Gulab Jamun and Saffron Pannacotta with trio of Rabri

On the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, Abhijeet Bagwe, Executive Chef of Novotel Mumbai International Airport, creates Gulab Jamun Pannacotta to highlight the primitive sweet meal with a touch of extrinsic cuisine from a different country. When it comes to flavourings, Pannacotta has a silky texture and a vanilla flavour, which matches to the fried ball of a dough produced from milk solids and semolina soaked in an aromatic syrup.

For making pannacotta

• 1cup milk
• 1cup cream
• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 ready gulab jamun
• 2 ml of vanilla essence
• Pinch of saffron
• 5 grams of gelatin

For making Rabri

• 4 cups of milk
• 1 Cup of sugar
• Edible colour orange
• Edible colour green

How to make

• For making pannacotta heat sugar, cream and milk together with vanilla essence.
• Add gelatin into a mixture and cool it down, in your desired mould put half piece of gulab jamun and pour pannacotta mixture with saffron into your mould.
• For making rabdi reduce milk and sugar up to 20 percent, devide into three and add food colour
• Do plating as per the image.

 

Tiranga Masala Bhat

Chef Jerson Fernandes, Culinary Director at Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach, has created a Tiranga Masala Bhat meal that captures the essence of Republic Day. The recipe is meticulously executed to ensure that the colours and flavours of the recipe complement one another.

The meal is a mash-up of actual joyful celebrations, with each item representing our country's prosperity, diversified culture, traditions, rich flora and fauna, and proud legacy. Some of the dish's primary elements include organic components sourced from farmers—our actual heroes—natural colours from fruits and vegetables, and locally sourced ingredients to promote sustainability.

Efforts have been made to retain the authenticity of the dish, yet giving it a twist of taste and flavor. The dishes are integral to the patriotic celebrations of every Indian for the emotional connect they possess.

Ingredients   

• Basmati Rice 300gms
• Spinach Paste 100gms
• Carrot Paste 100gms
• Curd 50gms
• Cream 150gms
• Chopped Onions 150gms
• Chopped Garlic 30gms
• Cumin Seeds 1tblspn
• Mustard Seeds 1/2tblspn
• Curry Leaves  2 sprigs
• Red Chillies 4-5nos
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper Powder to Taste
• Tomato Puree 200 gms
• Peanuts 100 gms
• Chana Dal 100gms
• Corriander 1 sprig
• Mint 1 sprig
• Oil 100ml
• Butter 50gms
• Ghee 40gms
• Chilly Powder  1tblspn
• Garam Masala Powder 3tblspn
• Cumin Powder 3tblspn

METHOD:                                                                                                     

• Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes. Drain the water and boil it to perfection.
• For the carrot rice, heat ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds,mustard seeds,curry leaves,onions,garlic and saute well. Once onions go translucent, add the carrot puree and cook well, add boiled basmati rice, cream,garam masala powder and mix to get a saffron colored rice.Check for seasoning                                                                          
• For the spinach rice, heat ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds,mustard seeds,curry leaves,onions,garlic and saute well.Once onions go translucent, add the spinach puree, chopped corriander, mint and cook well, add boiled basmati rice, cream, garam masala powder and mix to get a green colored rice.Check for seasoning.
• For the curd rice, heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds,mustard seeds,curry leaves and saute well. Once cold add curd, cream, basmati rice, chopped ginger,salt and mix well. Check for seasoning.                         
• For the tomato sauce, boil tomatoes, make a concasee, temper it using garlic, onions, salt, pepper, chilly powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder.                                                                                                 
• Start plating by using a ring mould brushed with butter to plate the 3 flavors of rice one above the other to resemble to colors of the flag.                                                                                                           
• Top it with beaten curd and a rolled crispy papad and fresh sprigs of corriander/garden greens.
• The tomato sauce has to be poured around the molded rice.                     
• The beaten curd has to be mixed with cumin powder and lined on the side, over which u place roasted peanuts, chana dal, fried red chilies, curry leaves, and edible flowers of your choice(either rose petals or baby sunflowers)                                   
• Accompany with a lemon wedge to squeeze before eating.

Chefs tip: Always brush butter/oil on the inner surface of the ring mould to ensure the rice grains don't stick to it while demoulding. Ensure while roasting the papad, it is hot while being rolled to get the desired shape and finish. If it's cold, it will break while rolling.

 

TRICOLOUR IDLI by Chef Anand Rawat, Corporate Chef Head at Noormahal Palace Hotel, Karnal

Ingredients

• 500 gms urad dal
• 1 kg idli rawa
• 5 gram cooking soda salt (as per taste) for colour:
• tricolour idli
• 50 gms carrot puree
• 50 gms spinach puree, blanched 2-3 okra

Method

• Wash and soak urad dal and idli rawa separately. urad dal needs to be soaked for 5 to 6 hours or overnight.
• Drain the excess water and start grinding the urad dal with some salt in a wet grinder or blender to prepare the batter.
• Add some water if needed and blend till you get nice frothy thick and smooth batter.
• Squeeze out excess water from rava and add to the urad dal batter. mix well and keep aside for fermentation in a warm place for a few hours.
• Boil carrots and blanch spinach separately and put it in a blender for fine puree for the colour.
• Once the batter is ready, take some batter in 3 separate bowls. add the carrot puree and spinach puree to the 2 parts of batter separately and stir nicely to get the desired colour. keep the 3rd part of batter as it is.

• Take the idli mould, insert muslin cloth, sprinkle some water and keep aside. preheat the idli steamer.
• With a help of a spoon, first add the orange colour idli batter in the idli mould then the plain idli batter and the third with the green idli batter.
• Cut one okra and place it on the centre of white layer of the idli batter.
• Cook the tricolour idlis in the preheated steamer for about 15 to 20 minutes. idlis should be soft light and fluffy.
• Remove the tricolour idlis and serve hot with sambhar and chutney.

 

 

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N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in