RECIPE: 5 Indian dishes to whip up for Deepavali this weekend

CHICKEN BIRYANI

1/5

Recipe by Si Thu Kyaw, fleet manager

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

6 chicken thighs

For the chicken marinade:

250ml yogurt

1 slice ripe pineapple, chopped

1 tsp salt

For the masala mix:

400g fried shallots

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

4 tbsp briyani masala*

4 tbsp oil

4 tbsp butter

4 cups basmati rice, rinsed only when you’re ready to cook

½ tsp turmeric

1 tbsp sugar

3 sticks cinnamon, split into 2cm lengths

4 bay leaves, roughly torn

1½ cup roasted cashew nuts

1 cup raisins

*Available at Mustafa Centre.

DIRECTIONS

1 Place the chicken in a large bowl with the yogurt. Crush the pineapple cubes over the meat to squeeze out the juice. Mix the crushed pineapples and salt in and leave to marinate for at least 15min.

2 In another bowl, crumb all the masala mix ingredients together. The mixture should be both sweet and salty. Don’t worry if the mixture tastes stronger than expected, the flavours will tone down when the rice is added later. (See above)

3 Transfer the chicken and marinade into a wok , and cook over medium heat, stirring every now and then to prevent the meat from sticking to the wok. (See above) Cook until you have about 3tbsp of gravy left. Transfer to a plate. 

4 Wipe the wok, and add 2tbsp oil. When the oil sizzles, add 1tbsp of butter. Once the butter melts, stir in 2tbsp of the masala mix. Add the chicken (discarding the pineapple chunks) and cook for 2min, stirring now and then. Transfer back onto a plate.

5 To parboil the basmati rice, bring a large pot of water to the boil, then add the rice. Add turmeric and sugar. Stir the rice continuously. At the 5min mark, taste a few grains of rice – the innermost part of the grain should be only slightly hard; otherwise, cook it a little longer. When ready, drain the rice. Do not run the rice under cold water.

6 Dry the pot, and heat 2tbsp of oil over medium heat. When the oil starts to sizzle, add 3tbsp of butter. When melted, add 2tbsp masala mix, cinnamon and bay leaves. Stir-fry the spices briefly to release the aroma.

7 Lower the flame to medium heat. Transfer two pieces of chicken thigh into the pot. Scatter just enough rice to cover the meat then sprinkle the masala mix even over. Sprinkle a layer of cashews and raisins.

8 Repeat another two times to layer the briyani. Cover the pot. After 10min, taste the briyani to check if the rice is fully cooked, then serve. 

TIP Only rinse the basmati rice when you are about to cook it. Rinsing the grains too early might cause the rice to be starchy.

Coordination Mia Chenyze Photography Jasper Yu Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho

ALOO GOBI (SPICY POTATOES AND CAULIFLOWER)

2/5

Recipe by Annette Tan

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 green chillies, sliced

5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely shredded

½ tsp turmeric

1½ tsp ground coriander

Salt to taste

300g new potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets

1 tsp garam masala

A bunch of coriander leaves

DIRECTIONS

1 Heat the oil in a pan and fry the cumin seeds for 30 seconds. Lower heat, add the chillies and ginger, and stir-fry until fragrant.

2 Add turmeric, ground coriander and salt. Stir to mix. Add the potatoes and cauliflower and stir to coat spices evenly.

3 Add a splash of water and cook over low heat until vegetables soften, about 20 min, stirring occasionally. If the pan gets dry, add a splash of water at a time.

4 Turn up the heat and gently toss the vegetables in the pan to dry off excess water.

5 Stir in the garam masala and serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves.

TIP Leftover aloo gobi makes for great samosa filling. Fold thawed popiah skin in half to make triangles, fill and deep-fry.

Photography Calvin Tan/Flame Production Studio Styling Diane Ng

 

This recipe was first published in Simply Her, March 2008

MASALA PRAWNS

3/5

Recipe by Vasanthal Vasudevan, mother of Veshali Visvanaath (director of marketing at Muthu’s Curry)

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp fenugreek

200g shallots, chopped

3 tomatoes, finely chopped

2 sprigs curry leaves

3 tsp grated garlic

3 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp fennel powder

2 tbsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp chilli powder

1/2 cup water

1kg prawns, peeled, deveined and patted dry

DIRECTIONS

1 Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the cumin and fennel seeds, and fenugreek over low heat until fragrant, about 2min.

2 Add the shallots and fry until browned.

3 Add the tomatoes and curry leaves and cook until the tomatoes are soft.

4 Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 2min.

5 Add the cumin, fennel, coriander, turmeric and chilli powders, and water. Cook over low heat until the oil surfaces, about 5-7min.

6 Add the prawns and cook for 5min. Remove and set aside.

7 Let the sauce simmer until it thickens. Mix in the cooked prawns and serve.

Coordination Lim Tsiao Hui Photography Frenchescar Lim Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho

This article was first published in Simply Her, May 2011.

 

MUTTON CUTLET BALLS

4/5

Recipe by senior tax officer Rita Balasurian 

Makes 50-60 cutlet balls

INGREDIENTS

500g minced mutton or lamb

250g potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed

35g green chillies, finely chopped

35g red chillies, finely chopped

5g curry leaves, finely chopped

20g mint leaves, finely chopped

20g coriander, finely chopped

1 tbs meat curry powder

½ tbsp cumin

½ tbsp mixture of ground white and black pepper

1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

40g blended ginger paste

20g blended garlic paste

100g onions, finely chopped

3 eggs, divided

500g dried bread crumbs

Salt to taste

300ml sunflower oil

DIRECTIONS

1 Place minced mutton and mashed potatoes into a large mixing bowl.

2 Add green and red chillies, curry leaves, mint leaves, coriander, meat curry powder, cumin, pepper, crushed fennel seeds, ginger and garlic mix and onions.

3 Beat in two of the eggs, add some breadcrumbs and salt to taste.

4 With a spatula, mix the contents well until they become a dough-like lump.

5 Roll out 15g balls of the mixture.

6 Beat the remaining egg. Dip the meat balls in the egg and coat them with the breadcrumbs. Set the cutlets aside for 10 minutes before frying to ensure that the breadcrumbs stick to the cutlets.

7 Heat the sunflower oil in a pan over high heat. Throw a pinch of breadcrumbs into the oil. If the crumbs sizzle, the oil is hot enough.

8 Turn heat down to low and fry the cutlets in batches for three to five minutes until they turn golden brown. Serve.

Coordination Kenneth Goh Photography Daniel Yeo

This article was first published in The Sunday Times, July 12, 2015.

KULFI BENISHAN

5/5

Recipe by ITC Hotels (India )

This dessert is named after the highly-prized Benishan mangoes from the Southern states of India. You can substitute the Benishan mangoes with sweet mangoes.

Makes 5

INGREDIENTS

For the kulfi:

1L full cream milk

50g gula melaka

A pinch of saffron

5g cardamom powder

100ml double cream

50g mango puree

20g chopped mango

20g pistachio, shelled and chopped

5ml rose water*

For garnish:

100g falooda

50ml sugar syrup

1 sheet varkh*

10g pistacchio slivers*

*Available at Mustafa Centre, 145 Syed Alwi Road, tel: 6295-5855.

DIRECTIONS

1. Over a low fire, reduce the full cream milk 1/4th of its original quantity.

2. Add gula melaka to the reduced milk, stir well.

3. Remove the mixture from heat. When the mixture has cooled, add saffron, cardamom powder, double cream, both types of mangoes, pistachio, and rose water. Mix well.

4. Pour the mixture into plastic popsicle moulds, close with the lid and deep freeze for 4h in an upright position.

5. Once set, remove the kulfi from the moulds onto a plate, cut into slices about 1-inch thick. Garnish with syrup, falooda and pistachio slivers. Serve.