Try these special recipes to mark your Lohri celebrations tomorrow

Team L&M

Lohri is a significant Hindu and Sikh festival observed every year on January 13. It signals the completion of the winter season, and marks the beginning of the harvest season. Signalling the onset of longer days, Lohri celebrations include eating moongphali and revari sitting around a bonfire, and dancing to the tunes of Punjabi folk music. This time make your Lohri enjoyment a little more interesting with these special recipes by Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa.

TIL KI BURFI

 Ingredients

Heavy milk – 1 cup

Milk powder -1 cup

Sesame seeds – 3/4 cup

Sugar – 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/8 teaspoon

Method

Roast sesame seeds over medium heat till they are golden in color. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Keep aside.

In a non-stick frying pan add heavy cream and milk powder mix it well. Cook over medium-high heat, stir continuously till the mixture starts to bubble.

Lower the heat to medium and keep stirring and scraping the sides and bottom of the pan, until mixture is reduced to thick paste and starts coming together. This should take 8-10 minutes.

Add roasted sesame seeds and mix well. Stir for another 2-3 minutes until mix start looking soft dough.

Lower the heat to low and add sugar and cardamom powder and mix it well. This will become soft in texture after adding sugar.

Keep stirring for 1-2 minutes and bring the burfi back to dough texture.

Spread burfi mixture onto the greased plate, approximately ½ inch thick. Let it sit for at lead two hours at room temperature. Cut burfis to desired shape; square or diamond shape works well. Can be stored well in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

KABULI PINNI

Ingredients

Kabuli flour – 1 cup(chickpea flour)

Khoya – 1 cup (crumbled)

Sugar – ½ cup

Ghee – ½ cup

Raisins – 10

Cashew nuts – 5

Pistachios – 5

Almonds – 5 (blanched)

Cardamom powder – ¼ teaspoon

Milk – 1 teaspoon (optional)

Method

Powder sugar and keep it aside.

Heat ghee in a pan or kadhai or a thick bottomed deep pan. Add chickpea flour and stir for 3 – 4 minutes or until it turns light brown and becomes aromatic. Transfer it to another plate and keep aside. (It will be in liquid form but no problem. When you add khoya and sugar it will harden.)

In another kadai, dry roast crumbled khoya until it becomes light brown in color. Stir it constantly so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. (This will take around 5 – 6 minutes.)

Remove the pan from heat. Add fried flour.

Next add raisins, pistachios and almonds. Mix all the ingredients well and leave it aside for cooling.

Drizzle milk and mix once more. (This step is optional. Add milk only if you find it difficult to make balls. )

When the mixture is warm and manageable, then shape into round balls.

Decorate with coconut. Let the pinnis cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.

HARE MATAR KI SHAMMI

Ingredients

Green Peas – 280 gms

Potato Pahari – 90 gms

Ginger Chopped – 15 gms

Chilli Green – 10 gms

Olive Oil – 5 ml

Coriander Leaves – 20 gms

Yellow Chilli Powder – 5 gms

Black Cumin – 5 gms

Salt to taste

Method:

Blanch the green peas

Put olive oil in a pan, add black cumin to it

After, add green peas and sauté it till green peas gets dry

Take it out of heat let it cool

When it gets cool, add boiled and mashed potatoes, chopped coriander

Make flat round cake (tikki / shammi)

Take oil  in a fry pan and stir fry the cake (tikki / shammi)

Garnish as per your liking. Serve hot