Five Raksha Bandhan Recipes | Rakhi Special | Lip-Smacking Food to Make the Festival Even More Special

Quick Recipe

Vada Prep

• Wash and soak 1 cup of whole urad dhuli dal overnight. 
• Rinse and grind in a mixer with finely chopped green chillies, cumin seeds and grated ginger or ginger powder, till soft, fluffy and light. 
• Now, pour the batter in a bowl and mix with the hand for 3-4 minutes. It will make the mixture even more light and fluffy. 
• Heat some oil in a deep bottomed wok.
• Wet your hand and take a spoonful of the dal batter and carefully drop in the hot oil. Put 5-6 vadas at a time. Cook on medium flame till golden brown. 
• Take out, and put on absorbent paper, so that the excess oil gets absorbed.
• Heat water in a pan, add salt and drop the vadas in it for 5 minutes.
• Take out the vadas and squeeze out the water, taking care not to break them.

Dahi

Take a bowl of home-made curd. Add salt, cumin powder, black pepper powder, red chilli powder and whisk.

To Assemble

• Arrange the vadas in a flat square or rectangle dish. Pour the prepared dahi over it. Repeat. 
• Sprinkle cumin powder, black pepper powder and red chilli powder.
• Drizzle a teaspoon each of green and tamarind chutney over it.
• Chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Enjoy these with your sibling, and have a fabulous and fun day.

Quick Recipe

• Take 10-12 pieces of arbi and pressure cook for three whistles.
• Peel and mash the arbi. 
• Add salt, red chilli powder, grated ginger or ginger powder, rice powder (to bind), amchoor (dry mango) powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder.
• Mix well. Now add some finely chopped onion, green chillies and coriander leaves. Mix well again.
• Make small balls of the mixture and roll in some rice powder.
• Pan-fry till golden yellow.
• Serve with green and tamarind chutney.

Delightful and taste galore this one!

Quick Recipe

Potato Prep

• Take around a half kg of baby potatoes. Par-boil and peel them.
• Deep fry in hot mustard oil, till golden brown.
• Poke the potatoes with a fork to make sure they absorb the masalas.

Masala Prep

• In a wok, add mustard oil, add whole spices like cinnamon, black cardamom, bay leaves, cloves and black peppercorn.
• Add grated ginger and garlic. You can also add pure and authentic ginger powder and garlic powder for ease.
• Add grated onion and cook till nice and brown.
• Now add pureed tomatoes and cook on medium heat till the oil leaves the sides.
• Add the spices – red chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder and amchoor powder.
• Lower the flame and add whisked yoghurt, taking care it doesn’t split.

Final Prep

• Add the fried potatoes and mix well. Add half cup water and cover the wok with a lid.
• Cook for 10-15 minutes, till the masala coats the potatoes well.
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with paratha or rice.

A delish dish that will be devoured in no time at all!

Quick Recipe

• Wash and soak half cup rice for an hour.
• Drain and spread the rice on a clean cloth or a big plate and dry them. 
• Once dry, coarse grind them and keep aside.
• Soak some saffron strands in 2 tablespoons of water. Microwave for 20 seconds and keep aside.
• Boil 1-litre milk in a thick bottomed vessel.
• Lower the flame, and continue cooking for around 25-30 minutes.
• Add cardamom powder and sugar and keep stirring frequently.
• Add the ground rice and keep stirring.
• Cook till the phirni starts to thicken.
• Taste, and adjust sugar, if required.
• Take off the heat and add the saffron milk.
• Mix well and let it cool.
• Keep in refrigerator for 3-4 hours and serve chilled.

Watch this Rakhi special get polished off in minutes. Finger-licking delicious!

Note

You can also give this delicious dessert a mango twist by adding mango pulp to it.

Quick Recipe

• All you require is mango pulp, sugar, milk powder and paneer (cottage cheese)
• Take  ½ a cup of milk in a bowl. Add 1 cup milk powder. Whisk and keep aside.
• Take 1 cup Alphonso mango pulp and put it in a pan over low heat.
• Cook for five minutes, and then add 1 cup grated or crumbled paneer.
• Mix well and add 1 cup sugar.
• Keep cooking over low heat for another five minutes.
• Soak a few strands of saffron in hot milk and keep aside.
• Now add the milk powder and milk mixture to the mango pulp mix.
• Stir well and add the saffron mix. Let it cook for another 6-8 minutes or till it forms a thick fudge consistency.
• Grease a flat platter and pour the mixture and flatten it.
• Allow it to cool completely.
• Garnish with coarsely grounded pistachios and cardamom.
• You can also put a layer of silver vark.
• Once cool, cut the burfi into desired shapes, square, rectangle, diamond.

Every bite of this lip-smacking mithai will delight your senses like no other!