Shahi Mawa Kachori | Rajasthani Sweet Puff Pastry | Diwali Special

The state of Rajasthan in India is rich in culture, heritage, tradition and customs. It is a colourful state with a rich legacy which celebrates food. Our Home Chef Leo was in the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan to celebrate Diwali and the celebration in the Pink City was full of illumination, customs and the delicious traditional Rajasthani delicacies. The royal state of India boasts of some unique sweets, and one such Rajasthani Diwali Special sweet which enticed our taste buds were the Shahi Mawa Kachori.

Shahi Mawa Kachori is a speciality from the city of Jodhpur but is now made across entire Rajasthan.

Mawa Kachori Recipe –

Ingredients

For dough:

• Maida - 1 cup

• Ghee - 5 tbsp

• Pinch of salt

For stuffing:

• Cashews,almonds,raisins – 1 cup
• Mawa – 2 cups

• Powdered Green cardamom – 1 tbsp

For sugar syrup:

• Sugar - 1 cup

• Water – 1 cup

For Garnishing:

• Almonds - 4 (slice thinly)

• Cashews - 2 (chop in small pieces)

• Ghee/Vegetable oil - for frying kachoris

How to make Mawa Kachori:

• Take maida in any bowl and mix ghee into it. With help of water knead soft dough (don't knead the dough too much until smooth, just bind the flour). For kneading this much quantity of flour approx. 1/4 cup of water is used. Cover the dough and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

• Heat a pan. Add Ghee and roast the Mawa on low flame. Add sugar and mix well till it changes colour. Add chopped nuts and cardamom powder. Take out the filling from the flame and let it cool.

• For sugar syrup, heat a saucepan and add 1 cup of sugar and water. Boil it till the syrup is of one string consistency and turn off the flame. Let it cool.

• Make lemon size balls of the dough. Slowly press the dough in soft pockets and fill the Mawa mixture. Seal the puri and flatten it. Be careful there are no cracks in the puri.

• Turn on the flame and Heat a kadhai/frying pan. Add Ghee/oil and let it heat too. Once the oil is hot lower down the flame.

• Drop the kachoris slowly and fry two at a time only. Fry the kachoris on medium heat till it changes colour.

• Take out the kachoris and drizzle the sugar syrup on it.

• Garnish with chopped nuts and rose petals. Mawa Kachori is ready to be eaten.

Kaddu ka Halwa | Red Pumpkin Halwa | Indian Red Pumpkin Pudding | Diwali Special

Red pumpkin is a highly nutritious vegetable. It is easily available throughout the year in Indian markets. Red pumpkin is low on calories and naturally sweet. This vegetable is good for digestive system and helps in clearing the bowels. Red Pumpkin can be used to make a variety of recipes like Raita, dal, sabzi etc. But children usually do not like eating vegetables and in Indian homes mothers since time in memorial have used their innovative geniuses to feed their family a nutritive meal. 

Red Pumpkin Halwa is one such Indian dessert recipe made in Indian homes.

Red Pumpkin Halwa Recipe –

• ·       Red pumpkin (bhopla/kaddu) peeled and grated 250 grms
• ·       Khoya/mawa grated 1 cup
• ·       Ghee 5 tablespoons
• ·       Sugar 1 cup
• ·       Almonds finely chopped 5
• ·       Cashewnuts finely chopped 5
• ·       Raisins 5
• ·       Green cardamom powder a pinch

Method

• · Heat 5 tbsps ghee in a non-stick pan. Add grated red pumpkin to it and sauté.
• · Add khoya and mix well cook till pumpkin gets cooked and the mixture reaches halwa consistency. Reduce heat, add sugar and mix well.
• · Add cardamom powder and chopped nuts,mix well.
• · Transfer halwa into a serving bowl, garnish with nuts and serve.

WELCOME TO CULTURE RECIPE !

What is Culture Recipe ?

Food is culture and is an embodiment of age old techniques, local ingredients, societal and cultural influences, traditional and culture recipe, spices, history and invention. Food isn’t just a nourishment for the hungry stomach or our daily bread but is part of our cultural identity. Over the years the global cuisine has gained momentum and changed rapidly with influences of culture and history. 

Every country has a distinguished culture and the highlight of the culture is the local cuisine. Each country, state, district, lane and community has its own cuisine and cooking techniques tried and passed onto generations. The local cuisine take form owing to its cultural influences and secret recipe and ingredients of the household.

Today in the digital age when world and the global cuisine has come in one platter and also as our lives have become busier, we are moving towards a future which is all about frozen, packaged food, often unhealthy and one which requires no time. Indeed there has been a trend to follow whatever is ‘trending’ and this also applies to food. We have forgotten the good old days when food was made with love and passion with a strong flavour of culture which stimulates not only the taste buds but also emotions. 

Where is the food we grew up eating and recipes made by our mothers, grandmothers and fathers? Where are the local ingredients, local food, local delicacies which we would relish as something enticed us culturally and would gush forth the nostalgia in us? 

Nutritionists and doctors today are again vouching to Eat Local and go back to our Roots.

Therefore at Culture Recipe we are promoting the good old simple and traditional culture recipes of local Indian and global cuisine.

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