This Durga Puja, how about trying your hand at dishes from various parts of India? This festive season, we bring you a series of recipes from different states of India for each of the five days of Pujo. This Sasthi when you don the chef’s hat for a get together with family and friends, try these dishes from Madhya Pradesh — kickstart the pet pujo with Bhutte Ka Kees, Palak Puri, Bhuna Gosht Korma and Kesari Jalebi.
(You can find last year’s list of Bengali recipes here)
Bhutte Ka Kees
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A different kind of a starter to kickstart the Sasthi culinary journey.
Ingredients:
- Coarsely grinded sweet corn: 200gm
- Ghee: 3 tbsp
- Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
- Black mustard seeds: 1 tsp
- Ginger paste: 2 tbsp
- Finely chopped green chillies: To taste
- Curry leaves: 7-10 leaves
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste
- Lime juice: To taste
- Milk: ½ of a small cup
- Chaat masala: 1 pinch
- Chopped coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
Method:
- Add ghee to a kadhai and heat well. Now add cumin and mustard seeds and temper well. Add the curry leaves and saute. Be careful to not burn the spices.
- Now add the ginger paste and add a dash of water. Mix well and saute until the raw smell of ginger goes away
- Add chillies and saute some more
- Now add the ground sweet corn and mix. Add sugar, salt and lime juice
- Keep adding milk in small quantities and mix. Keep the flame low. Once milk has been added and corn has amalgamated well, cover and cook. Stir at regular intervals, until it comes together in an almost halwa-like consistency
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and a hint of chaat masala, and serve
Palak Puri
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Move over luchi, this year let’s have some Palak Puri instead. There’s a mutton recipe right after to pair with the puris.
Ingredients:
- Spinach (palak) puree: 1 medium cup
- Flour (maida): 500gm
- Salt: 1 pinch
- Carom seeds (ajwain or jowan): 2 teaspoons
- Asafoetida (hing): 2 pinches
- Ghee: 4-5 tablespoons
- Sunflower oil: As per requirement to deep fry
- Warm water: As per requirement to make the dough
Method:
- Mix together the spinach puree, maida, salt, carom seeds, asafoetida and ghee
- Add warm water in small quantities as required and knead a soft dough
- Cover the dough with damp cloth as you heat the oil in a kadhai to deep fry the puris
- Make small balls of dough and roll them into small discs for puris as the oil gets hot
- Deep fry on low to medium flame and serve hot
Bhopali Gosht Korma
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A mutton korma that’s not too spicy and perfectly matched with fluffy Palak Puri!
Ingredients:
- Mutton: 1kg
- Sliced onions: 3 large
- Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tbsp
- Green chilli paste: To taste
- Fennel seeds (saunf or mouri): 2 and ½ tbsp
- Coriander seeds (dhone): 4 tbsp
- Star anise: 2
- Black cardamoms: 2
- Green cardamoms: 2
- Cinnamon stick: 2
- Bay leaves: 2 large
- Turmeric powder: 1 tbsp
- Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp
- Kashmiri red chilli powder: 3 tbsp
- Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
- Garam masala powder: 2 tbsp
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste (optional)
- Mustard oil: 4-5 tbsp
- Ghee: 2 tbsp
- Chopped coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
- Hung curd: 3-4 tbsp (optional)
Method:
- Marinate mutton with turmeric powder, salt and hung curd for a minimum of one hour
- Put the whole spices — fennel seeds, coriander seeds, star anise, black and green cardamom and cinnamon sticks — in a clean cheesecloth or cotton cloth and tie a knot, making a little parcel or potli
- Add mustard oil to a kadhai and heat well. Temperthe bay leaves and add the onions, saute until golden brown
- Add the ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste and powdered spices — turmeric powder, red chilli powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, coriander powder and a pinch of salt — and mix well. Add a splash of water and cook the spice paste until the oil separates
- Now add the mutton and mix well with the spices. Cook the meat in the spice paste for a while, coating the spices evenly and sealing the meat
- Turn the heat high for 5 minutes. Add the little parcel of spices and cover with a lid. Turn down the flame to low and cook for 20-25 minutes
- Now add lukewarm water as per requirement of gravy and continue cooking on a low-medium flame until the mutton is cooked. Add garam masala and ghee towards the end of cooking
- Once the mutton is ready, check seasoning and add sugar if required
- Add the chopped coriander leaves and serve piping hot
Kesari Jalebi
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The gala spread needs a sweet ending, and what’s better than some jalebi?
Ingredients:
- Flour (Maida): 1 cup
- Curd: ¼ cup
- Sticky sugar syrup: 1 bowl
- Saffron powder: 2 tablespoons
- Ghee: 3 tablespoons
- Vegetable oil: Enough to deep fry
Method:
- Mix maida and curd and make a batter with a thick liquid consistency. Allow it to rest for minimum 2 hours
- Add saffron powder and give a quick mix
- Heat ghee and vegetable oil in a kadhai
- Pour the mix in a piping bag and pipe the jalebis into the oil giving the shape 2 and ½ twists
- Fry until golden and dip into the sugar syrup directly, while hot. Let the jalebis rest in the sugar syrup for a bit so they are coated well, and serve