What makes a Diwali party a big hit — company and bonhomie aside? The scrumptious food and beverages, of course! While friends and family celebrate with games, music and friendly banter, it’s the food and drinks that leave a lasting impression.
To help you curate your menu, My Kolkata has some easy recipes for tipples, snacks and something sweet from four city F&B-ers:
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Honey Chilli Wings
Recipe by Rohan Sur of The Burger Shop
Ingredients
- Chicken wings, with skin: 12
- Dark soy sauce: 1 tsp
- English mustard: 1 tsp
- Salt (to taste)
- Cracked black pepper (to taste)
- All-purpose flour: 50g
- Sunflower or soybean oil (for deep frying)
- Honey: 70 g
- One clove of garlic (for chilli garlic paste base)
- Dried red chilies: 25 g
- Vinegar: 1 tbsp
- Butter: 15 g
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
Method
- For the marinade, mix dark soy sauce, English mustard, salt, and cracked black pepper. Coat wings in the marinade evenly and let sit for 15-20 minutes
- Toss marinated wings in all-purpose flour until fully coated
- Heat oil in a deep pan or fryer and fry the wings until golden brown and crispy. Set aside
- Make the chilli-garlic paste by blending garlic, dried red chilies, and vinegar
- In a separate pan, melt butter over medium heat, add chopped garlic and saute until fragrant
- Stir in the honey and chilli-garlic paste and cook until the sauce thickens slightly
- Add fried wings to the sauce and toss until fully coated and serve hot
Saffron Sweet (Gin cocktail)
Recipe by Pankaj Gusain, bartender
Ingredients
- Saffron-infused gin: 60 ml
- Pomegranate juice: 30 ml
- Lime juice: 15 ml l
- Sugar syrup (1:1 ratio of water and sugar): 15 ml
- Tonic water (to top up)
- Edible flowers to garnish (optional)
- Rose water (optional, for spraying)
Method
- To make the saffron-infused gin, add three pinches of saffron to 300 ml of gin. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, allowing the saffron flavour to infuse.
- Combine equal parts water and sugar and heat gently until sugar dissolves, then cool to make the sugar syrup
- In a shaker, combine 60 ml saffron-infused gin, 30 ml pomegranate juice, 15 ml lime juice and 15 ml sugar syrup
- Shake well with ice and strain into a highball glass using a fine strainer
- Add ice, top up with tonic water and garnish with an edible flowers
- Optionally, spray rose water over the drink just before serving
Sugar-Free Honey & Ghee Tea Cake
Recipe by Marium Javed of Sugarbaby Dessert Co.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: 110 g
- Baking powder: 30 g
- Ghee: 60 g
- Honey: 50 g
- Stevia (sugar substitute): 2 tbsp
- Egg: 1
- Fresh cream: 100 g
- Vanilla essence: 1 tsp
Method
- Preheat the oven: Set your oven to 180°C (350°F) to get it nice and warm
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ghee and honey, beating until smooth and creamy
- Add the egg and vanilla essence, mixing well to incorporate
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and add the stevia. Gently fold until you get a smooth batter.
- Pour in the fresh cream and mix until just combined
- Grease a 4-inch round cake tin and pour in the batter, spreading it evenly
- Lower the oven temperature to 145°C (293°F) and bake for 1.5 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely
- Slice and enjoy your sugar-free tea cake!
Grapefruit Hibiscus Soan Paloma (Tequila cocktail)
Recipe by Jit Mukherjee of The Grid
Ingredients
- Salt and celery for the glass rim
- Grapefruit syrup (preferably Monin): 30 ml
- Agave syrup (preferably Monin): 10 ml
- Dash of lime juice
- Soan Papdi (broken into chunks): 20 g
- Tequila (preferably Don Julio Reposado): 60 ml
- Ice cubes
- Splash of soda water
- Dash of hibiscus reduction (alternatively, can use a hibiscus syrup. Recommendation: Manama Hibiscus syrup)
Garnish:
- Soan Papdi: 10 g
- Caramel sugar candy strips: a few
Method
- Coat the glass rim with salt and celery
- In a cocktail shaker, add 30 ml grapefruit Monin syrup, 10 ml agave Monin syrup, a dash of lime juice, 20 g Soan Papdi (in chunks) and 60 ml Don Julio Reposado tequila
- Add a few ice cubes and shake well
- Strain the mixture into the prepared glass and add a splash of soda water and a dash of hibiscus reduction
- Top with crumbled Soan Papdi and a few caramel sugar candy strips, and serve
