Christmas 2020: Usher in the festivities with these easy, tasty recipes

Christmas is finally here! And even as the pandemic has played spoilsport and curbed the celebrations, there is no way we are going to miss out on the Christmas special delicacies for four straight days. If you are also in the mood to have all things Christmas-y starting today, you are at the perfect place. Today, we have some specially-curated mouthwatering recipes to add unique flavours to your celebrations.

So which ones would you like to try?

Recipes from chef Harpal Singh Sokhi

Apple Crumble Muffin

Apple Crumble Muffin makes for a delicious treat. (Source: Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi)

Ingredients

2 – Green apples, chopped
80g + 1 cup – Refined flour
20g – Oats
160g – Butter
150g – Brown sugar
60g – Sugar
1 tsp – Cinnamon powder
½ tsp – Baking powder
½ tsp – Baking soda
2 – Eggs
1 tsp – Vanilla essence
100g – Yogurt

Method

*Take a bowl, add refined flour, oats, 60 grams butter, 50 grams brown sugar, 10 grams sugar and cinnamon powder and mix well to make crumbles.
*In a sieve, add refined flour, baking powder, baking soda and aerate it in a bowl.
*Take another bowl, add 100 grams butter, 100 grams brown sugar and 50 grams sugar in it and mix well to make a creamy texture.
*Break 2 eggs in the bowl and mix well with a whisker.
*Add vanilla essence, yogurt and apple in the bowl and mix it.
*Now, add the aerated refined flour mixture in it and fold.
*Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees for 5-10 minutes.
*Take a baking tray; add the batter in silicon moulds and keep in the tray. Keep some space in the moulds for the crumble.
*Finally, add crumbles on the batter in the moulds, press it from the top.
*Bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
*Serve it with tea or coffee.

Pro tip: Whenever you eat green apple, scrape its skin or soak it in warm water to remove wax from it. Always squeeze lemon juice on sliced apples to avoid it from turning black.

Christmas Mud Cake

Would you try this delectable cake? (Source: Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi)

Ingredients
1 kg – Assorted dried fruits
2 cups – Orange juice
2 cups – Flour
½ tsp – Baking powder
1 tsp – Baking soda
½ tsp – Cardamom powder
½ tsp – Nutmeg powder
½ tsp – Cinnamon powder
250g – Butter
200g – Sugar
4 – Eggs

Method

*Combine assorted dried fruit and orange juice. Cover and set aside for overnight.
*Preheat oven to 180* C.
*In big mixing bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder and keep aside.
*In another mixing bowl, add cream butter, sugar and mix. Then add eggs and whisk till smooth and fluffy.
*Add dry fruits and orange juice mixture, mix well. Add flour, fold it well and mix all together.
*Lightly grease 9-inch round cake mold. Line base with butter paper. Transfer the prepared mixture into it.
*Bake in pre-heated oven at 180*C for 35-40 min. After 35-40 minutes, take out the cake from oven and demould it. Cut it into pieces and serve.

Pro tip: Nuts are natural source of energy, sugars, vitamins and minerals with zero cholesterol. If you skip a meal, then a handful of nuts is said to give sufficient energy.

Recipes from Embassy Leisure

Chicken Gyoza

Make these lip-smacking chicken gyoza. (Source: Embassy Leisure)

Ingredients

Dough

100g – Refined flour
25g – Wheat starch
125ml – Boiling hot water
5ml – Oil
Salt to taste

Filling

300g – Chicken, diced
3 tbsp – Carrot, brunoise
1 tbsp – Ginger, chopped
1 tbsp – Garlic, chopped
2 tbsp – Spring onion greens
1 tbsp – Dark Soy
2 tbsp – Oyster sauce
1 tbsp – Chilli oil
2 tbsp – Oil
Salt to taste
A pinch – Sugar
A pinch – White pepper
1tsp – Potato starch

Dressing

1 tsp – Fresh red chilli, chopped 1 tsp
1 tsp – Garlic, chopped 1 tsp
5 tbsp – Water or vegetable stock 5 tbsp
A pinch – Turmeric a pinch
1 tbsp – Lemon Juice 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
A drizzle – Sesame oil

Method

*Take a piece of dough and flatten it with a slicer into a 4” wide circle. The middle of each disc should be thicker than the edge.
*Place the filling in the center and moisten the edge of the dough with water over the semicircle, not all the way around.
*Close the gyoza. While closing it, fold the edge about six times.
*Fry the gyoza in a little oil until golden brown, then add water so that the gyoza are in the water at about half of their height.
*Keep the heat high and wait until all the water has vaporised. The upper part of the gyoza is steamed and the bottom part is pan-grilled.
*Serve it with red chilli, garlic and lime dressing.

For dough

*In a bowl, mix refined flour, wheat starch, and salt. With a wooden spatula, stir in the boiling hot water and the vegetable oil.
*When the dough is still hot; start kneading the dough until it becomes smooth. If the dough is sticky, you may need to add more refined flour.
*Cut the dough into two parts and roll each part into 1-inch thick cylinder. Cut each cylinder into eight pieces. Keep it covered with moist napkin.

For filling

*Heat oil in a wok; add ginger, garlic, chicken and carrot, sauté on high flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
*Lower the heat and add in soy, oyster sauce, chilli oil, sugar, white pepper and salt. Cook further till done.
*Finish with spring onion greens and potato starch to give a bit of binding. Keep aside.

Dressing

*Mix all ingredients together by whisking, chill in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving.

Cajun Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Cajun Sweet Potatoes can make for a lovely treat. (Source: Embassy Leisure)

Ingredients

4 – Sweet potatoes
1 tsp – Salt
2 tsp – House Cajun Spice Mix
1 tsp – Green chillies, chopped
1 tbsp – Coriander, chopped
1 tbsp – Lemon juice
4 – Lemon wedges
8 tbsp – Pesto dip
Oil (for frying)

Method

*Scrub the sweet potatoes under running water to remove any dirt.
*Cut into thick batons along with skin, parboil sweet potatoes in a big pot with salted water.
*Once the water starts to boil, take it off the flame, drain out the water and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhite, heat up oil in a wok.
*Fry sweet potatoes in hot oil till crisp. Drain it on a kitchen absorbent paper.
*Toss the fried potatoes in the house Cajun spice mix, chopped green chilies, chopped coriander and lemon juice.
*Service it hot with lemon wedge and pesto dip.

House Cajun Spice Mix

Ingredients

2 tsp – Cumin powder
2 tsp – Paprika powder
¼ tsp – Amchur powder
½ tsp – Chaat masala
¼ tsp – Salt
½ tsp – Black pepper powder

Method

*Mix all the dry spices together and keep it in an airtight container till required.

Pesto dip

Ingredients

2 tbsp – Fresh basil pesto
6 tbsp – Mayonnaise
½ tsp – Lemon zest

Method

*Mix fresh basil pesto with mayonnaise and lemon zest, chill till required.

Fresh Basil Pesto

Ingredients

100g – Fresh basil leaves
2 tsp – Garlic, chopped
1 tbsp – Pine nuts
1 tbsp – Grana Padano, grated
2 tbsp – Olive oil
Salt to taste

Method

*Take all the ingredients and half of olive oil in a blender and pulse multiple times to achieve the coarse paste.
*Transfer it to a glass bowl and add in the other half of olive oil on top.
*Keep it chilled till required.

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