Happy Lohri 2017: 5 lip-smacking Lohri recipes to make your celebration special

Ingredients
1 cup – Almonds
1/2 tbsp – Ghee
3/4 cup – Sugar
A pinch of green cardamom
A pinch of saffron (kesar)
1/2 cup – Dried rose petals

Method
* Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Take a baking tray and place almonds in it. Roast in the oven at 200 degrees for 7 to 8 mins. Take a heavy rolling pin and grease it with ghee.

* Similarly, grease the worktop on which you are going to roll the chikki. Pour ghee into a thick-bottomed pan and add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron strands. Cook till it turns into a thick syrup and light brown in colour. Remove from heat. Add roasted nuts, mix and immediately transfer onto the greased worktop.

* Sprinkle dried rose petals and roll out with a greased rolling pin to one centimetre thickness. Make marks with knife while slightly warm. When cool, scrape with knife and cut into marked pieces. Store in an air-tight container.

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Punjabi winter in a Mille Feuille by The Claridges, New Delhi

Ingredients
500g – Makki ka atta
50g – Salt
200ml – Water
30g – Butter
1kg – Fresh mustard leaves
20g – Dhania powder
500g – Bathua
15g – Kutti mirch
200g – Makki ka atta
30g – Salt
5g – Cumin seed
10g – Kasoori methi
100g – Onion (chopped)
Red chilli powder
100g – Tomato (chopped)
40g – Chillies (chopped)
30g – Jaggery
60g – Garlic (chopped)
30g – White butter
50g – Ginger (chopped)
150g – Ghee

Method
* Mix makki ka atta, salt, water and 30g butter together and make a smooth dough.

* Divide the dough into small balls, roll them and flatten it. Cook inside a tandoor till it gets brown in colour.

* Baste with white butter and serve hot.

* Now, wash the mustard leaves properly and let it boil for sometime till it softens – add makai flour into it. Let it cool and blend until it’s a thick paste.

* Take a handi and add ghee in it. Now, add cumin and chopped garlic to it. Saute for a while, till it turns brown and then add chopped ginger, chilies, tomatoes, dhania powder, red chilli powder and kutti mirch. Cook it on low for a while.

* Add mustard leaves paste and kasoori methi powder to it and cook until the ghee starts rising on the side.

* Cut the Makki ki roti with a round cutter and stack alternately with the saag. After two layers of each, top with a quenelle of white butter and serve with a spoonful of jaggery.

Indulge your sweet tooth with Corn & Carrot Kheer this Lohri.

Corn & Carrot Kheer by Chef Ashish Rai, Head – Culinary, Barbeque Nation

Ingredients
1 cup – Carrot (grated)
½ cups – Corn kernels (boiled)
1tbsp – Ghee
1ltr – Milk
½ cup – Sugar
1 – Almond (chopped)
10 – Pistachios (chopped)
1/4 tsp – Green cardamom powder
A pinch of Saffron (kesar) soaked in one tbsp warm milk

Method
* Coarsely grind the corns in a food processor and set aside.

* In a small bowl, soak the saffron and cardamom powder with milk, set aside.

* In a deep non-stick pan, heat ghee and then add carrot and sugar. Saute till the raw flavour of carrot is gone.

* In the same pan, add milk and bring it to a boil.

* Keeping aside a few pistachios for garnish, add the rest to the milk. Add almonds and mix.

* Add corn mixture, saffron mixture and mix well.

* Let the kheer cool down to room temperature and then leave it in the fridge to chill.

* Garnish with pistachios and chill.

Bored with the same Lohri spread every year? Try these tikkis.

Dahi Aam Papad Ki Tikki by Ravindra Choudhary, Executive Chef, Fio Cookhouse & Bar

Ingredients
120g – Hung dahi
90g – Paneer
15g – Roasted channa powder
10g – Green chilli
5g – Green coriander
5g – Chopped ginger
10g – Aam papad
3g – Elachi powder
3g – Black pepper powder
5g – Salt
10g – Kaju
15g – Milk powder
60g – Refined oil

Method
* Mash hung dahi and paneer together to get a smooth mixture. Now, add green chilli, ginger, coriander, salt, black pepper, green elachi powder, milk powder and roasted channa powder and mix together to get a smooth dough.

* Divide the dough in five equal portions of 70g each and stuff chopped Aam papad and Kaju in the centre to make a tikki.

* Deep fry the dahi tikki to light golden colour and serve hot with the green mint chutney.

Add some goodness to your diet with this Pepper Garlic Almond recipe.

Pepper Garlic Almonds by Almond Board of California

Ingredients
110g – Almonds
30g – Blanched and peeled almonds
1 – Egg white
3g – Salt
10g – Garlic (peeled)
3g – Crushed black pepper
5g – Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method
* Make a fine paste of the blanched and peeled almonds.

* Roast the garlic with olive oil till brown and blend it into a paste.

* Mix the almond paste, garlic paste, egg white, salt and pepper. Roll the almonds in the mixture properly.

* Roast the rolled almonds in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 7 to 8 mins.

* Cool and serve.

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