Shab-e-barat: Traditional dishes to relish on the auspicious day

Shab-e-barat: From pineapple halwa to pumpkin tofu halwa, here are a few lip-smacking recipes that you can relish on Shab-e-barat with your family, friends and near and dear ones.

Shab-e-barat: Also known as the 'The Night of Fortune and Forgiveness’, Shab-e-barat is celebrated with great pomp and grandeur all over South Asia, including countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Turkey and Central Asia. Ceebrated asd an impoirtant occasion by the Muslim community, it is believed that on Shab-e-barat, Allah grants people’s wishes, their fortunes and also decides if they will be able to go for Hajj. People, on this day, pray to the Allah for their sins and ask for forgiveness.

Shab-e-barat is celebrated on the 14th and the 15th day of Sha'aban, the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. Shab-e-barat is referred by various names all throughout the world. Barat Night, Cheragh e Barat, Berat Kandili, or Nisfu Syaaban are also some of the names of the festival. This year, Shab-e-barat will be celebrated from evening of March 18 to the evening of March 19.

Shab-e-barat brings with itself a lot of festivities, lip-smacking dishes and togetherness. We have curated a few recipes which will make your celebrations more vibrant.

Pineapple Halwa:

Pineapple Halwa

Pineapple – 1 Cup (grated) …. Choose a ripe pineapple

Nuts – (Almonds 5 nos; Pista 5 nos; Cashew 5 nos)

Raisins – 10 g

Milk - 200 ml

Sugar - 2 tbsp

Clarified Butter (Ghee) - 1tbsp

Saffron Strands – 1 pinch

Method:

Add saffron to a tablespoon of milk and keep it aside. In a pan, heat ghee, pineapple and sugar and cook it on low flame. Slow pour the milk and continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Add in the saffron, garnish with nuts and raisins and serve.

(Recipe: Aditya Rao, Culinary Director, Simpli Namdhari’s)

Suji ka Halwa:

Suji ka Halwa

Ingredients:

Semolina/ Suji-1/2 cup

Sugar-1/2 cup

Water/milk-2 cup

Ghee-1/2 cup

Kishmish-12 to 15 pc

Cardamom-5 gm

Coconut-1 inch pc

Method:

Heat a pan and add water/milk, sugar, kishmish and cardamom and cook it for a minute. In a separate pan dry roast suji and add ghee. Add the sugar syrup to the suji. Stir continuously to avoid having lumps. Transfer the halwa to a serving bowl and serve with crushed coconut powder on top.

(Recipe: Amit Kocharekar, Executive Chef, The Resort Mumbai)

Pumpkin Tofu Halwa:

Pumpkin Tofu Halwa

Ingredients:

Pumpkin puree - 100gm

Crumbled tofu - 50gm

Clarified butter - 5 tbsp

Sugar- 300gm

Cardamon powder - 1 tbsp

Khoya - 200gm

Cashew chopped - 1 tbsp

Almonds chopped - 1 tbsp

Pistachio chopped- 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan. Add crumbled tofu to it, and fry for 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan, and keep it aside In the same pan, add 4 tbsp ghee. Add pumpkin puree to it, and cook till the puree is reduced. This would take about 8-10 minutes. Add tofu, and cook for 5 minutes. Now add sugar, and continue cooking until it reduces again. Add khoya to it, and cook for 7-8 minutes. Add cardamom powder, and chopped nuts to it. Cook for 2 more minutes. Serve hot & enjoy!

Oats ka Halwa:

Oats ka Halwa

Ingredients:

Oats - 1 cup

Grain sugar- ½ cup

Milk- 2 cup

Desi ghee - 4tsp

Green cardamom powder - 1tsp

Few saffron threads

Nuts as per liking

Method:

In a non-stick pan, heat 2-3 tsp ghee and fry oats on low heat till it changes colour Heat the milk and sugar in a pan and bring it to boil. Once the sugar dissolves completely add the fried oats and stir continuously. Add cardamom powder and the remaining ghee. Add saffron threads for colour and aroma. Stir until the mixture leaves sides of the pan. Remove from fire and garnish with fried cashews or any nuts. Serve warm.

(Recipe: Swapnadeep Mukherjee, Executive Chef, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa)