#WeekendCurfew: What’s cooking Delhiites?
Palash Sen, Rakhshanda Jalil, Atisha Pratap Singh, and Sawani Mudgal urge Delhiites to stay indoors amid the weekend curfew. And they share their plans to whip up delicacies in their home kitchens, with the winter rains setting just the right mood for the Sunday ahead.
New Delhi
According to the Met department, it’s going to be a rainy weekend. And in case that doesn’t turn out to be true, still it’s going to be a home bound trip for Delhiites, as per the #WeekendCurfew in the city. But not letting that affect their spirits, some eminent personalities have plans to head to the kitchen and whip up their fav food this Saturday and Sunday. And of course, #DilliKiSardi provides another strong reason to get onto bingeing some delicious dishes. Read on to know what’s cooking!
Palash Sen: Winter mein meetha khane mein kaafi maza aata hai
Singer Palash Sen urges people to abide by the curfew, and has his plans set to hit the kitchen while enjoying the weekend indoors. “There’s no better time than winter to whip some delicious gajar ka halwa. Iski baat karte huye hi mere muh me paani aa rha hai,” says Sen, adding, “Winter mein meetha khaane mein kaafi maza aata hai, aur mujhe meetha vaise hi bahut pasand hai. I love desserts! So what I love cooking in winters, especially when it’s raining, is gajar and beetroot ka halwa. A special magic in my recipe is cooking it in condensed milk, which enhances its taste. One tip: Jitne time tak aap ise bhoonenge, utna achcha nikal kar aayega. And I love garnishing it with walnuts instead of kaju and kishmish!”
Atisha Pratap Singh: Perfect weather to bake!
Kuchipudi dancer Atisha Pratap Singh, who is in Delhi at present, shares how winter and the recent rains have got her experimenting with tea. “I’ve started adding tulsi, from our home-grown plant, to my tea, and it tastes so much better. Besides, I’m a baking enthusiast. I’ve made banana cake in the past. And one winter specialty that I love is Chocochip cookies, which go amazingly well with a piping hot cup of coffee. The weather in Delhi right has been tempting me to get my oven mittens out and start baking. And weekend, I plan on preparing a fresh batch of cookies, since everyone will be staying home.”
Sawani Mudgal is all for kachoris and kebabs
Indian classical music vocalist, Sawani Mudgal feels that “The maahaul that gets created during Delhi winter, with an extra topping of rain, is lovely. A foodie at heart, she has previously cooked kachori, dahi kebab, pao bhaji, homemade pizza, and even set nimbu achaar and fruit cream. “Sounds delicious, right! Each one of these dishes I enjoy preparing and eating, both of which are fun. And this weekend, I plan to cook some of the dishes that I know, for a flavourful and safe weekend inside,” she says smiling at the thought of getting to gorge on garma garam kachoris.
Rakhshanda Jalil whips up traditional with a twist
It’s all things garden fresh this season, for author and literary historian Rakhshanda Jalil. Delicious seekh kebabs serve as an inspiration for this weekend’s cooking plans of Jalil, who shares that her kitchen takes on a new avatar in the winter months. “Winter cooking at my home is broadly along two lines: traditional recipes and tweaks of south Asian, continental or west Asian recipes. Both rely on the use of fresh seasonal ingredients and specifically what I have grown myself. So in the former category would be dishes from my mother’s or grandmother’s kitchens such as chuqandar-gosht (beet root and mutto) or shabdegh (fat roundels of turnips and mutton). Or methi-moong ki daal, daal-sa (palak with moong dal), rasawal (traditionally rice cooked in fresh sugarcane but now increasingly made with gur and fir led with plump raisins and shavings of coconut). Then there are the winter pickles I make each year: probiotic pickled turnips or beets with just crushed rye seeds. In the second category are, again, dishes and cuisine that uses seasonal veggies: such as hearty soups made from chickpeas and sweet potatoes, sautéed winter greens, and stews using harissa seasoning,” she says.
Author tweets @siddhijainn