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What’s a festive season sans food? With the air getting colder by evenings and waft of savouries filling markets and a number of parties to attend and host, it becomes rather a tough task to choose between treats and the desire to stay (be) thin.

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What’s a festive season sans food? With the air getting colder by evenings and waft of savouries filling markets and a number of parties to attend and host, it becomes rather a tough task to choose between treats and the desire to stay (be) thin.

To help you navigate these tasty testing lanes, we get a few Chandigarh chefs share their recipes that stay high in taste and low on calories!

Oat Jaggery Cookies 

(20-25 calorie per cookie)

Makes about 400 gm cookies 

Ingredients

25 gm sugar, 150 gm jaggery,  1/2 cup white butter, 2 tbsp vanilla essence, ¼ tsp baking powder,1/2 tbsp baking soda,1 ¼ tbsp cinnamon powder, 1 ½ cup oats, 1 cup whole-wheat four, 1 egg, 1 cup chopped mixed Nuts and raisins (almonds, walnuts, cashews, raisins)

Preparation time:  20 minute

Method

  • Beat sugar, jaggery and butter till fluffy. Add vanilla essence, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder. Beat and mix well.
  • Add 1 ½ cup oats, 1 cup whole-wheat flour and one egg. Mix well
  • Add 1 cup chopped mixed nuts. Mix to a soft dough.
  • Make small balls. Flatten each ball to about 1/8”-1/4”thick like a parantha thickness.
  • Bake at 200 degrees C for about 18-20 min or till brown from the bottom.
  • Let it cool and serve.

- Chef Anubhav Sawhney, AJ Foods

Healthy nuts burfi (85 calories per piece)

Ingredients

  • Crushed Multigrain (barley, oats, ragi, millet) 1 Cup 
  • Flax seeds 1 tbsp 
  • Sesame seeds 1 tbsp 
  • Pumpkin seeds 1 tbsp 
  • Sunflower seeds 1 tbsp 
  • Dates ½ cup 
  • Almonds chopped ¼ cup 
  • Walnuts chopped ¼ cup 
  • Clarified butter 1 tbsp 
  • Jaggery 1 cup 
  • Cardamom powder ½ tsp 
  • Dry condensed milk ½ Cup 

Method

  • Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan and roast all nuts and grains separately. 
  • Remove when little crunchy and brown in colour. Keep aside and let them cool. 
  • Heat jaggery in pan until melt and add dry condensed milk (mawa). 
  • Remove from fire and add all dry roasted nuts and multigrain. 
  • Mix properly. Sprinkle cardamom powder. 
  • Spread on flat surface, keeping ½ inch thickness. Allow to cool till set. 
  • Cut them into diamond shape or your choice of shape. 
  • This can be kept for month when stored in airtight container. 

-  Nandita Karan, Executive Chef, The Lalit Chandigarh

Pulled chicken salad with hoisin sesame vinaigrette (220 cal)

Ingredients 

  • Roast chicken 50 gm
  • Red cabbage 30 gm
  • Carrot 30 gm
  • Cabbage 30 gm
  • Bell pepper 30 gm 
  • Roasted peanuts 10gm 
  • Chilis 2gm
  • Hoisin sauce 5ml
  • Sesame oil 5ml
  • Apple cider vinegar 10 ml
  • Coriander sprigs for garnish 

Method 

  • Wash all the vegetables properly and pat dry them.
  • Roast the chicken breast in oven at 160-degree C for 10 minute.
  • In a bowl, whisk sesame oil, apple cider vinaigrette and hoisin sauce to make a dressing.
  • Once the chicken breast is cooked and cooled properly, pull the chicken breast using a fork or fingers to get strands or thread like texture.
  • Fine slice all the vegetables and mix it along with pulled chicken.
  • In a plate, arrange the salad and pour the dressing in the top of salad.
  • Garnish with baby coriander leaves and serve.

Porcini mushroom and asparagus oats risotto (279 cal)

Ingredients 

  • Porcini mushroom  30 gm
  • Asparagus  30 gm
  • Oats  60 gm
  • Onion  10 gm
  • Parmesan cheese  5gm
  • Olive oil 10 gm
  • Thyme 2gm
  • Salt to taste.

Method 

  • In a pan, put olive oil and add fine chop onions.
  • Allow the onions to turn translucent and add mushroom and asparagus.
  • Add oats.
  • Toast the oats for a minute and add water gradually or vegetable stock.
  • Once the oats are cooked properly, finish with parmesan cheese and thyme. Add salt to taste.
  • In a plate, put cooked oats and finish with a dash of olive oil. Serve hot.

-Aaron Shanan James, Sous Chef in Radisson Chandigarh Zirakpur

Banana Froyo with kuttu crumble and seasonal fruits

Ingredient

For the froyo

  • Bananas – 6
  • Yoghurt – 1 kg
  • Honey – 60ml
  • Cream – 100ml

Method

  • Hang Yoghurt overnight in a muslin bag to drain off the whey.
  • Blend the bananas along with the yoghurt till the mixture is smooth 
  • Add honey and cream and mix well
  • Put in an ice-cream maker and churn till you get a smooth froyo.

Alternatively if you don’t have an ice cream maker, put the mixture in a steel container and freeze for an hour. Take out and smash all the ice crystals. Repeat this procedure.

For the kuttu crumble

  • Kuttu atta 100 gm
  • Butter 50 gm
  • Sugar 50 gm

Method

  • Cut the butter into small cubes. 
  • In a bowl add atta and sugar 
  • Add butter and rub into the mixture till you get a grainy mixture
  • Add 30 ml of ice chilled water slowly to form a paste
  • Spread the paste on to baking tray and bake 180 degrees for 15 minute
  • If the crumble is still wet bake at 140 for 5 minutes till you get a dry biscuit like texture. Allow to cool. Then crush the crumble. Scoop the ice-cream on to the plate top generously with the kuttu crumble and serve along with fresh fruits.  

- Chef Shamsul Wahid, Group Executive Chef, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality Pvt. Ltd

Ensure healthy snacking at Diwali parties 

  • An assortment of colourful baked vegetable chips made from blue potato, sweet potato and parsnip with dips on the side. 
  • Add mint or lemon to fresh fruit juices for keeping the drinks healthy.
  • Slice and dice some seasonal fruits into a bowl with a few drops of lemon and/or red paprika.
  • Roasting a few scoops of different nuts tossed in salt. —IANS 

— Compiled by Mona

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