Rustle Up These Indian Republic Day-Inspired Recipes

Tiranga Poori

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Wheat Flour
• 1/4 Cup Besan / Gram Flour
• 1/2 Bunch Palak/Spinach
• 1/4 Cup Beetroot, Grated
• 1/2 Tsp. Turmeric
• Salt To Taste
• 2  Green Chilli
• 1/2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder

Method:

• Put the spinach and green chillis (optional) in a mixie and puree.
• Grind beetroot with little water.  
• For Green colour: To 1 cup wheat flour add pureed spinach and salt and knead into a soft dough.
• For Red colour: To 1 cup flour add pureed beetroot, red chilli powder and salt. Knead into a soft dough.
• For Yellow colour: Take besan and 1 cup wheat flour– add turmeric, salt and knead into a soft dough.
• Cover and keep all doughs for 30 min. Now roll out 1 inch thick rolls of each of colour.
• Make a braid and lightly roll them so the dough blends into each other.
• Cut into smaller portions to make dough balls.
• Roll out puris and deep fry

Tri-Colour Pasta

Red Pepper Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 Red Peppers
• 2 Tomatoes
• 2 Tsp Pine Nuts
• ¼ Cup Walnuts
•  ½ Tsp Salt/Pepper
•  1/8 Cup Parmesan Cheese Grated
• 2 Cloves Of Garlic
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method

• Preheat the oven to 170 C.
• Oven roast the peppers, tomatoes, garlic for 15 mins.
• Cool and remove the skin and seeds of peppers and tomato.
• For a grainy texture grind them in a mortar and pestle. For a smoother texture- put it in a blender.
• Stir in the grated Parmesan with a spoon and combine well.

Basil Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 Cups Fresh Basil Leave
• 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/3 Cup Pine Nuts
• 1/4 Tsp Each Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic

Method:

• In a food processor, together with basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic,  salt and pepper and chop.
• With the motor running, add 1/3 cup of the oil in a thin steady stream.
• Continue to process till you have a thick sauce.

Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion Chopped
• 1 Clove Garlic Crushed
• 25g Butter
• 25g Flour
• 1/2 Pint of Milk
• Handful Of Grated Cheese – cheddar cheese and cream cheese

Method:

• Melt the butter and add the flour and cook for 2 mins.
• Gradually stir in the milk, whisking continuously, to make sure there are no lumps.
• Bring the sauce to the boil, and then simmer.
• Add the cheese and allow it to melt.
• In a separate pan sauté the onion and garlic and add to the sauce.

Tri-colour Pasta:

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Penne Pasta
• ½ cup Cream for each colour

Method

• Cook the pasta in boiling water with some salt. Drain and set aside
• Divide the pasta into 3 equal bowls.
• Make the above sauces in advance.
• Use three pans to heat the sauce with few drops of olive oil.
• Add ½ cup cream to all these sauces and toss the penne in the coloured sauces
• Serve and enjoy the tricolour pasta.

Tri-Coloured Idlis

Ingredients

• 3 Cups Rava/Sooji (Semolina)
• 5 Cups Curd Or Butter Milk
• Salt To Taste
• 1 Tbsp Eno Salt
• ½ Fresh Coriander (Dhania) & Mint (Pudina) Chopped
• 2 Green Chillies (Optional)
• 4 Tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp Urad Dal
• 1 Red Chilli
• 2 Tbsp Oil

Method

• Mix Rava, curd, Eno and salt in a large bowl and allow it to rest for 4-5 hrs. You can also make this using regular idli batter.
• Green paste: Grind the coriander and mint leaves together with some salt.
• Red Paste: Blend chopped tomatoes, urad dal, red chilli and salt together. Add some oil and puree well. You can add garlic if you want.
• Now divide the rava batter into three parts
• Mix red tomato paste to the one bowl
• Green to another bowl
• Leave one as white.
• Grease your idli maker with oil and fill the three colour batter in that one by one.
• Steam for about 10 minutes.
• Serve idlis with sambhar and coconut chutney.

Notes:

You can use spinach as well for green colour to make it healthy.

And for red colour carrots can be used.