Chapter 1 - Navratri Special

Patties

3 large potatoes	3 tbsp arrowroot flour
rock salt as required

Patties stuffing

¼ cup grated coconut, slightly toasted	3 tbsp unsalted peanuts, roasted and coarsely crushed
3 tbsp unsalted cashew, coarsely crushed	2 tbsp raisins, chopped
½ tsp sugar	1 tsp lime juice
2 - 2.5 tbsp chopped coriander leaves	½ tsp green chilli paste or 1 green chilli crushed to a paste
rock salt as required

Other ingredients

2 tablespoon ghee or 3 tbsp peanut oil for frying

Instructions

Boil 3 large potatoes in a steamer or pressure cooker till they are tender and completely cooked.
Peel, chop and mash them while they’re still warm or slightly hot. Allow the mashed potatoes to cool.
Once cooled, add 3 tbsp arrowroot flour and salt. Arrowroot flour can be replaced by buckwheat flour or water chestnut flour, as they are all fast-friendly.
Mix in the flour and knead the mixture lightly.
Cover and set aside.

The stuffing

Heat a small pan and add 3 tbsp of peanuts.
Roast the peanuts, stirring often on a low flame till they become crunchy and have a few black spots on them. Set this aside.
In the same pan, add the cashews and roast them till you see golden spots on them. Then set aside.
In a mortar-pestle or grinder, add the peanuts & cashews and coarsely crush them.
In another mixing bowl, take ¼ cup grated coconut. Add the peanuts and cashews.
Then add the raisins, sugar, lime juice, coriander and green chilli paste. You can also add fresh ginger paste. Stir the stuffing mixture very well.

Assembling the patties

Make medium sized balls from the dough mixture.
Then flatten these out and place 1 or 2 tbsp of stuffing in the centre of the flattened dough.
Bring the edges towards the centre and gently seal the edges. The filling has to be properly sealed, so that the patty doesn’t break while frying. You can flatten the patty while stuffing it.

Frying the patties

Heat 3 tbsp oil for frying in a tava or griddle. Coat the pattice with arrowroot flour. Dust off the excess flour. This step is optional.
Place the pattice in medium hot oil for shallow frying. You can also deep fry.
Serve with green chutney.

Ingredients

6-8 grapes	1 small guava
1 cup of chopped pineapple	1 cup of chopped apples
½ cup orange chunks	½ cup pomegranate
1 cup arbi (colocasia), boiled and fried crisp	a big pinch of rock salt/sendha namak
black pepper to taste	lemon juice
1 tsp of chopped green chillies

Chef’s Special Navratri Garam Masala for seasoning

Instructions

The masala
Roast and grind all the ingredients mentioned above. Use ½ teaspoon of this mix for the chaat.
The chaat
Toss all the fruits and fried arbi in a bowl. Season with rock salt, lemon juice and the Chef’s special Navrati masala!

Ingredients

½ kg apples (peeled, cored & cut into ½ inch dices)	½ coconut, grated
50 gms raisins	½ tsp crushed cardamom seeds
3/4 tsp cinnamon powder	3 cloves
1 big pinch of grated nutmeg	2-3 tbsp grated gur

For the Topping

150 gms singhara atta	75 gms chilled butter
75 gms grated gur

Instructions

Combine the apples with the coconut, raisins, spices and gur.
Spoon into a buttered ovenproof dish.
Combine the singhara atta and gur.
Rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Top the apples with the crumble mixture.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C/350 F for 20 minutes, or until the topping is crisp.
Serve hot with custard, ice cream or cream.

Your meal is ready!