The royal fare

The Mughlai food with its magical touch of spices, dried fruits and nuts is nothing short of a royal treat Anjeer Halwa Dried anjeer is truly delicious even when eaten by itself. Here is a recipe of a scrumptious anjeer halwa that uses loads of almonds. Milk powder is used in this recipe improving its texture and adding a unique flavour. Adjust the sugar content based on the sweetness of the figs and the milk powder used. Preparation Time: 10 mins, Cooking Time: 20 mins, Makes 4 servings

Ingredients Almonds (badam blanched and peeled) 15 to 20 Dried figs (anjeer, 200 grams) 24 Ghee 5 tbsp Milk powder 1/3 cup Sugar 4 tbsp Cardamom (elaichi powder) 1/4 tsp Almond slivers 2 tbsp (badam for the garnish) Method

• Pat dry the peeled almonds on a towel and then blend in a mixer to a fine powder.
• Heat 2 cups of water in a pan, add the figs and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Drain and blend in a mixer to a smooth purée. Keep aside.
• Heat the ghee in a deep heavy-bottomed pan, add the powdered almonds and sauté over a medium flame for about 2 minutes.
• Add the puréed figs, milk powder, sugar and A� cup of water and cook for about 5 minutes till the sugar is completely dissolved, while stirring continuously.
• Add the cardamom powder and mix well.
• Serve hot garnished with almonds.

Badami Chandni Kebab Mughlai food is famous for its abundant use of dry fruits in every course of the meal. Dry fruits such as cashewnuts and almonds are used not only whole or broken into pieces but also by grinding them into fine pastes. Almond paste adds a rich creaminess to any dish. Here almonds have been ground along with paneer to form a smooth mixture that is combined with an array of masalas and some bread to give delicious melt in your mouth kebabs. Preparation Time: 10 mins, Cooking Time: 15 mins, Makes 5 kebabs

Ingredients Almonds (blanched and peeled badam) 1/4 cup Paneer (cottage cheese) 1/4 cup Bread(sides removed and crumbled) 1 slice Ghee 1 tbsp Green chillies (finely chopped) 1 tsp Onions (finely chopped) 2 tbsp Salt to taste Fresh cream 2 tsp Coriander (chopped dhania) 1 tbsp Mint leaves (chopped pudina) 2 tsp Bread crumbs for coating Ghee for cooking 1/2 tbsp Onion rings and

Method

• Combine the almonds and paneer with a little water and blend in a mixer to a thick mixture.
• Transfer to a bowl, add the bread slice and mash well. Keep aside.
• Heat the ghee in a kadhai, add the green chillies and onions and sauté till the onions turn golden brown.
• Add the prepared mixture and salt and cook till the mixture leaves the sides of the kadhai.
• Remove from the flame, add the cream, coriander and mint leaves and mix well.
• Divide the mixture into 10 equal portions and shape each portion into a flat, round kebab.
• Roll each kebab in bread crumbs so that the kebabs are evenly coated from all sides.
• Heat a non-stick tava (griddle) and cook the kebabs on both sides using a little ghee till they are golden brown in colour. Drain on an absorbent paper.
• Serve hot with onion rings and pudina chutney.

Mughlai Aloo Ingredients Baby potatoes 1 1/4 cups (boiled and peeled cut into halves ) Fresh curds (whisk) 1/2 cup Salt to taste Ghee 3 tbsp Grated onions 3/4 cup Cloves (laung / lavang) 4 Cardamoms 2 Fresh cream 2 tbsp Sugar 1/2 tsp To be ground into a poppy seed paste Powdered poppy seeds (khus-khus) 3 tbsp Ginger (adrak) 12 mm (1") piece Garlic (lehsun cloves) 3 Green chillies (roughly chopped) 2 Water 2 tbsp To be mixed into a masala paste Water 2 tbsp Chilli powder 1 tsp Turmeric powder (haldi) 1/4 tsp Coriander-cumin seeds (dhania-jeera) powder 2 tsp For Serving: puris/ parathas/ naan

Method

• Combine the curds, prepared poppy seed paste and salt, mix well.
• Add the potatoes, lightly mix it and keep aside to marinade for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Heat the ghee in a non-stick pan, add the onions and sauté on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the cloves and cardamom and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
• Add the prepared masala paste, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 minute, while stirring continuously.
• Add the marinaded potatoes and A� cup of water, mix well and cook on a slow flame for 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
• Add the cream, salt and sugar, mix well and cook on a slow flame for 10 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
• Serve hot with puris, parathas or naans.

Tips If you like, you can fry the potatoes in ghee and omit the soaking stage in step 1.