DIWALI SPECIAL .....Quinoa in your kheer

Quinoa in your kheer



Strike the balance between health and decadence with these tweaked versions of traditional Diwali treats

Using the words `healthy' and `Diwali' together makes for the perfect oxymoron, and though it's a challenge that Mumbai chefs are glad to rise to, they also point out that the occasional indulgence is a must for a happy life. Chef Ranveer Brar, for instance, says with a laugh, “Having rasgullas without sugar is akin to celebrating Thanksgiving without turkey.“ The key to good health, they say, lies in moderation, and in saving such treats for special occasions only. But in this country with its perpetual line-up of festivals, special occasions never cease. Sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy eating habits -not occasional indulgences -are the real villains that wreak havoc on one's health, points out food writer and founder of ABP Cook Studio, Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal. “I like to eat Diwali sweets and snacks the way they are supposed to be had, in their original form. But I watch what I eat the rest of the year,“ she explains. However, she also keeps a few healthy recipes handy -of baked multigrain chivda and baked shankarpalis for the festive season.“In the chivda, you can increase the quantity of seeds and nuts. And moreover, the essence and taste of these dishes are not lost once you bake them,“ she says.

To make it a little easier for you to strike the right balance this Diwali, we get top chefs to give popular festive treats a heartfriendly twist.

CARROT QUINOA KHEER

The cardinal rule when converting a traditional Diwali recipe into a healthier option, says Chef Areez Patel of Charcoal, is to ensure that the taste of the original dish remains. In his recipe for carrot kheer, he replaces rice with quinoa, thus elevating the dish's health quotient, and uses natural sweeteners like raisins.

BAKED NACHNI SHANKARPALI

In Chef Jerson Fernandes's reci pe, the traditional Maharashtri an sweet, shankarpali, is baked, not fried. Sugar is replaced with jaggery, and refined flour with nachni (finger millet). “Nachni is rich in fibre, reduces cholesterol and enhances blood circulation. By baking, you reduce the calorific value of the dish by almost 80 per cent, yet retain its crunch,“ says the executive chef of Jeon, Sea Princess Hotel.

BAKED KARANJIS

In her recipe for baked karanjis, yet another popular Maharashtrian dish, lifestyle coach and clinical, sports nutritionist Avantika Shah retains ghee, a “great source of energy and the vitamins A and E.“ The karanjis contain coconut, “which has healthy fatty acids and boosts one's immunity,“ she says. The recipe also includes dates, a well known source of iron.

NIPPATTU

Although raised in Lucknow, celebrity chef Ranveer Brar of FLYP MTV, grew up in a predominantly South Indian neighbourhood. “Here, I was introduced to various Diwali savouries like Nippattu,“ he recalls. In his version of nippattu, a spicy snack originally from Karnataka, Brar includes whole wheat and nachni flour and opts to bake, instead of fry.

Anu Prabhakar

MM15OCT17