Christmas 2021 recipes: Lip-smacking snacks to spice up your Christmas eve

Christmas 2021 recipes: Christmas is almost here but the party will go on for another week or so till we are ready to welcome the New Year. Till then it’s time to make merry with friends and family and soak in the festive spirit.

While most of us are done with the preparations, some things are best planned towards the end. For last-minute additions to your Christmas party menu, we have some very interesting suggestions that you would surely like to try for making your get-together extra special.

ALSO READ: Best Christmas cakes recipes that you can whip up at home in a jiffy

Whether you are a pure vegetarian who’s planning to make most of the seasonal veggies or a die-hard non-veg lover who cannot do without chicken tikka, we have mouth-watering recipes for both categories.

Take a look:

Honey Garlic Cauliflower

Ingredients:

All purpose flour

2 cup panko breadcrumbs

3 large eggs, beaten

1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-size florets

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp. sriracha

1/4 cup water

2 tsp. corn starch

1/4 cup Sliced scallions

Method:

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl, combine flour and cauliflower, toss until fully coated. Set up a dredging station: In one bowl, add panko breadcrumbs and in another bowl whisk eggs and add 2 tablespoons water. Dip cauliflower in beaten eggs, then panko until fully coated. Transfer to a prepared baking sheet and season generously with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and crispy, 20 to 25 minutes.

* Meanwhile, make sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together corn-starch and water, until the corn-starch dissolves completely. Set aside. Combine soy sauce, honey, garlic, lime juice and Sriracha in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat and add the corn-starch mixture. Bring to simmer again and cook until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.

* Toss cooked cauliflower in sauce until evenly coated. Return the cauliflower to baking sheet and broil for 2 minutes.

* Garnish with scallions and serve immediately.

(Recipe by Ravindra Chaudhary, Founder of Taste It, Noida)

Hara Bhara Kebab

Ingredients:

2 bunch or 120 gram spinach palak leaves

2 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp jeera

1 inch ginger

1 tbsp green chilli

2 medium size chopped capsicum

½ cup green peas

½ tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp mint leaves

2 tbsp coriander leaves

4-5 or 300 g boiled and mashed potatoes

1 tsp black salt

1 tsp jeera powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp amchur powder

Salt to taste

3 tbsp roasted besan

1/4 + ¼ bread crumbs

5-6 cashews

Chaat masala

For bread crumbs

4-5 crushed white part of bread

Method:

* In a pan, boil some water and add spinach leaves. Cook it for 2 minutes. * After 2 minutes, the leaves will be all shriveled up. This is called blanching the spinach. Remove from the pan and dip in cold water. Set aside.

* Now in a pan, add 2 tbsp ghee, cumin seeds, chopped ginger, and green chili and saute for 30 seconds.

* Now add green peas (I kept frozen peas in warm water for 2-3 minutes before adding to the pan), chopped capsicum, and blanched spinach leaves.

* Cook the mixture till there’s no or very little moisture left in it. This will take 2-3 minutes.

* Let the mixture cool down a bit meanwhile in a pan, add crushed white part of the bread and dry roast till it becomes crispy. Homemade bread crumbs are ready.

* Then transfer it to a blender. Add mint and coriander leaves to it and grind to a paste.

* Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add boiled and mashed potatoes, black salt, cumin powder, garam masala, amchur powder, and salt.

* Now add roasted besan and bread crumbs to the mixture. Mix everything together till it forms a nice dough.

* Take a little dough of the size of a lemon in your hand and form a round pattie. Press half cashew on it.

* Now coat all kabab with bread crumbs.

* Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, place the patties on the pan. fry till golden brown from both sides.

* Serve hot with coriander chutney and salad.

(Recipe by Ravindra Chaudhary, Founder Of Taste It, Noida)

Chipotle spice chicken tikka

Ingredients:

500 gm chicken leg boneless

11/2 gm gram flour

½ cup hung curd

1 tbsp mustard oil

11/2 tbs ginger garlic paste

¾ chipolata chilli paste

¾ garam masala

½ coriander powder

1tbs chaat masala

½ diced bell pepper

½ diced tomato

½ diced onion

½ Kasoori Methi powder

1 lime juice

Method:

* Dry roast besan on low heat until it’s aromatic.

* Take a mixing bowl, put hung curd, ginger garlic paste, chipolata chili pastes and all the above-mentioned spices in it; mix it well.

* Then add lime juice, mustard oil and salt.

* Put chicken leg boneless into it and marinate well. Keep for at least 10 to 12 hrs.

* Heat the oven at 240 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

* Cut vegetables into cubes and put in the marination.

* Arrange them on skewers, alternating vegetables and chicken.

* Then put it in the oven pre-heated at 240 degrees for 20 minutes.

* Check the chicken. If it is is tender, then brush the chicken tikka with soft butter and put Chaat masala on top if required.

* Serve with mint chutney and Laccha onion.

(Recipe by Executive Chef Amit Kocharekar, The Resort, Mumbai)

Crispy mushroom with salt and pepper

Ingredients:

200 gm mushroom

6 pods finely chopped garlic

½ tsp chopped ginger

5 Spring onions (white part)

1/2 spoon Salt and pepper

Oil as needed

Spring onion (green part) finely chopped

For coating mushroom

3 spoons Corn flour

1 spoon Maida

1/2 spoon Salt

1/2 spoon Pepper

Water as needed but very little

1 tsp dark soya sauce

Method:

* Wash the mushroom.

* Make a batter with corn flour, refined flour salt and a little water.

* Heat the oil in a pan and dip the mushroom into the batter.

* Fry them till they are golden brown and keep aside.

* Heat the pan, add oil, sauté the garlic and ginger and add white part of spring onion.

* Add golden fried mushroom, salt pepper and spring onion.

(Recipe by Executive Chef Amit Kocharekar, The Resort, Mumbai)

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