She’s a radio and television personality and runs the successful digital agency Kri8tive Media. Yup, truly a jack of all trades. Kriya is also a massive foodie and her social media accounts are often laced with content of her whipping up some exciting new recipe.
Now, ahead of Diwali on 14 November, Kriya has been trying out some Indian-inspired recipes ahead of the celebrations – and she shared three must-try recipes that are bound to impress your guests this year.
For Kriya, Diwali is her favourite time of the year. ‘I love everything from the colours, the light, the family and, of course, the food! Every year our family gets together to light lamps and celebrate this auspicious occasion with a grand feast. Of course, there are always a few regular items on the menu that are easy to make and are always crowd-pleasers and I am so excited to share these favourites with everyone.’
Looking for some culinary inspiration ahead of Diwali this year? Kriya shares her favourite recipes:
VADA
You’ll need:
2 cups yellow lentils; 2 medium onions, finely chopped; 6 dry chillies, soaked in warm water; 8 green chillies, finely chopped; 2 tbsp ground cumin; ½ cup chopped fresh coriander; ½ cup chopped spring onion; 2 tsp salt; vegetable oil for deep-frying
To make:
Soak the split peas overnight. The next day rinse the split peas a few times and drain all the excess water.
Place the split peas in a food processor and pulse until it resembles a fine paste. It should not be runny. Take a little paste and roll it into a ball, if it rolls easily then it is ground to the right consistency.
Transfer the split peas to a large bowl and mix in all the other ingredients. Ensure it is mixed well. The ingredients should stick to the ground split peas, that also confirms the consistency is correct.
Take a small amount of the mixture and roll into a ball. Flatten in your palms and make a small indent in the centre.
Place the circle on a spoon and gently place in the heated oil. Fry on medium heat. The insides will not cook if it browns too quickly. Flip over when the bottom is brown. Do not attempt to flip it over if it is not fully brown as it will crack.
Remove with a slotted spoon, draining the excess oil. Place in a bowl lined with paper towels. Serve hot.
LAMB CURRY
You’ll need:
1kg lamb on the bone, cut into bite-sized pieces; 2 large onions, finely sliced; 2 cinnamon sticks; 2 bay leaves; 1 tomato, chopped into small cubes or grated; 1 sachet tomato paste; ¼ cup cooking oil; 3 – 4 medium-sized potatoes; 1 tsp ginger/ garlic paste; salt to taste; 1 ½ to 2 tsp chilli powder (or more); 2 tsp curry powder (add more if you prefer a stronger/pungent curry); 1 tsp Cumin powder; ½ tsp turmeric powder; 2 green chillies, slit; 1 sprig curry leaves; ¼ bunch chopped coriander, to garnish
To make:
Braise onion in oil until golden brown. Add ginger/ garlic paste and stir. Then add washed and drained meat.
Add chilli powder, curry powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Toss until meat is well coated. Add salt and allow to ‘fry’ on a low heat for at least 10 minutes, tossing at intervals.
Add tomatoes and tomato paste and allow to cook until tomatoes are softened. Then add potatoes and a bit of water (½ cup or more) and allow to cook on medium to low heat until potatoes cooked.
BURFEE
You’ll need:
500g powdered milk; 1 cup fresh cream; 290g Nestle dessert and cooking cream; 1¼ cup icing sugar; ¼ cup butter; 2 tbsp ground almond; 1 tsp cardamom; ¼ tsp rose essence
To make:
Add fresh cream, Nestle cream, butter and icing sugar to a large saucepan and heat on low to medium heat. Use a whisk and mix well. Once the mixture starts bubbling remove from heat.
Sift the powdered milk and add to the cream mixture. Use a whisk and mix well. Ensure that there are no lumps. Mix in the cardamom, rose essence and ground almond.
You can pat the mixture into a square dish lined with cling wrap and refrigerate and cut into squares after two hours or transfer the mixture into a bowl, refrigerate for two hours and then mould into desired shapes.
