Garima Poddar, 20,  was crowned winner of IIHM Young Chef, London, in 2014 and awarded by the President of India as one of the 100 Women Achievers in the ‘globalising India’ category in 2016.

Rocket Kebabs

Ingredients

Gram flour 1tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste 2tbsp
Pumpkin grated 1 cup
Sweet potato grated 1 cup
Chilli powder ½ tsp
Chilli flakes 1tsp
Dry mango powder (amchur) 1tsp
Cumin powder ½ tsp
Garam masala powder 1tsp
Salt and pepper to taste

For the kebab filling

Mozzarella cheese ¼ cup
Processed cheese ¼ cup
Peanuts, crushed ¼ cup
Oil to fry
Cornflour and water batter
Breadcrumbs
Barbecue skewers
Red, yellow and green bell peppers for decoration

Method

• Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan. Add ginger-garlic paste.
• Add gram flour and roast till it turns golden brown.
• Add grated pumpkin and grated sweet potato. Mix well and saute for 2 minutes.
• Add salt, pepper, chilli powder, cumin powder, dried mango powder and chilli flakes. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Let it cool.
• Take a round ball-sized mixture and flatten it. Add roasted peanuts, mozzarella and processed cheese mixture to the centre. Bring together all sides to the centre and seal tightly to make a ball again.
• Dip each ball into cornflour and water mix, roll it on breadcrumbs and dry cornflour.
• Heat oil in a pan for deep-frying till nice and golden. Transfer onto  absorbent paper.
• Take barbecue skewers and pierce two kebab cutlets back-to-back. Cut coloured bell pepper into triangles and insert on top to make it look like a sky rocket.

Chakri Roasties

Ingredients

Chandramukhi potatoes 5
Vinegar 1tbsp
Garlic 6 pods
Cheese ¼ cup
Butter for roasting
Chilli dip: Red chillies, drained after soaking in water overnight 6 + Olive oil 1tbsp + Tomato ketchup 2tbsp + Garlic
chopped 1tbsp + Salt and sugar, a pinch
Sour cream: Hung curd ½ cup + Fresh cream ¼ cup + Garlic, chopped 1tbsp + Salt to taste
Basil pesto dip:
Basil leaves 1 cup + Walnuts ¼ cup + Garlic 2 pods + Olive oil ¼ cup + Salt to taste

Method

• Grate pot to, put it in cold water and vinegar. Then drain using a sieve.
• Grate garlic and cheese, mix it with the drained grated potato.
• Take a pan, make small flat circles of the potato mixture, shallow-fry in butter for about a minute on both sides till crisp and golden brown.
• To make the chilli dip, grind the soaked red chillies into a paste. Take a pan, add oil, add garlic and chilli paste. Add tomato ketchup, and mix in salt and sugar. Cool, pour into a piping bag and pipe on the roasties.
• To make sour cream, take hung curd in a bowl, whisk in chopped garlic, fresh cream and salt. Pipe on the roasties.
• For the basil pesto dip, wash and grind basil leaves in a grinder with olive oil, garlic and walnuts into a thick paste. Add salt. Pipe on the roasties.

Shashvat Dhandhania, 22, graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, London, and trained at Trishna, a Michelin-star restaurant in London. He is the chef and owner of To Die For, on Manoharpukur Road.

White Chocolate, Cardamom and Orange Rice Pudding

Ingredients

Arborio rice 100g
Pistachio 10g
Raisins 20 pieces
Milk 850ml
Cream 200ml
White chocolate, chopped 100g
Malta orange 1
Sugar 140g
Green cardamom powder ½ tsp

Method

• Wash and soak the rice in water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry using a muslin cloth.
• Blanch pistachios in hot water for five minutes. Drain, peel and roast on a dry pan. Set aside.
• Soak raisins in ¼ cup water for 10-15 minutes, drain. Set aside.
• Heat the milk in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add the rice and cook on low heat till half done, in approximately 25 minutes.
• Add sugar, cardamom powder and cream. Simmer on low heat till the rice is cooked and the mixture has thickened, around 15 minutes. Adjust the texture by adding a little water (50-60 ml) if it gets too thick.
• Remove from heat, add chopped white chocolate and mix well. Refrigerate till chilled.
• With a knife, remove the orange peel in long segments. Once peeled, remove the inner white skin of the peel, and cut to julienne. Bring a small pot of water to boil. Cook the orange peel for a minute, to remove the bitterness. Drain and place on a dry towel to cool.
• Cut orange segments with the remaining Malta orange.
• Pour the cold and thick pudding into shot glasses. Garnish with orange segments, pistachio, raisins and orange zest. Serve chilled.

Fish Tawa Fry

Ingredients

Fish of your choice
Coconut oil 4 to 5 tbsp

For marination

Chilli powder 1tbsp
Kashmiri chilli powder 2tbsp
Turmeric powder 1tsp
Coriander powder 1½ tbsp
Pepper powder 2tsp
Ginger-garlic paste 1tbsp
Garam masala powder 1tsp
Coriander leaves,
finely chopped 2tbsp
Curry leaves, finely chopped 2tbsp
Lemon juice 1tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

• Clean fish pieces, make deep slashes in them.
• Mix all the ingredients for marination; add very little water and make a thick paste.
• Apply masala all over the fish, deep into the slashes. Marinate for 30 minutes.
• Heat coconut oil in a pan, place fish. Cover and cook on medium low heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Flip over and cook on high heat for 5 more minutes.
• Serve with lemon wedges and onion rings.

Piyush Menon, 28, is the chef and owner of The Coastal Macha, the restaurant on Southern Avenue that just turned one.

Mushroom & Babycorn Masala

Ingredients

Button mushrooms 150g
Babycorn 8 to 10
Capsicum, chopped 1
Onions 2
Green chilli 1-2
Garam masala powder ½ tsp
Turmeric ½ tsp
Coriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste

To powder

Black Pepper 1tsp
Cumin powder ¼ tsp

To temper

Cumin ½ tsp
Curry leaves, a small sprig

Method

• Wash, clean and chop mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.
• Blanch babycorn in hot water for about 2-3 minutes. Drain. Cut into long bite-sized pieces.
• Thinly slice onion and cut capsicum length-wise.
• Dry-roast cumin and pepper in a wok. Powder in a mixer.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin and curry leaves. When it splutters, add onion and green chillies. Saute till onions are light brown. Add pepper-cumin powder, garam masala, salt and turmeric powder. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
• Next, add the chopped veggies. Mix well so that the masala coats the veggies.
• Cook for 5-7minutes on low flame, stir to avoid burning. Mushroom will start releasing water. Keep cooking until babycorn has cooked a bit, mushroom has shrunk and all the water has evaporated.
• Add coriander leaves and give it a quick stir.

Serve hot.

Pictures: Chanchal Ghosh