Three delicious, simple recipes to add to your Eid celebrations

Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the fasting month. It is a day of celebration with families and friends coming together to share the love, and food!

It's tradition to celebrate the festival with a lavish feast.

Whether you want to satiate your sweet tooth with Baklava or wish to treat your taste buds to mouth-watering haleem, there's a vegetarian version too, these recipes are sure to be a hit at your Eid celebrations.

Baklava

Ingredients
Phyllo dough: 1 (16-ounce package)
Mixed nuts (chopped): 2 kg
Butter: 1 cup
Cinnamon (ground): 1 tsp
Water: 1 cup
Sugar: 1 cup
Vanilla essence: 1 tsp
Honey: ½ cup


Method
- Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius
- Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch pan
- Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside
- Unroll phyllo dough. Cut the entire stack in half to fit the pan
- Cover phyllo with a damp cloth to keep from drying out
- Lace two sheets of dough in a pan, butter it thoroughly.
- Repeat until you have used 8 sheets
- Sprinkle 2 – 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top
- Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go on. The top layer should be about 6 – 8 sheets deep
- Use a sharp knife to cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan
- Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
- While the baklava is baking, prepare the sauce. Boil sugar and water until the sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes
- Remove baklava from the oven and immediately pour the sauce over it
- Leave uncovered and let it cool

By Swasti Aggarwal, Food Strategist, Foodhall India

Mutton Haleem

Ingredients
Mutton (boneless): 1000 gm
Broken wheat/ wheat porridge: 200 gm
Ginger-Garlic paste: 50 gm
Urad dal: 100 gm
Chana dal: 100 gm
Red chilli powder: 30 gm
Turmeric powder: 15 gm
Onion: 100 gm
Cardamom: 3 gm
Small cinnamon sticks: 5 gm
Cloves: 5 gm
Coriander powder: 10 gm
Garam Masala powder: 10 gm
Cumin powder: 5 gm
Black Pepper: 10 gm
Ghee: 200 gm
Fresh coriander leaves: 50 gm
Fresh mint leaves: 50 gm
Green chillies: 15 gm
Cashew nuts: 1 gm
Lemon: 2
Salt to taste

Method
- Soak broken wheat, urad and chana dal in water for 4 hours. The water should be double the quantity of dal and wheat mixture
- Slice onions and fry until golden brown
- In a heavy bottom lagan add mutton and dal mixture, and allow it to cook for 6 to 8 hours on a slow flame (You can also use a pressure cooker in place of a lagan)
- Add cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon stick and turmeric powder. Keep stirring and mashing the mixture with a ladle
- Once the mutton and dal turn into a mash, add chopped coriander, mint leaves, garam masala, cumin powder, ghee and brown onion into the dish.
- Fry the black pepper corns in a tablespoon of ghee. Mix them with the haleem
- Use fried onions and cashew nuts as a topping. Garnish with coriander and mint leaves

Veg Haleem

Ingredients
French beans: 100 gm
Carrot: 100 gm
Potato: 100 gm
Ginger-Garlic paste: 50 gm
Oats: 50 gm
Urad dal: 100 gm
Chana dal: 100 gm
Red chilli powder: 30 gm
Turmeric powder: 15 gm
Onion: 100 gm
Cardamom: 3 gm
Small cinnamon sticks: 5 gm
Cloves: 5 gm
Coriander powder: 10 gm
Garam Masala powder: 10 gm
Cumin powder: 5 gm
Black pepper: 10 gm
Ghee: 200 gm
Fresh coriander leaves: 50 gm
Fresh mint leaves: 50 gm
Green chillies: 15 gm
Cashew nuts: 1 gm
Lemon: 2 gm
Salt to taste

Method
- Finely chop vegetables
- Soak broken wheat, urad and chana dal in water for 4 hours. The water should be double the quantity of the dal and wheat mixture
- Slice onions and fry until golden brown
- In a heavy bottom Lagan, add vegetables and dal mixture. Allow it to cook for 2 to 3 hours on slow flame (You can also use a pressure cooker instead of lagan)
- Add oats soaked in warm water to the mixture
- Then add cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon stick and turmeric powder. Keep on stirring and mashing the mixture with a ladle
- Once the vegetables and dal turn into a mash, add chopped coriander, mint leaves, garam masala, cumin powder, ghee and brown onion
- Add a tablespoon of ghee in a small container and fry the black pepper corns. Mix it with the haleem
- Use fried onions and cashew nuts as topping. Garnish with coriander and mint leaves

* Tips: You can blend the haleem in a mixer grinder or blender if it is not properly mashed. Veg haleem sticks to bottom of the pan very quickly due to the oats, hence, be extra careful while cooking it.

By Chef Satish Kumar, Chef De Cuisine, Sheraton, Hyderabad.