Winter treats: Delicious and healthy
A perfect blend of nutrition and taste, here are some recipes that are must try in the winter season
Blending dadi-nani ke nuske with a lots of flavours, chef Meghna Kamdar shares five winter recipes with us to keep winter issues at bay:


WINTER SPECIAL IMMUNITY LADDOO
One laddoo a day, will keep you warm straight away! These immunity providing laddoo is loaded with dry fruits and rich fat.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup ghee
4 tbs gond
1 cup of mix dry fruits ( almond, pista, walnuts, cashew nuts)
1/2 cup soft dates
1 tsp dry ginger powder
1 tsp cardamom powder
Method:
- Ghee roast Gond and Dryfruits one by one
- When you ghee roast Gond it will fluff up
- When you ghee roast dates, make sure you press it and cook on medium flame to make it into a thick pulp which helps bind all the ingredients
- Now pond Gond once it cools down
- Chop dry fruits into small chunks
- Add Ginger Powder and Cardamom Powder
- Add dates
- And roll the Immunity Laddos

NO SUGAR METHI GOND PISTA ROLLS
Winter is the season of having all the ingredients which Gujaratis call "Vasana”. Reason being they build immunity and their easy digestion. This recipe can be easily stored for 10-15 days outside without fridge.
Method:
- Crush 1tbs methi dana(fenugreek seeds) to make it a powder and soak in 1 tbs ghee for half an hour. (This step is very important as it reduces bitterness of methi seeds )
- In a kadai, take 1 tbs ghee and fry 2 tbs edible Gum (Gond). Just make sure you fry gond on a medium flame till it becomes crunchy; it will look like a pop corn. (Otherwise it will stick in your teeth while eating it)
- Remove gond in a plate and when it is warm, add 2 tsp sonth powder (ginger powder)- you can increase or decrease quantity of sonth powder per your taste.
- Now crush the Gond mixture coarsely; and keep aside
- In the same kadai, add 1 tsp ghee and 18-30 soft dates
- Flame should be on a low. Cook dates till it becomes soft and pliable. At last add soaked methi.
- Once date becomes soft, remove it and mix it into the Gond mixture.
- Add cardamom powder (optional)
- And some chopped California Pista
- Mix everything well while mixture is warm
- Give this a cylinder shape & roll it in more chopped pista
- Cut and serve - you may have one piece every morning and keep cold cough and joint pain away. California Pista adds required protein too.

FRESH TURMERIC & GINGER SHOTS
Have this small glass of shots every morning after breakfast. 3-4 tbs/ per glass every morning will benefit immensely.
Method:
- Take one orange, remove its skin and then put it in 1 cup of water. Boil for 10 minutes, grind and strain it.
- Peel & chop 200 gm fresh turmeric & 100 gm ginger
- In the mixer jar, take fresh turmeric, ginger, orange flash, squeeze 2 fresh lime and crush black pepper
- Churn everything till you get smooth mixture
- Then strain the mixture (if you have already got juicer then no need to strain)
- Now add orange peel liquid which we had boiled into the mixture

GINGER JAGGERY BITES
This is tested method for chronic cough and cold. It will help keep your body warm, wdue to ginger, ghee, jaggery, sesame seeds, turmeric and black pepper. Don’t chew it; let it melt by itself to smoothen your throat.
Ingredients:
100 gm Ginger
200 gm Jaggery (Gur)
1 tsp Ghee
Pinch of Salt
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi)
Crushed Black Pepper
Roasted Sesame Seeds (Til)
Method:
Keep a Ginger Knob on direct gas flame
Turn it occasionally until the skin is charred
Leave aside in the bowl of water to cool down
Remove its black skin with the help of knife
Shred the Ginger and keep aside
Further heat 1 tsp Ghee in a pan
Add 200 gm Jaggery and stir continuously on slow to medium flame until it melts
Add a pinch of Salt
Add 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
Add Crushed Black Pepper
Add shredded Ginger and mix it well
Stir and cook until the mixture turns thicker
(Take a drop of this mixture, let it slightly cool down and try to roll it to check if it's done)
Transfer this mixture on a plate greased with ghee
Apply a little ghee on your palms and start making small balls out of this mixture
Roll them into Roasted Sesame Seeds

GONDH KI RAAB
Gond is known to boost stamina, helps reduce back pain and joint pain; and is also good for people with low Vitamin D.
Method:
- Take 3 tbs of Gond (gundar) and fry it in 3-4 tbs of Ghee; on a slow flame
- It will take 7-8 minutes- Gond will fluff up and become crunchy
- Take it in a bowl and crush it
- Now in the crushed Gond add 3 tbs Sonth (Saunth / Ginger Powder) Powder , 1 tbs Ganthoda Powder (Peepramul Powder), cardamom powder (optional), 5 tbs chopped almond, 5-6 tbs dry grated coconut
- Mix this mixture well
- Now in a kadhai, boil 2 cups of water
- Add jaggery as per your taste - I took 2 tbs
- Now wait till water comes to rolling boil and jaggery should have completely boiled
- Add the sonth and gond mixture into boiling water
- On a medium flame boil for 7-8 minutes
