Time For Healthy Christmas

Dieting during Christmas can make you feel like a spoilsport at the dinner table. But you can have a healthy yet scrumptious Christmas meal by eating wise. You don’t need to nibble like a rat. All you need to do is choose right and don’t deny the simple pleasure of eating and merry making. Here we have  Chef Ruchira Hoon Phillip and Executive Chef, Gopal Jha, Grand Mercure Bangalore dishing up something healthy this Christmas

 1. Brunsli with meringue cookie recipe

Ingredients

100gr ground hazelnuts
2 large egg whites
Salt
½ teaspoon lemon juice
125 gr sugar
1 vanilla sugar (around 1 tbsp.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
100 gr ground almonds

Method
Beat egg whites with lemon juice, salt and sugar to a firm meringue.
Put aside 3 tablespoons of the meringue, to the rest add the vanilla sugar, cinnamon, nuts and almonds. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Roll out about to about ¾ cm on a sugar-covered surface (you can roll the dough between two layers of cling film to make things easier).
Cut out stars, put them on backing racks and cover with the meringue that you’ve put aside, adding to it some drops of water.
Bake in the warm oven at 150 °C in the lowest part of the oven for 15-18 minutes.

Take off the racks and let cool while still on the backing sheet. They should be stored in tin boxes and get softer after 1-2 days.

2. Chocolate Nero cookies

Ingredients
1 Cup Almonds
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Cups Chopped Good Quality Bittersweet Chocolate
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Add castor sugar and icing sugar to roll.

Method
Toast the almonds in the oven until light golden brown and once cool, grind finely and set aside.
Set a stainless steel bowl over a double boiler, and melt the chocolate and butter together, stirring frequently.
Once completely melted, remove from the heat.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and sugar.
Beat on medium speed about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is pale and frothy.
Slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the eggs mixing well to blend.
Add the flour, baking powder and almonds to the chocolate and eggs and mix just until smooth dough is created.
Refrigerate the dough for two hours.
Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and take small pieces about the size of large olives and roll into a ball.
Roll each ball first into the granulated sugar, then into the powdered sugar and place on a parchment covered baking sheet.
Continue to use up all of the dough in the same manner.
Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until they expand and begin to crack.

3. Ginger bread with jaggery

Ingredients:

100g unsalted butter, room temperature
135g jaggery granules {or jaggery, chopped fine}
45ml honey
30ml water
1tsp dried ginger powder {saunt}
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Zest of 1 orange
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
175g whole-wheat flour
Demerara sugar for sprinkling over

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with parchment and lightly grease 5 mini cake molds,
Place the jaggery, butter, honey and water in a heatproof bowl. Then heat in microwave for a minute, until the butter has melted. Whisk well with a balloon whisk until the jaggery and butter have combined.
Add the ginger powder, pie spice, orange zest, vanilla extract, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk well to mix.
Whisk in the eggs one by one. Now fold in the whole-wheat flour gently.
Ladle into prepared tins, sprinkle over dried orange crystals. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until risen and light golden brown {40-45 minutes for a larger cake}. Use tester to check if done.
Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then gently loosen sides to demold. Serve warm as it is or with a drizzle of unsweetened whipped cream.

4. Gluten free Christmas cake

Ingredients
300 gm. presoaked Christmas dry fruit
½ orange zests
½ lemon zest
200 ml jaggery syrup
150g (6oz) almond flour
100 gm grated apple
175g (6oz) butter, softened
4 medium eggs

Method:

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees. Put the remaining ingredients except the almond flour in a large bowl. Beat with a hand-held electric mixer until well combined. Fold the almond flour well.
Grease a deep 23cm round tin or 20cm square cake tin with butter, line with a double layer of baking paper and grease the paper. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Level the top and cover with a disc of baking paper.
Bake for about 2 hours until firm to the touch and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
When the cake has cooled, remove the baking paper disc; pierce the top in several places with a skewer, then pour over a little brandy. Remove the cake from the tin but keep it in the baking paper. Wrap with more baking paper, then wrap with foil. Then store in a cool place to mature.
Decorate the cake with glacé fruit, marzipan or ready-to-use icing.

5 .Brownie Cheesecake

Ingredients
For the brownie crust

250 grams dark chocolate melted
50 ml coconut oil melted
230 grams cottage cheese
5 tablespoons oat flour
80 ml jaggery syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the cheesecake layer:

350 grams cream cheese
2 eggs
100 gm jaggery powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the sour cream raspberry swirl:

300 grams sour cream
50 ml jaggery syrup
50 grams fresh raspberries + more to garnish
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
To make the brownie crust:
Preheat the oven to 160 °C or 325 °F. Combine melted dark chocolate, melted coconut oil, cottage cheese, oats flour, jaggery syrup, baking soda and salt. Spread into a backing dish to make the cheesecake layer:
Blend cream cheese, eggs, jaggery powder and vanilla extract. Spread the mixture over the brownie layer.
Bake for up to 40 minutes.
To make the sour cream raspberry swirl:
Combine sour cream with brown sugar and set aside. Process raspberries with a hand mixer or blender until smooth. Add maple syrup.
5 minutes before the cake is ready, pour the sour cream mixture over the cake and drop the raspberry sauce with a teaspoon all over the surface. Use a toothpick to swirl the sauce into the sour cream. Bake for 5 more minutes.
Let the cake cool completely and put it in the fridge overnight.

6. Mediterranean Yogurt, Raisin and Sumac Roast Chicken

Ingredients
For the Marinade
1 cup of yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 pinch of saffron
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sumac

For the stuffing
1 preserved lemon
1 regular lemon
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion sliced
50 grams raisins

For the vegetables
1 potato, thickly sliced
1 onion, thickly sliced
2 tsp raisins
1 preserved lemon chopped.

Final basting
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp sumac

Method
1. Mix all the things for the marination into a bowl and then marinate the chicken, breast-side down overnight.
2. Arrange the onions and potatoes into an oven proof dish. Add in the raisins and the chopped preserved lemons. Pour 1/2 cup of marinade over it and set aside.
3. Stuff the chicken with the said ingredients and truss and tie the chicken
4. Place it on top of the vegetables. Mix all the things together for the final basting and rub the chicken with it.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 2 hours, covering the top of the bird for the first one hour. Let it rest for 30 minutes before eating.