Halloween Recipes | Skull Nan & Skull Mushroom Masala

Halloween Recipes | Skull Nan & Skull Mushroom Masala

What is Halloween?

Happy Halloween! The sound of “Trick or Treat” reverberates in the streets on Halloween. Halloween themed parties with ghoulish dress code and ghoulish food is served.  Costumes, candy and spooky food; that’s what Halloween is all about. I tried out these Halloween Recipes | Skull Nan & Skull Mushroom Masala and dedicated them to my grandsons. Arian and Amir, this one is for you my loves.

Jack O Lantern

I love the Jack O Lanterns carved from pumpkins but we do not get them here. In Ireland, people carved demonic faces out of turnips to frighten away Jack’s wandering soul. While in the US they began carving jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins, as these were abundantly available there.

In Mexico, they celebrate The Day of The dead where prayers and sweets are offered. It is similar to our Indian tradition. We perform rituals during Shraddha, ‘Pitru paksha’. Mahalaya is the last day of the Pitra Paksha or the time when Hindus offer homage to their deceased ancestors. The ritual of ‘Tarpan’ on this auspicious day; people offer prayers and sweets to ancestors to seek their blessings. Isn’t it similar?

Halloween Recipes | Skull Nan & Skull Mushroom Masala

Back to Halloween. If you want to spook out your family, try these scary and gross-looking Halloween Food recipes I have dished out today- Halloween Recipes | Skull Nan & Skull Mushroom Masala

Celebrate Halloween with these fun and creepy Halloween ideas! From Halloween Skull Nans to Skull Butter Mushroom Masala. I am sure no one in the west would have thought of these recipes. I did borrow the ideas but the recipes are typically Indian and hideous-yet-delicious treats. Make your macabre skulls with instant Nan dough and gorge out eyes in a mushroom to look like a tiny skull and make Mushroom Butter masala to go with the Nan.

Halloween Fact Files

The history of Halloween goes back more than 2,000 years.

Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a pagan religious tradition.

People would light bonfires and wear unconventional costumes to ward off ghosts.

The evening before All Saints Day was known as ‘All Hallows Eve’, and later Halloween.

The ‘treat’ is mostly some form of candy or chocolate that are given to children and ‘trick’ refers to a threat – usually an idle one – if something nice is not given.

According to history, in Ireland, people would put on costumes and go from door-to-door and singing songs to the dead. They received cakes as payment.

The origin of pumpkin carving also goes back to an Irish myth. Pumpkin carving is a must-do activity during Halloween and this year, amid the coronavirus pandemic; enjoy pumpkin carving with your family at home.

All the festivities and culture, are good for its native & its region. Don’t follow blindly without knowing why it is being performed.

Western Halloween meet Desi Nan

Instant Skull Butter Nan

The regular nan is made with flour, yoghurt, yeast, eggs or baking soda.it needs to be kept aside for a couple of hours to rise.

Instant Nan

 I found my own way to make instant nans and it really works fine. I take a bottle of unflavoured soda pop to knead the dough. The dough rises fast and makes fluffy nans.

INGREDIENTS

1 large cup flour

1 tsp sugar

Butter

1 tsp salt

1 tsp oil for greasing

½ Bottle of unflavoured soda pop

METHOD

Firstly, sift the flour and the salt, add the sugar and make a well in the centre.

Now, make a dough with the soda and cover it with a damp cloth. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Subsequently, heat a big heavy kadhai (wok) and heat it nicely.

For the Skull Nans

Next, roll out like a small elongated Nan.

Gorge out two huge eyes and a large hole for a mouth in it. Seal the edges with a fork.  

You can roast 4 Nan at a time. Now place the rolled out skull Nans in the Hot Kadai.

Flip the Nan once.

Roast it further on an open flame. Remove from fire.

Finally, liberally brush some butter on them. Serve Skull Nan with the Skull Mushroom Masala

Skull Mushroom Butter Masala

Mushroom Butter Masala is a sister of Paneer Butter Masala which is a second cousin of Chicken Butter Masala. I am kidding; I mean the same gravy works for all three or any other vegetable you would like to use.

It’s a rich and delightful gravy with a sauce made creamy through the addition of cream and butter. This mushroom butter masala is a spicy, creamy and delicious dish that is the impeccable combo for butter Nan (for steamed rice even for the south Indian in me)

INGREDIENTS

For Tomato Puree

5medium to large tomatoes, 250 grams tomatoes

Blanched and Pureed

200 gms mushrooms

½ cup Phool makhana

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 tbsp butter  + 1 tablespoon oil

½ tsp turmeric powder

2 green chillies

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp pav bhaji masala or garam masala powder

1 tsp dry fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi)

3 tbsp cream 

½ teaspoon sugar 

Salt to taste

½ tsp red food colour

1 sprig chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Whole Spices

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)

3 green cardamoms

4 cloves

1-star anise

METHOD

Firstly boil water in a pan and blanch the tomatoes.

Cool and puree. Set aside

Consequently, rinse, and half the button mushrooms.

Take a straw and gorge out two eyes in the mushroom half and carve a nose with a carving knife. Chop off the extended stem and make gashes for the teeth.

Take the makhana and a few mushrooms, saute in butter and set aside for the garnish.

Next, chop the onions.

Melt 3 tbsp butter in a pan, add the oil. Add the whole spices and sauté till the fragrance spreads

Next, add the ginger-garlic paste. Stir and sauté till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away.

Now, add the chopped onion. Stir very well and sauté till they become translucent. You can add salt now to hasten the process.

Add the sliced mushrooms. Stir-fry the mushrooms on a medium to high flame. Once the water is evaporated the mushrooms will brown.

Subsequently, add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and pav bhaji masala.

Stir and mix the spice powders with the rest of the sautéed mushrooms and onions.

Add the tomato puree. Mix and stir very well.

Sauté this mixture on a low to medium till it thickens and reduces.

Then add 1 cup water or milk if required. Stir very well.

Mushroom Gravy

Let the gravy simmer for 7 to 8 minutes on a low flame.

Finally, add Kasuri methi and the cream

Stir very well and switch off the flame.

Lastly, garnish with coriander leaves.

For the Halloween Skull Butter Mushroom Masala serving, garnish with the sautéed makhana and skull mushrooms. That gives the final touch and serve with Hot Buttered Skull Nan.

 

Do check out last years Frankenstein Fingers and Macabre Mummies.

I have some lovely ideas for Easter- Easter Bunnies and for Christmas these Fruits Skewers and a pull-apart Christmas Tree.

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