Halloween special: freaky food

Tonight is Halloween and if you’re planning to host a party or just celebrate, here’s how you can do so with food. Get spooky with your food this Halloween

The Witch’s Hand

Ingredients 30 ml oil 500 gm minced chicken Salt as per taste Black pepper powder as per taste 2 big boiled potatoes 50 gm parmesan cheese grated Almond slivers for detailing of the nails Tomato ketchup for detailing of the blood 200 gm flour 1 tsp salt 50 ml milk 50 ml water 1 tbsp melted butter

Method Take flour, add salt and knead into a dough with the milk and water. Knead further with butter and let it rest for a while. Flatten into a thin sheet with a rolling pin.Heat oil in a pan and add chicken mince and season with salt and black pepper powder. Sauté till cooked and finish with parmesan cheese. Cool it and then mix with boiled potatoes. Mould the mix into any Halloween shape you like. Here we are making a severed witch’s hand. Cover with flattened dough. Imperfection is key to achieve a dirty ragged look! Using a toothpick or fork, score the “skin” or make wrinkle marks on the hand. Bake in a preheated oven at 220 C for 20 minutes. Finish the detailing with “blood” using tomato ketchup or tomato sauce.

Spooky Cuties

Ingredients 200 gm cauliflower florets 100 gm diced potatoes 400 ml milk Salt as per taste 20 ml cream 10 pitted olives Few toasted bread slices

Method

Boil cauliflower florets and potatoes in milk and salt. Once soft cooked, strain and blend it with addition of cream. Pipe it with a star nozzle piping bag on the toasts. Finish the detailing of spookies with black olives.

Tandoori mummies

Ingredients 10 paneer sticks Pizza dough for the mummies Pepper corns Ketchup or mustard sauce 2 tbsp oil

For the marinade 1/8 cup yoghurt 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste 2 tsp red chilli powder Salt to season 1/8 tsp garam masala 1 tsp lemon juice

Method Beat the yoghurt to a smooth consistency and mix in the rest of the ingredients for the marinade. After mixing well, coat the paneer sticks with the marinade. Set aside and let it rest for at least an hour. Pan roast the marinated paneer in a tbsp of oil. You can also roast the paneer. Cut the pizza dough into thin long strips and wrap them around the paneer sticks to mimic mummified remains. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes or until the tops turn golden. Take the mummies out of the oven and make eyes with mustard sauce or chilli sauce.

Spooky Cupcake Cones

Ingredients (You can also buy cones if you want) 4 whole eggs 240 gm castor sugar 150 gm butter (room temperature) 90 ml milk 170 gm flour 90 ml vegetable oil 90 gm dark chocolate For the filling 125 gm cream cheese 125 gm icing sugar 35 gm butter (softened) 1 whole lemon 50 gm whipped cream 1 vanilla pod

Method For the cones: Break the eggs into a large bowl. While beating the eggs, slowly add sugar. Add flour, butter, milk and oil until a smooth dough forms. Set aside for about one hour. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C. Spread the mixture thin with a spatula on a baking paper. Bake until golden brown. Shape into a cone. Once cold, it will become crispy and hard. Melt the chocolate and cover the inside of the cone with a brush.

For the filling Mix cream cheese, icing sugar and soft butter together. Add some lemon juice. Crush out the vanilla seeds. Add the same to the mix. Fold in the whipped cream. Put the filling in a piping bag and dress into the cone. Garnish to your liking with spooky decorations.

Horror hacks

Rice pumpkins

Turn simple fried rice into something spooky. Make small balls out of the rice, use the stem of a brinjal or a chilli for the stem of the pumpkin and use small pieces of bay leaf for the nose and eyes.

Ghost bananas

All you need are bananas and some chocolate. Peel the bananas and cut the lower parts. Use small flattened pieces of chocolate cut in circles, for the eyes. For the mouth you can use a bigger piece.

Squiggly worms

If you want to gross out guests this is a fantastic idea. You will need ready-made jelly mix, keep the mixture ready and pour it into a set of straws. Put the straws in the fridge and let it set for a while. Afterwards slide out the jelly, and your squiggly worms are ready.