IKaram Sethi – founder of JKS RESTAURANTS – works alongside the team at Gymkhana Fine Foods to create each jar of the their bewitching sauces, marinades, and chutneys. When asked how these products enable home cooks to create authentic Indian cuisine that tastes like a restaurant quality meal, he had this to say:
‘Our sauces and marinades are created to capture the depth and complexity of spicing you’d expect from a Gymkhana restaurant meal – without the need for hours in the kitchen, specialist knowledge, or a long list of ingredients you might only use once in a blue moon.
We use premium ingredients and carefully balanced spice blends to deliver the bold, signature flavours Gymkhana is known for. By simplifying intricate, time-consuming cooking techniques, our sauces and marinades make it possible for anyone – regardless of skill level – to create restaurant-quality Indian dishes at home. Because the hard work is already done for you, you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time adding those thoughtful touches to a celebratory meal – like drinks, décor, and atmosphere – that often get overlooked’
On crafting an unforgettable Diwali menu
‘The joy of Diwali lies in the abundance of food and the warmth of bringing people together around the table to celebrate. Gymkhana Fine Foods makes it easier to create a multi-course feast without the stress. Start with a centrepiece main or two – such as Butter Masala, Rogan Josh, or, if you’re going all out, Lasooni-marinated Lobster finished with our Goan Curry Sauce. Each sauce is crafted to deliver the same depth and complexity of flavour you’d expect from a Gymkhana restaurant dish. Our marinades are perfect for building grilled starters and canapés. Try the Tandoori marinade for grilled prawns or paneer skewers, or the Hariyali marinade for Hariyali corn on the cob.’
RECIPES FOR DIWALI
MINI BUTTER MASALA CHICKEN PUFFS
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Classic Tandoori Marinade
- 3 tbsp Butter Masala Cooking Sauce
- 200g Chicken Thighs (boneless)
- Puff Pastry (1 pack)
- 2 tbsp Coriander Roots (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp Kasoori methi (crushed)
- 1 tsp Ginger (finely chopped)
- 1 Egg (beaten, for egg wash)
- Nigella or poppy seeds (for garnish)
- For the cocktail:
- 50ml Rampur Double Cask Indian Single Malt Whisky
- 10ml Simple Syrup
- 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
Method
- Marinate the chicken with our Classic Tandoori Marinade for 1 hour. Grill or pan-fry until cooked through. Chop into small pieces.
- Melt butter in a pan and add the chopped chicken. Pour in our Butter Masala Sauce and your choice of herbs to create a rich and aromatic filling.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan). Cut the puff pastry sheet into 12 small squares. Place a spoonful of the butter chicken filling in the center of each square. Fold into a triangle or envelope shape, pressing the edges to seal, or cut with a round cutter.
- Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with nigella or poppy seeds. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and puffed. Serve warm.
- Meanwhile prepare your festive cocktail – we’ve chosen an old fashioned with Rampur Double Cask Indian Single Malt Whisky as this pairs perfectly with the flavours of the dish. Stir the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice for 10-15 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with an orange zest twist or wheel.
- Serve alongside the the warm chicken puffs.
CLASSIC TANDOORI PANEER SHASHLIK
Ingredients
- 1 Jar Classic Tandoori Marinade
- 500g Paneer, cut into chunks
- 1 Large Green Pepper, cut into large chunks
- 1 Large Red Onion, quartered
- Salt to Taste
Method
- Apply the Classic Tandoori Marinade to paneer, onion and pepper, mix well and set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Skewer the onion, paneer and pepper, on bamboo skewers.
- Preheat the oven to 220C, place the skewers on a wire rack with an oven tray underneath, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until charred.
- Remove and serve with garlic naan and coriander and mint chutney.
- Beef Shin Keema Naan
PANEER BUTTER MASALA GUJIYA
Ingredients
For Pastry Dough:
- 120g Whole Wheat Flour
- 125g Plain Flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 60-75ml Water
- 2 tbsp Ghee
For the Filling:
- 150g Paneer (diced into small cubes)
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 green chilli (chopped)
- 1 red pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 Jar Gymkhana Butter Masala Cooking Sauce
- Chopped Coriander
- Oil for frying
Method
To make the pastry:
- Add the plain flour, whole wheat flour and salt to a bowl.
- Crumble the ghee into flour mixture.
- Rub and mix the ghee with the flours to form a bread crumb like texture.
- Add water in parts and knead into a dough.
- Knead the dough until it is firm and tight. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.
To make the filling:
- Heat oil in a pan, and add cumin seeds once it’s hot.
- Add the garlic and green chilli and sauté on a high heat.
- Add the pepper and the diced paneer to the pan along with half a jar of Gymkhana Butter Masala Cooking Sauce and simmer for 5 minutes..
- Sprinkle with chopped coriander and mix through.
- Move to a bowl once cooked.
- Once the dough has rested:
- Cut the dough into 12 equal size parts and roll into balls. Once rolled, cover again with a damp cloth.
- Dust your board lightly with some flour and use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a small circle (around 4-5 inches). Rolling without flour is ideal, so don’t add too much flour to your board.
- With your fingertip or a pastry brush, apply water to the edge of the circle.
- Place around 1.5 tbsp of the Paneer Butter Masala filling on one side of the circle, keeping the edges empty.
- Carefully, bring together both the edges and join, pressing them together gently.
- Seal the gujiya with a fork.
- Deep fry in a pan of oil until golden brown.
- Serve alongside green chutney to dip.
CARROT HALWA GUJIYA
Ingredients
For Pastry Dough:
- 120g Whole Wheat Flour
- 125g Plain Flour1/4 tsp Salt
- 60-75ml Water
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- Oil for frying
For Carrot Halwa Filling:
- 200g Grated Carrots
- 250ml Milk
- 50g Sugar (adjust to taste)
- 50g Khoya
- 15g Ghee
- 1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
Method
To make the pastry:
- Add the plain flour, whole wheat flour and salt to a bowl.
- Crumble the ghee into flour mixture.
- Rub and mix the ghee with the flours to form a bread crumb like texture.
- Add water in parts and knead into a dough.
- Knead the dough until it is firm and tight. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.
To make the filling:
- Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan, add grated carrots, and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Turn down to a medium heat and add sugar to the carrots.
- Pour in milk and cook on medium heat until it evaporates
- Sprinkle over the khoya and mix well.
- Cook until the mixture thickens, then let it cool completely.
- Once the dough has rested, cut into 12 equal size parts and roll into balls. Once rolled, cover again with a damp cloth.
- Dust the rolling board lightly with some flour and use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a small circle (around 4-5 inches).
- Rolling without flour is ideal, so don’t add too much flour to your board.
- With your fingertip or a pastry brush, apply water to the edge of the circle.
- Place around 1.5 tbsp of the Carrot Halwa filling on one side of the circle, keeping the edges empty.
- Carefully, bring together both the edges and join, pressing them together gently.
- Seal the gujiya with a fork.
- Deep fry in a pan of oil until golden brown.
Time
- Prepping: 45 minutes
- Cooking: 30 minutes
- Servings: X12 Gujiya
- Allergies: Dairy, Gluten
PANEER OR CHICKEN SAMOSA & MAKHANI KETCHUP
Ingredients
- 180g plain flour
- 30ml water
- 5g salt
- 2g carom seeds
- 2g nigella seeds
- 400g paneer or 450g boneless chicken thighs
- ½ jar Tandoori marinade
- 200ml ghee
- 40g chopped garlic
- 5g cumin seeds
- 50g chopped onion
- 10g coriander stems
- 1 Butter Masala sauce
- 50g ketchup
- Oil to deep fry
Method
To make the dough:
- Melt 200ml of ghee. Allow to cool.
- To make the dough, sieve the flour, make a well in the centre. Mix in 50ml ghee until incorporated and then add the water, salt, carom and nigella seeds, kneading until a dough forms. Set aside.
To make paneer samosas:
- Dice the paneer into 2cm cubes, coat with half a jar of tandoori marinade, then roast at 180oc for 6-8 minutes. Allow to cool.
To make chicken samosas:
- Dice the chicken into 2cm cubes, coat with half a jar of tandoori marinade, then roast at 180oc for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Heat the 150ml of reserved ghee in a pan, then add the chopped garlic and cumin and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chopped onion, cook until lightly golden.
- Set aside 50g of Butter Masala sauce for the ketchup. Add the remainder to the pan and simmer until well incorporated. Add the roasted paneer and mix. Allow to cool.
- Roll out 20g of samosa dough thinly into a circle, then add 30g of the paneer filling to the centre. Fold the three sides together to form a triangle. Repeat for all of the dough.
- Heat your oil to 175oc and deep fry each samosa for roughly 4 minutes until golden brown.
- To serve, mix ketchup with the 50g remaining butter masala sauce to enjoy alongside the samosas.
Time
- Prepping – 35 mins
- Cooking – 5 mins
- Servings: X4
- Allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Nuts
