Holi Khao!!

Holi kab hai? Kab hai holi?  Gabbar may keep asking this question for centuries to come but we know that this festival of colors and sparkle is just round the corner. While much deliberation is happening on the clothes one is going to wear to the society holi party, some effort should be made to have fun at home with food that is specially made during this festival that adds more color and joy to life.

Take a look at the Holi ki daawat menu:

THANDAI

This festive drink is a balanced yet amazing combination of various aromas coming from its ingredients of rose petals, melon seeds, nuts and of course the saffron. Famous for its taste and fragrance in North and Central India, Thandai, when served chilled, has a magical impact on you. Rose and saffron calm the senses while the nuts and spices keep you full so you have enough energy to play Holi all day long. Here’s how you make it.

Ingredients:

Blanched and peeled almonds- half a cup

Blanched and peeled and finely chopped Pistachios- 30

Cashews- half a cup

Black peppercorns (kaali miri)-10

Dried rose petals- Half a cup or Rose syrup-1.5 tbsp

Fennel seeds (saunf)- 1.5 tbsp

Poppy seeds (khuskhus)- half a cup

Melon seeds (magaj)- ¾ cup

Green cardamom seeds-3 tsp

Sugar- 1 cup

A few strands of saffron

A litre and a half of milk.

Drinking water to make paste

Method:

Grind all the ingredients other than milk, sugar and saffron in a food processor with some drinking water. Store this paste in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Combine the milk and sugar and bring to a boil. Cool and put in the refrigerator for 2 hours. To serve, put 2-3 tbsp of the thandai paste in a glass and top with chilled milk garnished with pistachios and saffron strands.

Hot tip: you can always add the popular intoxicant bhang to this drink to have some more fun on Holi!

GUJIYA

While many of us make the traditional puran poli on Holi, there is one more mithayi stuffed with the goodness of mawa and nuts that everyone looks forward to on this colourful day and that is Gujiya. You can make tonnes in advance and store them to relish on holi and days later. It tastes best when you make it in ghee.

Ingredients:

½ kg maida

5-6 tbsp of melted ghee

For the filling:

500gms mawa/ khoya (evaporated milk)

A pinch of cardamom powder

25gms each of chopped almonds, raisins, desiccated coconut

400gms of sugar

Method:

Sieve the flour and add ghee to it. Now with light finger strokes rub the maida and ghee together so that the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Now add some water to it and knead very lightly till such time that you get a soft yet tight dough. Cover and keep aside.

Now mash the mawa and fry it in a saucepan until it changes color to light brown. Now add sugar, almonds, cashews, coconut, raisins and cardamom powder to it and mix well. Fry for a couple of minutes and let the mixture cool until it reaches room temperature.

Divide the dough into small balls and roll in about 5 inches diameter. Fill half the circle with the stuffing and cover with the other half. You have to now twist the edges inwards or seal the gujiya with a few strong pinches on the edges. Prepare all the gujiyas like this.

Heat up the ghee and fry them until golden brown.

Hot tip: you can also use gujiya moulds in order to make the perfect shape. I use them for convenience and of course the uniformity. Just brush the moulds with oil before anything else.

 

BHANG KE PAKORE

Holi per Bhang ki baat na ho? Not possible. When everyone enjoys Bhang on this festival why shy away from making a special snack out it that everyone enjoys? Vegetable fritters made out of chickpea flour (besan) and a really small amount of Bhang that can be a lot of fun J

Ingredients:

250gms each of Besan, potatoes, cauliflower, onions, spinach and aubergine

10gms of bhang seed powder

A pinch of Soda bicarb

5gms of ajwain (carom seeds)

5 gms of amchoor (dry mango powder)

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Mix together all the dry ingredients and add enough water to make a medium consistency batter. Now dip all the veggies in this batter and coat them completely. Deep fry them until golden brown. Serve hot with khajoor aur imli ki chutney

With that I hope you have many friends and family over to your house on this special festival that adds a lot more warmth and color to your life. Holi Mubarak!!!