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Recipes for Holi - The Festival of Colors & Fun

by: Meenakshi

Holi is one of the major and important Hindu spring festival in the Indian calender. People celebrate this festival with lots of colors and that is why it is called Festival of colors and unlimited fun. The celebrations starts in the morning and lasts till evening. In Braj Holi is celebrated for a month. It is said that the festival of Holi actually originated in Braj and is played with great enthusiasm at all places associated with Lord Krishna. The places are Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandagaon, and Barsana. These places have become one of the top tourist destinations during the festive season of Holi, which lasts here sixteen days up to a month.

Every Festival in India is celebrated with some special sweets and dishes. Let us see some of such delicious Holi Special recipes.

Indian Recipe for Holi : Bhang ki Thandai
Ingredients:

1 1/2 litres water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

1 tbsp. almonds

1 tbsp. kharbooj/tarbooj seeds skinned (commercially available) (these are skinned dried seeds of watermelon and cantaloupes)

1/2 tbsp. khuskhus (poppy seeds)

1/2 tbsp. saunf (aniseed)

1/2 tsp. cardamom powder or 15 whole pods

1/2 tsp. rose water (optional)

1 tsp. peppercorns whole

1/4 cup dried or fresh rose petals (gulkand variety)

Method :

Soak sugar in 1/2 litre of the water used. Keep aside. Wash clean all other dry ingredients, except cardamom if using powder. Soak in 2 cups of remaining water. Keep aside. Allow all soaked items to stand for at least 2 hours. Grind all soaked ingredients to a very fine paste(not sugar). Use a stone grinder (manual or electric) if possible. When the paste is very fine, mix remaining water.

Place a strong muslin strainer over a large deep vessel or tie a strong muslin cloth over rim of vessel and use to strain. Press through muslin with back of hands, extracting the liquid into vessel. Add remaining water, a little at a time to extract more. Pour back some of the extract and press, repress. Repeat this process till the residue becomes dry and husk like. Add milk, sugar and rosewater to the extracted liquid. If using cardamom powder mix it in with the milk. Mix well. Chill for an hour or two before serving.

Image credit: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/407842690_e978d6c49b.jpg

Indian Recipe for Holi : Gujjia
Ingredients:

500 gms maida (flour)

1kg khoya

3tbsps kismis (raisins)

200 gms almonds (cut into thin strips)

6 tbsps cooking oil. ( keep some more aside for deep frying)

200 ml water.

500 gms sugar.

Method :

Mix the six tablespoons of oil with the maida. Using fingers, mix well so that the mixture takes the form of breadcrumbs and binds to a certain extent. Now add some water and knead lightly. Keep adding water as required and knead into a soft dough.

Set aside and cover with a damp cloth. Put the khoya in a deep-frying pan and fry to a light brown colour. Add sugar into the khoya and mix well. Add almonds and kismis. Fry for a few minutes and remove from the fire. Let it cool, roll out the kneaded dough into a chapati, thicker and smaller than a normal chapati.

Fill half the chapati with the khoya mixture, fold the chapati and seal the round, twisting the edges inwards. Take care that the filling does not ooze out. Deep fry these gujjias, a few at a time, till they are a deep golden brown. Fry on a slow fire. When done, take them out with a sieve type ladle, draining the oil completely. Let them drain further on a spread out newspaper, till all the grease is soaked up. Store for use in an airtight glass jar.

Image credit: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://blog.wacky5.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/sherly-recipe-gujiya-sweet-puff.jpg&usg=AFQjCNEWjYXy89aBKSHFinxK73CQgumeIQ

Indian Recipe for Holi : Kanji ke vade
Ingredients:

1 kg urad dal.

2 pcs(small) hing

3 tsp salt

4 tsp rai (finely ground)

2 tsp red chillies (pounded)

6 jugs water ( 1 jug = 6 glasses)

Oil for deep frying.

Whole red chillies for garnish.

Method :

Soak urad dal overnight and grind to a fine paste. It should have the consistency of cake batter. Put it n a vessel and whisk it very well so that the mixture is fluffy. Heat oil well in a deep frying pan. Test if the oil is ready by dropping a little of the mixture into the pan if it fluffs up and floats to the surface the oil is ready. Take a piece of wet cloth on your left palm. This allows the vadas to slide off into the pan without difficulty. Put some of the mixture onto the cloth and flatten it, shaping it into round one-inch vadas. Slide these off one by one into the oil, and deep fry. They should be fried through and through, and have a golden brown colour. Take care not to make the vadas too thick.

Keep a tawa on the fire and put the crystals of hing on it. Take a matka or an earthenware pot, and as soon as the hing emits an aroma, turn the matka upside down on the tawa to soak up the smell. Take it off the fire and fill it with warm water. Mix the rai, salt, red chilli powder and whole red chillies into the water. The fried vadas are now put into the matka. The top of the matka is covered with a clean muslin cloth and securely tied. The matka is left out in the sun during the day for eight days. It is then ready to be served.

Image credit: http://nishamadhulika.com/files.php?file=kanji_wada_2_304713387.jpg

Indian Recipe for Holi : Besan Paapri
Ingredients:

1/2 kg besan.

1 tsp mustard oil.

1 tsp(heaped) salt

1 small tsp red chilli powder

1 cup water

1 tsp methi leaves.(chopped fine)

1/4 kg maida.

Method :

Mix besan, salt, red chilli powder and oil well. Knead the mixture into dough. Knead for about five minutes. Add the methi leaves. Knead for another three minutes.

Make the dough into a big round ball and throw the dough on the plate to soften it. This should be done for about seven minutes. Heat oil in a deep-frying pan, on very high heat.

While oil is heating, rub some oil on your palm and roll out the dough into a long strip one inch thick. Cut the roll into inch size pieces. Keep rubbing oil on your palms to keep the roll moist.

Flatten each piece out into a round shape and roll it into small chapatis. Lightly dust both sides of the small chapatis or papris with maida. (you can create shapes of your choice). In picture we have shown the rectangle Paapri

Fry very lightly, turning the flame from medium to low as required. Do not let the papris turn brown or red. They should look golden yellow when ready. Drain oil and store in an airtight container.

Image credit: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Besan_Paare.jpg&usg=AFQjCNGYS6u8GwpGDS_m8VKfl0_fk8TAHw

Indian Recipe for Holi : Shahi Tukra
Ingredients:

bread slices--10 no.

ghee-- to fry

sugar--100gm

rabri or condensed milk--115gm

khoya-- 115gm

milk--a little

silver leaves--16 no

cardamom small--4 no.

saffron color--few drops

kewra essence or rose water--few drops

pistachio nuts--15gm

Method :

Remove the crust of bread slices and deep fry to golden fry color. Heat milk add sugar. Add fried bread slices when it is quiet thick. Add condensed milk and all the ingredients except nuts and silver leaves.

Cook on slow fire till milk becomes very thick. Arrange the bread slices in plates. Pour rest of the milk mixture over it, cover with silver leaves, sprinkle shredded nuts on top and serve warm

NOTE: Sugar should be put according to the sweetness required.

Image credit: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://theyumblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/3004745385_57969f2b52_o.jpg&usg=AFQjCNHtX4cRYW3Co_mbA5-QXV8BvGsX-Q