Holi delicacies with my twist..

HOLI……

Holi is a spring festival. It is the  festival of colours. This festival is celebrated throughout India.  We can say length and breadth of the India. Now holi has gone abroad also. Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Philippines and many more countries also celebrate holi like us.

Any festival in India is incomplete without special delicacy. Holi and food always go hand in hand. There are special dishes which are prepared on this occasion of holi. This too differs from region to region. But some dishes are common. They get their fame to be prepared on this occasion only. Some of them are thandai, gujiya, pooran poli, dahi bhalle, mathri  ete etc. if I start taking the names this page will be full.  

Among all these delicacies I choose three dishes for this article to discuss and share the simple way of preparing them…. Thandai, Mathri and Gujiya.  I will try to give some my twist to these traditional recipes. The essence of the dish will be same but the approach and look of the dish will be different.

Thandai as you all know is a healthy dish with lots aromatic spices and exotic nuts. It helps you to beat the heat. I will try to convert the traditional thandai into a pudding.

Mathri is savory snack item. It is also deep fried. The spices in mathri help for digestion. I will try to make colourful marvel mathris. The taste will be same but look will be bit different.

Gujiya is a deep fried sweet filled with different stuffing like mawa, coconut or dry fruits. It is so tasty that one can’t resist having a second one.  

Eggless Thandai Pudding – Thandai pudding is the modified version of traditional pudding. I will divide this recipe in two parts. One is making thandai and another is making pudding.

Thandai-(Serves 4)

Milk- 2cups

Sugar- 6tbsp

Thandai Masala- 6tbsp

The main ingredient of thandai is the masala. The dish gets its aroma from the masala…

Thandai Masala-

Cashew-20nos

Almond- 20nos

Pistachio- 20nos (optional)

Melon seeds- 5tbsp

Poppy seed (khuskhus)- 1tsp

Fennel seed (sounf)- 1tsp

Black pepper-10

Dried Rose petals- 15 to 20

Saffron – few trends

Heat pan add cashew, almond, pistachio and melon seed. In low flame roast for few minutes. Then add fennel and black pepper, fry roast for a couple of minutes. At last add poppy seeds and roast for some more time.  Be careful...High flames may damage the aroma of the spices. Let it cool down completely. Add rose petals and saffron to the dry roasted spices. And make a smooth powder. You can store this masala in dry and air tight container in fridge for a long time.

Heat milk in a pan. Let it boil. Then add sugar. Stir continuously so that the sugar dissolves. Then add the prepared thandai masala and cook for another 4 to 5 mins. Then switch off the gas and allow thandai to cool down to room temperature.

Pudding-

Thandai- 2cups

Agar Agar- 4tbsp(china grass)

Milk- 6tsp

Heat milk in a bowl and add agar-agar (china grass). Stir and allow the agar-agar to melt. Then add to the already prepared thandai. Cook thandai mixed with agar-agar for 3 to 5 mins. Then pour in 4 bowls.  Let it cool downo room temperature. Then keep in fridge to set for 1 and half hours to 2 hours. Thandai pudding is ready to serve.

Whole Wheat Marvel Mathri-

Plain Mathri

Whole Wheat- 1cup

Salt – to taste

Carom Seed (ajwain)- 1tsp

Cumin (zeera)- 1tsp (optional but personally I like zeera in mathri)

Black pepper- 10 to 12

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Oil for frying

Beet root Mathri

Whole Wheat- 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Carom seed (ajwain)- 1tsp

Cumin (zeera)- 1tsp (optional)

Black pepper- 10 to 12

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Oil for frying

Beet root puree to knead the dough.

Palak Mathri.

Whole Wheat- 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Carom seed (ajwain)- 1tsp

Cumin (zeera)- 1tsp (optional)

Black pepper- 10 to 12

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Oil for frying

Palak puree to knead the dough

Shift whole-wheat, salt and baking soda to a bowl. Add all the spices and mix properly. Then add ghee and with the fingers mix nicely till it becomes grainy. Add normal water (room temperature) to knead the dough. The dough should be tight and hard, even tighter than the roti dough. Repeat the same procedure with beet root mathri and palak mathri. Replace water with beet root puree and palak puree to knead the dough.   Now mix the dough in a way it will create a marvel effect on the mathri.  Take a big ball; roll it like a big roti.. Now make hole all over the roti (so that it won’t pop while frying) with a fork. With cookie cutter cut in different shapes. Triangular shape is also possible but it will take more time in frying. Heat oil in a kadai. The temperature should be low or medium. Fry the mathris in low and medium flame till it is golden brown. drain and let it allow to be cooled and crispy.

Coconut and Dry Fruits Gujiya-

Freshly Grated coconut- 1cup

Mix dry fruits- 1 and ½ cup

Maida – 1cup

Salt- ¼ tsp

Ghee- 1tbsp and 2tsp

Sugar- 4 to 5 tbsp

Cardamom- 3 to 4

Oil for frying.

For stuffing- Heat 1tsp ghee in a pan. Add 1tsp sugar in that and let it caramelized but be careful it may burn. Add coconut first and fry for some minutes. Then add dry fruits. Fry again. Add cardamom pods and skin to the mixture. Fry again. Now add sugar and fry again. This mixture should be very dry, so  that the gujiyas can be stored for long.

In a mixing bowl add maida, salt and ghee. Mix properly and gently. Add water and knead to atight dough. Keep for 15 to 20 mins to rest.

Make gujiyas by stuffing the above mixture. Heat oil in a pan in low or medium temperature.  It is always advisable to fry the gujiyas in low and medium flame so that it won’t get soggy soon.

Now its time to celebrate holi.. with a lots of colours and mouth watering our own traditional food....

HAPPY HOLI TO ALL.........