FESTIVITY
Colour me sweet
Indians love to cook, celebrate and savour food. Festivals are a good time to indulge in this favourite pastime
Renu Manish Sinha

Holi, the festival of colours, doesn't just last a day. It heralds a season of colours. The northern parts of India shake loose the shackles of bone-chilling cold, fog and heavy woollens and eagerly welcome the spring in its full glory. For the urban winter-weary eyes, jaded with the dreary landscape of the cold season, colourful flowers are a refreshing sight, while for the rural brethren their harvest-ready fields are a sight to behold.

In India, food forms the major part of any festival and Holi is no exception.

However, few dishes like gujhiya and thandai are equally popular across the length and breadth of the country albeit with regional twists. This is especially true of gujhiya, as its fillings vary in different states.

Despite origins in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, gujhiya is a perennial favourite across all places where this festival is celebrated. Different states have adopted this dumpling with a gusto and made it their own. In Bihar, gujhiyas are called pedakiya while the Maharashtrians call it karanji. The Gujaratis know it as ghughra, while in Tamil Nadu it is called karachika. In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka it is called karjikayi. You can find gujhiyas even in Goa, where Goan Hindus prepare it on Ganesh chaturthi. These are called nevris.

Vadas is another dish which pops up across many states with several different accompaniments. Punjabis savour these as dahi bhallas, often accomapanied by tamarind chutney. In Rajasthan, kanji vadas are a Marwari delicacy — moong daal vadas soaked in kanji (A mixture of black carrots, mustard seeds, black salt and water kept overnight) are served on Holi. In Maharashtra, these are called bonda (made of potatoes) and sabudana vadas. The South has its masala vada, accompaniments and dips can vary from coconut chutney to curd etc. Bihar offers a non-vegetarian variant in form, mutton vadas plus the usual dahi vada.

The Hindi belt (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan) has many more Holi special sweets and savouries, besides the very popular gujhiyas and thandai. These include gud para, shakkar para, namak para, namak karela (namak para with a twist, shaped like bitter gourd), methi mathri, papri, kachaudi, matar kachaudi, puas, pedas, gur ke chawal or mithe chawal, etc all with their own local twists.

However, most regions and communities also have indigenous dishes to celebrate Holi and welcome spring. Maharashtrians make puran poli. In Gujarat, it is sweet khichidi and basundi, while Madhya Pradesh likes its kusli, lavang lata and Indori puri palak, among other delicacies. Bihar likes its puas or malpuas more than the gujhiyas, as well as sattu ki kachaudi, and bhabhra (a hara chana pakodi made on Holika dahan). While these and many other traditional delicacies make the festival even more enjoyable, we bring you a selection of popular recipes, compiled by well-known chef Sanjeev Kapoor in a healthier avatar. Happy munching!

Recipes by
Sanjeev Kapoor

THANDAI

Ingredients

Full cream milk (substitute skimmed milk for healthier version ) 1½ litres (7½ cups)

Saffron a few strands

Sugar substitute 5 tablespoons

Almonds, blanched & peeled 25 nos

Cashewnuts, soaked 20 nos

Pistachios, blanched & peeled 30 nos

Melon seeds (magaz), soaked 3 tablespoons

Poppy seeds (khuskhus), soaked 3 tablespoons

Green cardamoms 8-10 nos

Rose petals, dried 20-25 nos

Cinnamon 1-inch stick

Peppercorns 8-10

Method

• Bring milk to a boil in a pan. Add saffron and simmer.

• Grind together almonds, cashewnuts, pistachios, melon seeds and poppy seeds with a little milk to a fine paste.

• Add paste to the milk, mix well. Simmer for three to four minutes.

• Grind green cardamoms, dried rose petals, cinnamon and peppercorns to a fine powder.

• Add this to the milk and mix well. Add sugarfree natura Diet Sugar and mix.

• Chill the milk and serve.

BHAJANEE CHAKLI

Ingredients

Bhajanee flour 4 cups rice

Skinless split black gram 1 cup

Dough

Bhajanee flour 2 cups

Table spreadwith healthy 2 tablespoon

vegetarian omega-3

Salt to taste

Cumin powder 1 teaspoon

Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon

Method

• Preheat the oven at 180°C.

• For the bhajanee flour, dry-roast the rice and black gram separately. Cool completely and grind separately to a powder and mix.

• Place two cups of bhajanee flour in a bowl. Add table spread, salt, cumin powder and chilli powder, and mix well.

• Divide the mixture in half. Take one half and knead into a soft dough with half a cup of water.

• When the dough is used up, make a dough of the remaining flour.

• Put small portions of the mixture into a chakli mould and press out several chakli onto a silicon sheet arranged on a baking tray.

• Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

• Allow to cool. Store in airtight container and serve as required.

• Chef’s tip: Add 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds to the dough for special occasions.

METHI MATHRI

Ingredients

Refined flour 2 cups

Salt to taste

Carom seeds (ajwain) ½ teaspoon

Dried fenugreek leaves 1 tablespoon

Lite table spread 5 tablespoons

Method

• Preheat the oven at 180°C.

• Place the flour in a bowl and add the salt, carom seeds and dried fenugreek leaves and mix well.

• Add five tablespoons of lite table spread and mix well. Add sufficient cold water and kneadinto hard dough. Cover and rest the dough for fifteen minutes.

• Divide the dough into twenty-four equal balls and flatten them slightly. Roll each ball thinly into small puri and fold in half and then fold again to make a triangle. Stick a clove at one cornermaking it appear like a paan.

• Place the mathris on a baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve.

KESARI MALAI PEDA

Ingredients

Milk 4 cups

Saffron few strands

Citric acid a pinch

Cornflour (dissolved in 2 tablespoons of milk) 2 teaspoons

Green cardamom powder ¼ teaspoon

Sugar substitute 10 teaspoon

Almonds (chopped) 8

Method

• Bring milk to a boil in a deep pan and simmer till it reduces to half its original quantity. Add saffron and mix well.

• Mix citric acid in two teaspoons of water and add to the thickened milk.

• Add dissolved cornflour and stir continuously till the mixture thickens.

• Add green cardamom powder and mix well.

• Take pan off the heat and stir in diet sugar and set aside to cool.

• Divide the mixture into eight equal portions and shape them into round pedas.

• Sprinkle almonds over the pedas and serve.

GUJHIYA

Ingredients

For the filling

Khoya/mawa 500 gm

Sugar substitute/Sugarfree Natura 6 tbsp

Desiccated coconut 3¼ tsps

Cashewnuts (blanched and chopped) 15 nos

Almonds (blanched and chopped) 15 nos

Raisins 20 nos

Green cardamom ½ tsp

or nutmeg powder

For the outer covering

Refined flour (maida) 4 cups

Salt ½ tsp

Ghee 5 tbsps

Gujhiya mould

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.

• Mash khoya and roast it in a deep pan on medium heat till pink. Take off the heat and let it cool.

• Add all the other filling ingredients to the khoya and keep aside.

• To prepare the covering, sieve flour and salt and rub in five tablespoons of ghee. Add enough water and knead into a firm dough. Cover it with a moist cloth and keep aside for fifteen minutes.

• Divide the dough into small balls and roll each ball into a small puri of four inches diameter.

• Spread a puri on a greased gujhiya mould and fill a tablespoon of the filling mixture on one side.

• Moisten the edges of the puri and fold one side of the mould over the other. Press the edges and remove the excess dough and reuse.

• Prepare all the gujhiyas and spread on a damp cloth.

• Place the gujhiyas on baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes. (These can also be deep-fried).

• Serve.

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