Holi 2019 special recipes: Treat your family and friends with delicious food from your kitchen
Happy Holi 2019 Top Recipes: From interesting welcome drinks to snacks, to something for your sweet tooth, there’s something here for all foodies. Take a look at these easy-to-make recipes at the comfort of your home.
Food is a staple for every festival, especially in India where we have myriad celebrations throughout the year. Food is an important talking point for most of us - from finger food to snacks to the main course meal, there’s always something cooking in the kitchen. Besides, who can look beyond the quintessential question asked by every mother in India - “Aaj khane mein kya banega?” The planning is so on-point that it can give most planners in the corporate sector a run for their money, most of the time.
Personal experience tells me that this planning in the kitchen begins at least two to three weeks in advance because if the food isn’t delicious, a lot of moods, tempers and much more is at stake! With Holi ‘round the corner, we’ve listed some of the recipes that you can try in your kitchen over the upcoming long weekend and these can be made even when the festival is over and you just want to treat your sweet tooth or those temperamental hunger pangs.
Celebrated chef, Ranveer Brar also told us which dish, according to him, is the healthiest to make using ghee and his favourite dessert from the wide diaspora of the Indian cuisine.
He said, “Mathri is the easiest and the healthiest festive dish if made with whole wheat atta and ghee made of cow’s milk. Malpua is my favourite from Indian cuisine. It’s one of the oldest Indian desserts and works across all festivals.”
Get set to pamper your family members and guests with some popular and easy to make Holi dishes and drinks at the comfort of your home.
* Start with a welcome drink
Fizzy Blueberry Lemonade
Blueberry Lemonade is one of the best drinks for the onset of summers. Its sweetness and tanginess from the blueberries and lemon make it delicious and refreshing.
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 and 1/2 cups Del Monte Blueberries
• Zest of 1 lemon
• For the lemonade, use:
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 Cup chilled water
• 500 ml club soda
• A few ice cubes
Method
• Combine the sugar, water, blueberries, and lemon zest in a saucepan
• Bring to a boil over medium heat and then simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the sugar is melted and blueberries turn into a thick paste
• Remove from the heat and allow it to cool
• Blend this blueberry mixture to a smooth puree
• Squeeze the lemons to get the juice
• To prepare the lemonade, in a large pitcher combine blueberry puree, lemon juice and water. Stir to combine
• Add ice cubes, lemon wedges and fresh mint leaves in each serving glass
• Fill the glass 3/4 with the blueberry lemonade
• Pour the club soda to fill the remaining 1/4 of the glass. Stir to mix
• Serve immediately
If you prefer a cocktail instead, try Rose Vodka Thandai
Ingredients
• 3 tsp poppy seeds
• 125 gm almond flakes
• 3 tbsp white peppercorns
• 4 tbsp rose petals
• 2 pods of green cardamom
• 1.5 cups vodka
• 1.5 litre milk
• 250 gm condensed milk
Method
• Soak the poppy seeds overnight
• Next morning, drain and grind them with almonds, pepper, rose petals, cardamom and peppercorns to a paste
• Heat milk and add the condensed milk and powdered spices
• Simmer for 15 minutes
• Remove and chill in the fridge
• Add vodka, stir and serve
* Interesting snacks to add to the celebrations
Bhaang Ke Vade
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)
• 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. Keep aside
• Wash clean all other dry ingredients, except cardamom if using powder. Soak in two cups of remaining water. Keep aside
• Allow all soaked items to stand for at least 2 hours
• Grind all soaked ingredients (except sugar) into a very fine paste
• 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 a 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 husklike
• 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 of two before serving
Courtesy: holifestival.org
Khasta Kachori
Ingredients
• 4 cups maida
• 8 tbsp oil (heated)
• 1 cup soaked and ground Urad Dal
• Saunf (fennel seeds, powdered)
• 2 tbsp Pomegranate seeds (Anar daana, crushed)
• Amchur (Mango powder)
• Hing (asafoetida)
• Salt to taste
Method
• Heat ½ cup oil in a pan
• Add moong dal and stir for 10 minutes
• Add gram flour and cook some more
• Add garam masala, mango powder and pomegranate seeds
• Add oil and salt to the flour and knead a hard dough
• Cover and keep for 10-15 minutes
• Divide into equal portions
• Flatten each ball, put 1 tsp mixture of filling and close
• Keep all kachoris covered with a wet muslin cloth prior to frying on medium heat
Courtesy: Navneeta Sharma, homemaker and food enthusiast
* For the sweet tooth
Gujiyas
Ingredients
• 500 gms maida (refined flour)
• 1 kg khoya
• 3 tbsps kishmish (raisins)
• 200 gms almonds (sliced into thin strips)
• 6 tbsps cooking oil (keep some more aside for deep frying)
• 200 ml water
• 500 gms sugar
Method
• Mix six tablespoons of oil with 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 raisins (kishmish)
• Fry for a few minutes on medium heat
• Let it cool
• Roll out the kneaded dough and make it into small, round tortilla bases (or like a chapati)
• Fill it with the khoya mixture, fold the chapati and seal the round, twisting the edges inwards. Take care that the filling does not ooze out
The manual process can be eased by using moulds for gujiyas that are readily available in stores
• Deep fry these gujiyas, a few at a time, till they are a deep golden brown
• Fry on low heat. When done, take them out with a sieve type ladle, draining the oil completely. Let them drain further on a paper towel, till all the grease is soaked up
These gujiyas when ready can be dipped in sugar syrup (chashni) too for the extra sweet and gloss to the texture of the gujiya
• Store in an airtight glass jar for long term preservation
Courtesy: Navneeta Sharma, homemaker and food enthusiast
Beetroot Halwa by Chef Ranveer Brar
Ingredients
• 1 tbsp Gowardhan Ghee
• 3-4 Beetroot, peeled & grated
• 1 Cup Milk
• ¼- ½ Cup Sugar
• ¼ Cup Mawa/ Khoya
• ½ tsp Cardamom Powder
• 2 tbsp Mixed Nuts, chopped
Method
• Heat ghee in a pan. Add grated beetroot and saute for 2 mins
• Pour in the milk and mix well. Cover with lid for 5 mins
• Remove the lid and cook till all the milk is evaporated
• Add sugar, mawa and cook for few more minutes
• Lastly add in cardamom powder, nuts and give a nice stir. Turn off the flame
• Serve hot or chilled
Chef Ranveer Brar is the Brand Ambassador of Gowardhan Ghee and Go Cheese, products of Parag Milk Foods
Thandai Sorbet
Ingredients
• 1 litre full cream milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 10 black peppercorns
• Few strands of saffron (kesar)
• 25 blanched and peeled almonds
• 20 cashew nuts, soaked
• 30 pistachios, blanched and peeled
• 3 tbsp soaked melon seeds
• 2 tbsp soaked poppy seeds
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 20 white peppercorns
• 20-25 rose petals
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
Method
• Grind almonds, cashews, pistachios, melon seeds, poppy seeds with milk to make a paste
• Boil milk in a new pan
• Add saffron, sugar and simmer
• Grind cardamom, dried rose petals, cinnamon and peppercorns to make a powder
• Add the paste to milk, mix
• Simmer for 4 minutes
• Add powdered masala to milk
• Freeze for 1.5 hours
• Stir and freeze again
• Stir once every hour for 4 hours
• The more you stir, the lighter your end product will be
• Garnish with mint and rose petals
Courtesy: Grand Hyatt, Goa
Malpua stack with fresh fruits and rabri by Chef Kunal Kapur
Ingredients
• 1/4 gm saffron
• 100 ml milk
• 50 ml water
• 100 gm khoya (mawa)
• 150 gm maida
• 1 tsp saunf
• Oil or ghee for frying
• 250 gm sugar
• 1 cup rabri
• 1 bowl of assorted sliced fruits
Method
• For the malpua batter, add 1 tbsp warm water to saffron and keep aside. Mix milk and water. Mash khoya with your hands
• Slowly add maida and milk and keep rubbing the mix. Once it is of a thick, pouring consistency, add the saunf (fennel). Now add saffron (kesar)
• Heat oil in a pan
• Pour malpua batter in batches and fry each round piece until it’s light golden.
• Remove and dip in sugar syrup
• For the sugar syrup, in another pan, mix sugar and an equal amount of water, boil and reduce to half.
• To plate up, interlayer malpua discs with sliced fruits and rabri
• Make a stack of a couple of malpuas. Serve immediately
Happy Holi to you all!
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