The most vibrant of them all, Holi is truly the festival of love, which has to be experienced, celebrated and literally ‘paint the town red’ with! The festival of colours that celebrates the essence of Lord Krishna in his true form, and to do so anything that is made during Holi needs to bring alive all our sense and made with dollops of love, which is why milk is used quite generously as are other aromatic and digestive ingredients. Here are some of the most amazing recipes that one needs to try out this year for the festival!
Let’s start with the most amazing milk cake recipe by the amazing chef Sabyasachi Gorai! It’s a milk cake par excellence and nothing like what you’ve tasted earlier. A light and fluffy sponge cake soaked in three different kinds of milk and it literally floats around on a bed of gorgeous, silken, flavourful milk
THREE MILK CAKE SPONGE BY CHEF SABYSACHI GORAI
Ingredients
Egg White – 9 Nos
Egg yolk – 9 Nos
Breakfast sugar – 200 gms
Vanilla essence – 5 gms
Flour – 200 gms
Baking powder – 5 gms
The Milk
Cooking cream – 200 gms
Milk – 500 gms
Milk powder – 50 gms
Condensed Milk – 100 gms
Cashew nuts – 100 gms
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (170 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. Sieve the flour and baking powder together and keep aside.
3. Cream sugar and egg together until fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; beat well.
4. Add the flour mixture to the mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (170 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.
6. Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, Cooking cream milk powder, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake. Pipe the custard and serve with nuts.
ALOO KE GUTKE BY CHEF PAWAN BISHT OF ONE 8
This traditional dish from Uttarakhand is an absolute must-have on Holi. This is an incredible snack and can be had on-the-go while playing with colours and water.
Ingredients
Medium size potatoes – 4
Mustard oil – 4 tablespoons
Cumin seeds – 1 tablespoon
Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon
Red chili powder – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
Chopped green chilies – 2
Dry red chili – 2
Chopped coriander – a handful
Salt to taste
Note: One can add Jakhiya (Dog mustard) or Mustard seeds too depending on the availability.
Method
1. Take a vessel, put it on medium heat and parboil the potatoes, take them out and peel
2. Cut the potatoes into wedges and keep aside.
3. Take a kadhai, put over medium heat and add mustard oil.
4. Add red dry chillies in the hot oil, fry well and keep aside.
5. Now, add cumin seeds to the oil and fry till they crackle, add turmeric powder add this point.
6. Add boiled potato wedges and mix well. After this add all the masala and green chillies to the potatoes and give a good stir.
7. Cook on a slow heat till the potatoes are properly done. Add coriander leaves, adjust seasoning and serve hot.
KANJI VADA BY DR RUCHI MITTAL OF MEALSNMILES
Kanji Vada is one dish that marks the onset of spring and is made around the end of winters in most of the households in Rajasthan and UP. Traditional kanji vada in UP is made with urad daal and hing, which is soaked in fermented water that has mustard and chilli powders, along with salt. These are then stored in earthen pots for a couple of days to keep it chilled. Braj ki Holi is incomplete without this dish!
For the Kanji
Water Boiled and cooled – 1 ltr
Yellow Mustard powder – 1 tbsp
Black salt – 1 tbsp
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
Chili powder optional – 1/2 tsp
mint leaves
Mix all the above ingredients in a glass jar or earthen pot and keep in the sun. Keep it covered with a muslin cloth to induce fermentation.
For the Fritters (vadas)
1. Take 100 gms of urad dal, soaked for two hours and ground to a fine paste.
2. Add a pinch of hiing and beat it with wet hands and fry them into lemon size fritters till golden.
3. Dunk the vadas in the fermented water for a day or two and serve garnished with chopped mint leaves.
KESAR DUDHIYA KEBAB BY CHEF SAHIL SINGH OF VDELIVERONLINE
This is his version of Peshawar kebabs, creamy saffron kebabs made by khoya and milk—a delight for a festival that needs snacks constantly!
Ingredients
Paneer – one block medium
Jeera crushed – 1 Teaspoon
Salt – 1 Teaspoon
Green Chili – 1 Teaspoon (chopped)
Ginger – 1 Teaspoon (chopped or grated)
Grated Mawa – 5 Tablespoons
Cashews – 1 Tablespoon
Cream – 2 Tablespoons
Green Cardamom Powder – 1 Teaspoon
Chopped Coriander Leaves – 1 Teaspoon
Milk Powder – 2 Tablespoons
Saffron – a pinch
Roasted Chana Powder – 2 Teaspoons
Amul Cheese – 1 Cube
Method
1. Take a bowl and add in grated paneer. Now grate half Amul cheese cube in the bowl. Add grated mawa, cream, and finely chopped cashews.
2. Add in the chopped ginger, chopped green chili, salt to taste, milk powder, green coriander leaves, saffron and roasted Chana powder.
3. Mix well and mash the mixture using your hands and bring it in a form of dough.
4. Now take a pan and add in the clarified butter.
5. Place your shaped kebab and shallow fry them very carefully as they are very soft.
6. Cook the kebabs for 2 minutes on both sides and then plate them and serve with green chutney.
As always, all is well that ends well and here, the final recipe is just that! Globally a ‘Superfood’, Hemp is rich in fibre, proteins, vitamins and amino acids, there are various health benefits of its consumption. The product comes as a Ayurvedic Proprietary Medicine and all parts of the Hemp can be used to produce Superfoods that can be consumed as seeds, powder or oil. Here’s a Hemp Saffron Thandai that’s difficult to replace!
HEMP SAFFRON THANDAI BY KAMA KM, THE BIG BHAANG THEORY
Serves: 8-10 Portions
Ingredients
Hemp Hearts (shelled hemp seeds) – 1 cup
White Pepper – 1 Teaspoon
Saunf – 2 Teaspoons
Dried Rose Petals – 4 Teaspoons
Green Cardamom pods – 5-6 Pods
Kesar – 6-8 STRANDS
Milk – 200 ml per glass
Honey as per taste
The THANDAI RECIPE
• Grind all the dry ingredients together to a fine powder and store it in an airtight container.
• Add 2 tablespoons of powder in 1 glass of cold milk.
• Add 2 teaspoons of honey.
• Garnish with saffron strands and Hemp Hearts.
With all its vibrance, unbiased love, colour, food and drink, and the overall vibe, Holi is more of an emotion—a celebration of one’s own sense of style, party, and food for the soul. Have a great festival!