Smita Mishra and Sushmita Dutta
Holi is as much about fun and celebration as about good food and mouth-watering delicacies. So here is an assortment of recepis from across the country for you to try out this Holi.
DAHI BARA
Ingredients:
For Bhallas:
1 Cup Urad daal
Salt to taste
Oil to fry
For Dahi:
1 kg Dahi
Salt to taste
2tsp Roasted cumin (jeera) powder
Red chilli powder to taste
Procedure:
For Bhallas:
Clean, wash and soak the daal overnight. Grind it into smooth paste. Add salt to taste. Heat oil in a pan and drop a spoonfuls of batter and fry till golden brown. Take the hot Bhallas and put in cold water for 2-3 minutes. Now Take them out of water and squeeze the water and keep aside.
For dahi
Blend the curd (yogurt) and little water until it is smooth. Keep in refrigerator for an hour to get chilled. Add salt, red chili powder and cumin powder. In a deep dish arrange bhallas and pour dahi over them. Now add imli (tamarind) chutney, red chilly powder and jeera powder. Garnish with coriander. Serve chilled.
GUJIA
Ingredients:
500 gms maida (flour)
1kg khoya
3 tbsps 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
Procedure:
Mix the six tablespoons of oil with the maida. Now add some water as required and knead into soft dough. Set aside and cover with a damp cloth. Fry khoya in a deep-frying pan to a light brown color. Add sugar, almonds and kismis into the khoya and mix well. Remove from the fire and let it cool.Roll out the kneaded dough into a small and thick chapatti.Fill half the chapati with the khoya mixture and seal the round, twisting the edges inwards. Deep-fry these gujias to a deep golden brown color on slow flame. Take them out with a sieve type ladle and drain the oil completely.
PURAN POLI
Ingredients:
300gms channa (yellowgram) dal
300 gms jaggery (molasses)
1 tsp cardamom powder
150 gms plain flour
1 tbsp ghee
Knead dough with warm water
Ghee to serve
Procedure:
Boil dal in plenty of water till it becomes soft but does not break.Drain the water properly.Grate the dal and crush the jaggery.Mix well into dal.Cook the mixture in a pan till a soft lump is formed.Stir continuously in a heavy saucepan so as not to burn. Take the flour and mix it with ghee and enough water to make soft dough.Take a 6" diameter round dough and fill it with the mixture and seal it.Roast it till it turns to golden brown. Repeat other side.Apply a tsp of ghee all over top before serving. OR Fry it like a paratha for a better flavour with some extra ghee.
MATHRI
Ingredients:
2 cup maida (unbleached flour)
¼ cup fine semolina (sooji / rava)
2 tsp salt
½ tsp whole black peppercorns (coarsely cracked)
1/8th tsp baking powder
2 tsp curd / plain yogurt
7 tsp warm water
4 tsp melted ghee / oil
Ghee / oil for deep frying
Procedure:
Take a bowl and mix flour, salt, cracked pepper and baking powder. Rub between your arms after adding ghee, till it forms like breadcrums. Mix the curd with water and make flexible but firm dough with this liquid. Keep aside for ½ hours after covering with a damp cloth. Make small balls out of the dough and roll them.
Take a kadhai and heat the ghee/oil. Fry the rolled mathris in a batch over moderate heat. Fry the mathris to make them pale gold in colour, but not brown. Take the mathris out and drain the excess oil.
KHASTA DAL KACHORI
Ingredients:
¾ cup skinless dried black beans (urad)
4 cups flour (atta)
1 green chilli chopped
½ tsp salt
Oil for deep frying
1 tsp anise seeds (saunf)
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp white cumin seeds
½ tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp asaoetida powder
Procedure:
Rinse and drain the overnight soaked beans. Add water to flour and make soft dough. Leave for ½ hr after covering the dough with damp cloth. Grind the beans along with chilli powder, salt and spices to prepare the stuffing. Divide into 16 equal portions after mixing it well. Divide the dough also into 16 portions smearing them with little oil. Make them flat and roll out like rotis but on 2inch in diameter.Warp the stuffing into each round and roll into smooth balls.Heat oil and slip the rolled kachori into the hot oil.Flicker hot oil over the top of the kachori.Turn the kachori and cook until it turns golden brown.Serve hot with chutney.
