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The special food items that are prepared for Holi are gujjia, papri and kanji ke vade. Meat dishes, like kofta curry, are also served.Thandai or alcoholic beverages are served along with the food. How the foods are prepared.
1.Gujjia Gujjia. Makes about 40 gujjias. Mix the six tablespoons of oil with the 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. Papri: Ingredients: Method:
Mix besan, salt, red chilli powder and oil well. Knead the mixture into dough. Knead for about five minutes. Add the methi leaves. Knead for another three minutes. Make the dough into a big round ball and throw the dough on the plate to soften it. This should be done for about seven minutes. Heat oil in a deep-frying pan, on very high heat. While oil is heating, rub some oil on your palm and roll out the dough into a long strip one inch thick. Cut the roll into inch size pieces. Keep rubbing oil on your palms to keep the roll moist. Flatten each piece out into a round shape and roll it into small chapatis. Lightly dust both sides of the small chapatis or papris with maida. Fry very lightly, turning the flame from medium to low as required. Do not let the papris turn brown or red. They should look golden yellow when ready. Drain oil and store in an airtight container. Kanji ke vade. Makes about 1 Kg.
Method:
Soak urad dal overnight and grind to a fine paste. It should have the consistency of cake batter. Put it n a vessel and whisk it very well so that the mixture is fluffy. Heat oil well in a deep frying pan. Test if the oil is ready by dropping a little of the mixture into the pan. f it fluffs up and floats to the surface the oil is ready. Take a piece of wet cloth on your left palm. This allows the vadas to slide off into the pan without difficulty. Put some of the mixture onto the cloth and flatten it, shaping it into round one-inch vadas. Slide these off one by one into the oil, and deep fry. They should be fried through and through, and have a golden brown colour. Take care not to make the vadas too thick. Meat kofta curry. Serves two. Method: Mix the mince with the mentioned ingredients, roll into balls and keep aside. Bhang ke vade As a dietary supplement and tasty treat, BHANG is still prepared and served as it has been for MILLENIA throughout the Himalayan foothills. Using a mortar and pestle, the buds and leaves of Cannabis are squashed and ground into a green paste, to which milk, ghee, and spices are added. This BHANG base is made into a nutritious, refreshing drink, Thandai- a very healthy alternative to alcohol. BHANG is also mixed with ghee and sugar to make a tasty green Halvah, and into peppery, chewy little balls called Goalees. Ingredients: 1 1/2 litres water Method: Soak sugar in 1/2 litre of the water used. Keep aside.Wash clean all other dry ingredients, except cardamom if using powder.Soak in 2 cups of remaining water. Keep aside.Allow all soaked items to stand for at least 2 hours.Grind all soaked ingredients to a very fine paste.(not sugar) 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 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 a hour of two before serving. Making time: 45 minutes |