Holi 2024 recipes: Healthy sweet and savoury delicacies for your Holi party, from India's top chefs

Holi 2024 recipes: Thandai Masala, by Chef Durga Das, IRA by The Orchid, Sambhaji Nagar, Aurangabad

With Holi round the corner, aren’t we looking to have house parties to have colours, food and fun fiesta? Here are some traditional Holi delicacies like gujiyas, malpua and thandai along with interesting healthy jhalmuri snack to delight your taste buds and leave you craving for more.

Let's get started and discover the flavours of Holi!

Thandai Masala

By Chef Durga Das, IRA by The Orchid, Sambhaji Nagar, Aurangabad

“Thandai Masala is perfect for making the quintessential Holi drink. You can make it and store in the container, to be used whenever you need for your parties.”

Ingredients:

• Almonds (badam), 1/4 cups
• Fennel Seeds (saunf), 1/4 cup
• Cashew nuts (kaju), 2 tablespoons
• Pistachios (pista), 2 tablespoons
• Poppy Seeds (khuskhus), 2 tablespoons
• Melon Seeds (magaz seeds), 2 tablespoons
• Black Peppercorns (kali mirch), 1/2 tablespoon
• Cardamom (elaichi), 1 tablespoon
• Saffron Strands (kesar), optional, 10-12
• Dried Rose Petals or 1 teaspoon Rose Water, optional, 1 tablespoon

• Peel the cardamom to remove the seeds or use the whole cardamom.
• Add fennel seeds, black peppercorns and cardamom seeds (or whole cardamom) in the jar of a mixer grinder or a blender. Grind it until smooth powder.
• Add almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios, poppy seeds and melon seeds in the same jar.
• Grind it until smooth powder.
• Transfer it to a bowl or a container. Crush the dried rose petals and add it to the masala. Mix well. Thandai Masala powder is ready.
• Store it in an airtight container. It stays good for 2-3 months in the refrigerator.
• Use 1 tablespoon thandai masala powder and 2 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon or to taste) sugar for each cup of milk. You can make approx. 16 glasses of thandai using this masala powder.

Holi 2024 recipes: Gujiya, By Chef Dharam Dutt, Executive Sous Chef, Radisson Hotel Jass Khajuraho

Gujiya

By Chef Dharam Dutt, Executive Sous Chef, Radisson Hotel Jass Khajuraho

Ingredients:

For dough

• All-purpose flour, 125gm
• Water, 1/4cup
• Oil, 4 tbls

• Milkmaid or Khoya, 1/2cup
• Semolina, ½ cup
• Green cardamom powder, ¼ tsp
• Kismish, 2tbsp
• Cashew, 2tbsp
• Chopped almonds, 2tbsp
• Fresh grated coconut, 150 gm

• To make the filling, roast semolina on low flame till it changes colour into golden. Mix in milkmaid, cardamom powder, kismish, cashew, almond and grated coconut. Cook on low flame till the mixture is dry.
• To prepare the soft dough, pour few drops of oil in all purpose flour. Add water and make it into soft dough. Knead the dough. Keep aside covered for at least 15 to 20 min.
• Then make small round balls from the dough and make cup-like-space in the balls to fill the stuffing. After adding the filling, seal corners in such a way that it secures the stuffing while frying the Gujiya.
• Roll the sides as per your choice of pattern. Heat ghee in a pan over medium flame.
• Fry the Gujiyas till golden brown.
• Then dip these gujiyas in warm sugar syrup for sweet and crunchy texture.

Holi 2024 recipes: Ragi Malpua, By Sous Chef Mozanne Karbhari, ITC Grand Central, Mumbai

Ragi Malpua

By Sous Chef Mozanne Karbhari, ITC Grand Central Mumbai

“As we celebrate our millets, here is a traditional holi special delicacy with a healthy twist and is also vegan, just perfect for your house guests”

Ingredients:

• Ragi flour, 60 gm
• Oats powder, 20 gm
• Wheat flour, 30 gm
• Almond milk, 170 ml
• Salt, a pinch
• Refined oil, 3 tbsp
• Honey, 2tsp
• Mixed fruits

• Start by crushing the pistachios into small pieces. Then, take a large bowl and add the grated coconut along with green cardamom powder, crushed pistachios and honey. Mix it well and keep aside.
• Take another bowl and add ragi, oats and wheat flour in it along with a pinch of salt and the powdered sugar. Mix them well and then, gradually, add milk to form a smooth batter with the consistency of dosa batter.
• Take a tawa over medium flame and heat it. With a ladle, pour some batter on the tawa and spread it to make a circle. Then, drizzle some oil on the edges to avoid sticking and cook for a minute.
• Flip the Malpua and cook it for another minute. Don’t overcook them to a crisp, they should be soft. Repeat the process with the remaining batter.
• Transfer the Ragi Malpuas to a plate, top it with honey and the prepared filling. Garnish with fresh fruits of your choice and serve.

Holi 2024 recipes: Jhalmuri Posto cookies with avocado pachadi, By Chef Tushar Malkani, Executive Chef The Yellow House IHCL SeleQtions

Jhalmuri Posto cookies with avocado pachadi

By Chef Tushar Malkani,  Executive Chef  The Yellow House IHCL SeleQtions

“Jhalmuri Posto Cookies with avocado pachadi bring back nostalgia of puffed rice and pachadi giving it a new avatar in terms of cookies and dip. A wholesome snack, healthy and full of antioxidants – with a dash of mustard oil to keep your sinus in check while you enjoy the holi colours.”

Ingredients:

• Puffed rice: Also called muri, marmara, pori, kurmura or murmura, it is used to make Jhalmuri.
• Sev mix: You can use any sev mix available to you
• Coconut: Fresh coconut adds a nice flavour to this dish. You can either grate the fresh coconut or chop it into very small pieces.
• Mustard oil: This is a must ingredient to make Bengali style Jhal Muri
• Vegetables: To give a nice crunch to your jhalmuri recipe, add veggies like tomatoes, cucumber, onions, potatoes, green chilies, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves).
• For binding, you need gelatine and ring moulds to set.
• Other ingredients: Cumin powder, chaat masala powder, black salt (kala namak), Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt, and freshly squeezed lime juice (lemon juice), roasted skinned peanuts, roasted Bengal gram, boiled yellow peas, sprouted chana, finely-chopped raw mangoes, chana jor garam (chana chur), as per your taste.

• Take 2 cups of puffed rice to a large bowl
• Add 3 tablespoon sev mix; ¼ cup finely-chopped onions; 2 tablespoon boiled, peeled, and finely-cubed potatoes; 1 teaspoon finely-chopped green chilies; 2 tablespoon finely-chopped tomatoes; 2 tablespoon finely-chopped cucumbers, peeled or unpeeled; 1 tablespoon grated fresh coconut; 2 tablespoon finely-chopped cilantro; ½ teaspoon cumin powder; ½ teaspoon black salt; ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice; 2 tablespoon raw cold-pressed mustard oil; 2 tablespoon gelatine melted to set them in rings for the shape.
• Mix all ingredients and set it in round ring mould.

• Avocados without seed and skin smashed, 2;
• Yoghurt, 1 1/2 cups
• Coconut (scraped), 2 tablespoons
• Ginger (chopped), 1/2 inch piece
• Green chillies, 2-3
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, 1 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry leaves, 5-6
• Red chillies broken, 2 Dried

• Wash and remove the seed and skin of riped avocado.
• Pour skimmed milk yogurt into a clean muslin cloth and hang it for half an hour, preferably in a cool place.
• Grind together coconut, green chillies and ginger to a fine paste. Mix together the avocado, coconut masala and yoghurt. Add salt to taste.
• Heat oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add curry leaves, red chillies and stir for a moment. Pour it on to the yoghurt mixture. Stir it thoroughly.
• Serve chilled.