Adding colour to food

“The whole idea behind celebrating Holi with a lot of colours and also a wide array of food items is to showcase the vast diversity across the nation,” says Executive Chef Subhash Sinha at Courtyard By Marriott,adding,“This year keeping the same idea in mind we have a variety of dishes like…”

The list of dishes is not just confined to the big restaurants in town but as the local flavour of the city goes by it is something that has taken even the common man’s fancy. Prakash Athwani,owner of the Karachi Sweet Mart on MG road says,“Ghevar is definitely one of the more in-demand sweets this Holi. In addition to that some of the other sweets that are in huge demand include the Mawa Masala,which is made up of dry fruits,Mawa and cream. In addition the traditional Puranpoli,which is a huge seller during the festival,will also be on sale this time.”

Speaking more about the food associated with Holi and the assorted diversity that it brings along,Sinha adds,“Delicacies like Malpuas,Kathal Ki Sabzi (Jackfruit vegetable),Potato Pickles,Mutton Curry,are some of the wide dishes that are available to people who wish to savour them. The whole idea is to not limit the festival to say,a particular cuisine or to some people which reflects in the dishes available.”

And while the mention of the lip-smacking fare does reflect in dishes like these,it is the traditional items like the Thandai and the Gujhias,which rule the roost among people as Sous Chef,Merajuddin Ansari of Oakwood Premier points out. “Some of the dishes that have been eternal favourites include,Gujhias,the Dahi Wadas,Karanjis and of course the Thandai. In fact we have all this and even items like the Jalebis,Boondi ke Ladoos and Cocktail Samosas on the offing this year.”

And while ‘innovation’ is the theme word this Holi,Suresh Budhani of Budhani wafers says,“The fine amalgamation of culture through a festival like Holi has given us an opportunity to be a little more creative. In fact we have created the Badam Batata Chiwda and the Cheese Wafers especially this year around to bring in a touch of innovation to our regular products and also to diversify the same.”

Puran Poli Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups each of: chana dal,soaked in water for 4 hours,jaggery (adjust for sweetness),refined flour

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp cardamom powder

1/4th tsp nutmeg powder

1/4th tsp nutmeg powder

3/4 tsp turmeric powder

Method:Cook chana dal in a pressure cooker till it turns soft. Drain out excess water until the dal is absolutely becomes dry. Add jaggery and cook further and then mash into a soft paste. Add cardamom powder,saffron,and freshly grated nutmeg powder and mix well. Form 20 balls of equal size and put it aside. Mix refined flour,oil,water and turmeric powder. Make very soft,sticky dough. Knead very well. Use oil to knead. Divide into 20 equal portions. With greased palms,take one portion of dough and flatten it into a disc of the size of the palm. Place a ball of “chana jaggery” paste in the centre and fold the disc from all sides to cover the paste completely. On a well-floured board,better over a sheet of clean transparent plastic wrap,gently roll out each poli to a 6 inches disc. This can get tricky as the paste does try to slide out. Use a little flour if that happens. Roll. Roast each poli on a hot,dry girdle. Do not use oil or ghee. Smear with ghee on both sides when done. Serve warm with clarified butter or a bowl of milk.

Thandai

Ingredients

250 gms sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 litre milk

10 almonds,soaked in water and peeled

6 pepper corns

4 cardamoms,crushed

2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

1 tsp khus essence (poppy seeds)

Few ice cubes,crushed

Method:Grind well the peeled almonds,cardamom and fennel seeds to a fine paste and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Strain the mixture well.

Take crushed ice cubes in a glass till half and fill the rest with the above mixture. Serve garnished with rose petals.

Makes for 12 glasses.