It is perhaps trite to state that festivals in India are strongly associated with certain food preparations. So much so that a bite into a kaju barfi can trigger memories of previous Diwalis when one sacrificed lunch to be able to sneak in an extra dozen pieces of the sweet. During Holi, the foods that one’s thoughts turn to is the delicious trio of gujias, malpuas and thandai, and while they are superb in their original forms — having been perfected to high levels of delectation over the years — an occasional contemporary twist to old favourites never hurt anyone. Each of these dishes finds inspiration in traditional Indian sweets and snacks. For example, chef Rakhee Vaswani, who runs the Palate Culinary Studio, took the basic idea of the much-beloved thandai and made it more contemporary. She says, “The food world is evolving every day and one of my favourite and most convenient discoveries of them all is a parfait. Holi being one of the most vibrant festivals of India, the traditional flavour of thandai in a parfait makes it a perfectly light fusion delight for kick starting the summer.” Meanwhile, Pinky Dixit, owner of Soam, created a sweet golgappas. “I thought it would be fun to have a golgappa, with a sweet twist in this hot weather. It’s a mobile snack, so even if your hands are dirty when you’re out playing holi, you can still enjoy it,” she says. Thandai Parfait Ingredients 20 ml- Ice vodka Marimbulla Saffron 15 ml- Cream Syrup 15 ml- Rich cream Method *Add all ingredients in a mixing jar along with five ice cubes, stir and strain in a shot glass and serve. Recipe from Palate Culinary Studio, Mumbai Meethe Golgappe Ingredients (Serves 8) 8 Golgappas 200 gm- Sweet Boondi 200 gm- Saffron Rabdi Sugar syrup to taste Method *Dip the golgappas in sugar syrup and drain on a flat surface. Crack a hole in the centre and fill each one with sweetened boondi and top with rabdi. Serve garnished with chopped almonds and pistachios. Recipe from Soam, Mumbai Chocolate and Hazelnut Gujiya (Recipe for 20-25 Gujiyas) Ingredients For pastry ½ kg- Refined flour 125 gm- Desi ghee 80-90ml- Chilled water For filling 300 gm- Calle Baut chocolate 80 gm- Caster sugar 40 gm- Melted butter 30 gm- Hazelnut paste Oil for frying Method *Mix the flour and ghee to make the dough with 80-90 ml chilled water. The dough should be similar to the dough for poori. For the filling, mix chocolate, caster sugar, melted butter and hazelnut paste over a double boiler. *When the butter gets totally absorbed, take it off the heat and put it aside until it cools down to room temperature. Once this filling thickens, use this to stuff gujiya and style with readily available moulds. Once all the gujiyas are stuffed, put it into the deep freezer for one hour before frying on moderate heat. Now they are ready to serve. Recipe from The Imperial, Delhi Aam panna with vodka Ingredients 60ml- Vodka 1 Green Mango 200ml- Water 1 tsp- Roasted Cumin Seeds 1 tsp- Salt 3 tsp- Sugar Method *Place the mango in water to cover it completely and bring to boil. Keep the flame on simmer. Drain off the water and then peel, stone and pulp the mango with a spoon. Place the pulp in a deep bowl. Add remaining water, sugar, salt and roasted cumin. Whisk thoroughly. Transfer in a glass and add vodka. Serve with ice cubes. Recipe from The Imperial, Delhi Thandai Ingredients 1 1/2 litres- Water 1 1/2 cups- Sugar 1 cup- Milk Almonds handful Kharbooj/Tarbooj seeds skinned 1 tbsp (these are skinned dried seeds of watermelon and cantaloupes) 1/2 tbsp- Khuskhus (poppy seeds) Saunf (aniseed) 1/2 tbsp 1/2 tsp- Cardamom powder or 15 whole pods 1/2 tsp- Rose water (optional) 1 tsp- Peppercorns whole 1/4 cup- Dried or fresh rose petals (gulkand variety) 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). When the paste is very fine, mix remaining water. Place a strong muslin strainer over a large deep vessel. Press through muslin with back of palms, 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 husk like. Add milk, sugar and rosewater to the extracted liquid. If using cardamom powder, mix it in with milk. Mix well. Chill for a hour or two before serving. Recipe from Made In Punjab, Delhi Banarasi Mojito Ingredients 10 ml- Marimbulla Paan Syrup 60 ml- Bacardi Carta Blanca Rum 6 HRC Lime Wedges 12 sprigs- Mint Leaves 15 ml- Fresh Lime Juice 15 ml- Sugar Syrup Method *Place mint leaves in your palm, crush to release the aroma and place in a mixing jar. In the same jar add rum, fresh lime juice, paan syrup, and lime wedges. Add crushed ice, and stir well. Serve in a Mason jar. Recipe from Palate Culinary Studio, Mumbai
