As much as kids love to play with colours on Holi, the chemical colours contain solvents that can harm your child’s skin and may cause rashes or allergy. So, this time, help your kids make natural, chemical-free Holi colours at home. Here’s how you can make yellow, red, pink and green colours, courtesy Dr Madhumita Puri, Founder and Executive Director, Society for Child Development, and brown, purple and grey, courtesy Sakib, Edible Routes.
To begin with, you need to choose the base for the colour. It could be besan, maida or corn flour. First experiment with a small quantity of ingredients. Once you are sure of the method, you can start making Holi colours as per requirement.
Add turmeric powder to besan, and mix it nicely, rubbing it between both palms, till they are mixed together well. The ratio of turmeric powder to besan is 20:80. After this, sieve it (using a very fine strainer) at least two to three times.
Spread out the turmeric powder and squeeze lime juice on it. The acidic lemon will react with turmeric and turn it red in colour. Spread it out to dry in a well-ventilated room but away from the sun, which can bleach it. Once it is dry, rub it again between the palms of your hands and sieve it a few times.
Follow the same process as in the case of making red, with only lesser quantity of lemon.
Add mehendi to maida (equal ratio), mix and sieve a few times to get green colour.
Caution: Don’t add food colouring. It is edible but only in small quantities. Food colouring is not natural.
Boil coffee powder (200gm) in water till it turns brown. Once it cools down, mix the brown coloured water with corn flour (1.5kg) with your hands and leave it to dry for a day. Then, sieve it a few times. You can also add a little rosewater (10ml) for fragrance.
Grate 4-5 black carrots and grind it in the mixer grinder. Add it to corn flour (250gm) and mix it well with your hands. Add rosewater (10ml) to it for fragrance. Leave it to dry and sieve it.
This colour can be made using amla (Indian gooseberry). Take out the seeds and grind it in the mixer grinder. Add the juice to corn flour. Allow it to dry and sieve it a few times.