As the colors of Holi paint the skies, it’s time to think beyond the traditional gujiya and dive into a palette of flavors from across India! Let’s embark on a culinary journey that takes us from the bustling streets of Bengal to the royal delicacies of Rajasthan, exploring a treasure trove of recipes that are as colorful and diverse as the festival itself.
Try These New Recipes This Holi!
Puran Poli – Amazing Signature Dish from the state of Maharashtra
Preparation Time: 30 M
Cooking Time: 20 M
Calories: 212.1 kcal / poli
Ingredients
For Puran Stuffing
- 1 cup or 145g split chickpea or chana dal
- 3/4 cup or 160g jaggery shave or powder
- 1/4 cup or 50g sugar
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
- 1 3/4 cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp water
For the Dough of the Poli (Flat bread)
- 200g wheat flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oil
- 3/4 cup water
- Wheat flour for dusting while rolling
Step 1: Prepare Puran (Filling)
- Cook split chickpeas with water in an Instant Pot (rice setting) or pressure cooker (5 whistles) on medium heat.
- Drain the water and grind the chickpeas into a fine paste.
- Melt jaggery with 1 tbsp water in a pan, then mix in the ground chickpeas.
- Add sugar, nutmeg, and cardamom powder. Cook until the mixture thickens and becomes sticky.
- Let the puran cool completely.
Step 2: Prepare Dough
- Mix wheat flour, salt, and water in a bowl and knead into a soft dough.
- Add a little oil and knead again until smooth.
Step 3: Stuff & Roll
- Take a small portion of dough, roll it into a ball, and flatten slightly.
- Place double the amount of puran in the center and seal the edges to form a stuffed ball.
- Roll it out gently into a thin round disc (about 2mm thickness).
Step 4: Roast Puran Poli
- Heat a tawa (griddle) and roast the puran poli on medium flame.
- Flip and cook both sides until golden brown, applying ghee as needed.
Serve & Enjoy 😊
Aamras Poori – Karnataka
Preparation Time: 2 M
Total Time: 2 M
Ingredients
- Mango: 2, fully ripe
- Sugar: 2 tbsp
- Green Cardamom Power: ½ tsp
- Salt: 1.4 tsp
How to Make
- Wash & Clean mangoes. Discard the top & slice mango lengthwise from both sides of seed.
- Cut the mango flesh diagonally & scoop the the flesh. This is the easiest way to extract maximum pulp from mango at home.
- Pour mangoes in a blender along with the juice.
- Add Sugar or sweetener of your choice, salt and Cardamom powder.
- Now make a smooth puree in blender without any additional water.
- Aamras is almost ready.
- Transfer Aamras into serving bowls and refrigerate to chil.
- Once ready to serve top each bowl of Aamras with chopped dry fruits or nuts of your choice.
Garnish with a pinch of saffron or nuts/dry fruits of your choice for extra flavor. Serve hot pooris & enjoy! 😊
Chanar Jilapi – West Bengal
Preparation Time: 25 M
Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
Ingredients
- 2 liter Full Cream Milk
- 3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
- 3 Tbsp. Milk Powder
- 4 Tbsp. Milk
- 3 Tbsp. Semolina
- 2 Tbsp. All Purpose Flour
- ½ Tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 Tsp. Green Cardamom Powder
- Few Strands Kesar / Saffron
- 200ml Refined Vegetable Oil for deep frying
1 Tbsp. Ghee/ Clarified Butter
For Sugar Syrup
- 200g Sugar
- 2 cup Water
- 6 Whole Green Cardamom
- Few Strands Kesar/ Saffron
How to Make
Step 1: Prepare Chana
Boil milk until reduced, then add lemon juice to curdle. Strain using a muslin cloth and drain for 30 minutes.
Step 2: Make Dough
Mix warm milk with semolina. Knead chana until smooth, then add cardamom, saffron, flour, baking powder, and the semolina mixture. Shape into 15 balls, roll into threads, and twist into knots.
Step 3: Make Sugar Syrup
Boil sugar, water, cardamom, and saffron for 8-10 minutes until slightly sticky.
Step 4: Fry & Soak
Fry jilapis in medium-hot oil & ghee until deep brown. Soak in warm syrup for 2 hours.
Enjoy soft and syrupy Chanar Jilapi! 😊
Traditional Pal Payasam Recipe
Preparation Time: 5 M
Cook Time: 35 M
Ingredients
- 1 litre Milk
- 1.5 litres Water
- 3 tablespoon Raw Rice
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 3 Cardamom, powdered fine
For Tempering
- 2 teaspoon Ghee
- 7–8 cashew nuts, broken
How to Make
- Take a wide deep bottomed heavy pan. Add in the water and the milk. Let it come to a boil. Once it comes to a boil add in the washed rice to the pan. Keep cooking on medium high flame.
- The milk mixture will start evaporating and reducing in volume. The milk mixture would have approximately reduced by half after 30-40 minutes.
- After about one hour and 15 minutes, the mixture would have become creamy in colour and thicker in consistency. Add in the sugar and mix well. Let it boil for 2 minutes. Switch off the flame and add in powdered cardamom. Mix well to combine.
- Heat ghee in a pan and add in the broken cashew nuts. Fry on low flame until the nuts are slightly golden. Add it to the pal payasam.
Serve warm and enjoy this rich South Indian delicacy! 😊
Thandai: The Refreshing Drink of Rajasthan
Preparation Time: 10-15 M
Ingredients
- 1 litre boiled, full-fat milk
- ½ cup baker’s sugar
- 1 tsp saffron strands
- Half a cup of almonds, cashews and pistachios (sliced)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 8 green cardamoms, powdered
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- A few black and white peppercorns
How to Make
- Mix a few strands of saffron with 1 tsp warm milk and set aside.
- Boil the milk and sugar in a saucepan. Then cool and refrigerate it.
- In a bowl, mix almonds, cashews and pistachios with fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and saffron.
- Put it in a mixer, add half cup of water and blend till smooth.
- Combine the chilled milk, nut paste and saffron-milk mixture and blend again till smooth.
Strain and serve chilled😊