Holi is still two weeks away but I am getting into the mood already. I guess the colors being sold in the shops nearby are influencing me along with the promise of gorging on variety of sweets/savory snacks. Though I havn't really played with water colors for a couple of years, I was crazy about it during my childhood days. Our Holi sessions would start early and extend much into the afternoon. The number of days it took to get all that color off one's skin was used as a yardstick to measure how much fun one had on the day. I remember sneaking small packets of color to school and playing with friends after the classes got over. But it was an unfortunate brush with some chemical laden colors that had me erupting all over. The pain was quite horrible and I swore never to play with water colors again.
So, now I just play a bit with Gulal or the dry color for the sake of tradition. But I more than make up for it by relishing some great food. Since everyone is so tired/thirsty playing in the sun, the snacks and refreshments served should ideally be something cool/chilled. Apart from traditional drinks like lemonade and Thandaii, dahi vada and namkeen para make for great Holi snacks. This is a modified version of the traditional 'Thandaii', albeit in the form of Kulfi. Read on for the recipe:
Preparation Time - 25 mins
Ingredients - 1/2 liter milk, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup fresh cream, 2 tbsp cornflour, 3-4 tsp chopped nuts, 4 tbsp thandai extract.
Preparation - Dissolve the cornflour in 1/3 cup milk ( at room temperature ). Keep aside.
Cooking - Bring the remaining milk to a boil in a heavy/thick bottomed vessel and allow to simmer till reduced to 3/4th.
Add and dissolve the sugar in it.
Now add the cornflour mix gradually with continuous stirring. Keep stirring till it thickens sufficiently (3-4 minutes would do but be careful as it has a tendency to stick of the bottom of the vessel and get burnt).
Add the nuts, switch off the flame and keep aside to cool down.
Add the thandai extract and beaten fresh cream. Beat again so that it takes on a uniform consistency and no lumps remain.
Pour into Kulfi moulds. Freeze for 6-7 hours or overnight.
For serving, immerse the kulfi moulds in water for 30 seconds, remove and rub lightly between your palms. Insert a sharp object (like a fork) and take out the kulfi. Cut into bite sized pieces and serve.
Note - Refer to my post on 'Thandaii' for making the thandaii extract.
( Use a slightly warm knife to be able to cut though the kulfi with ease. This gives nice sharp edges unlike the one you see in my pics. This one was taken in a hurry and I could not get around to warming my knife. Reminds one of the saying 'Practice before you speak', doesn't it ??? )
So, now I just play a bit with Gulal or the dry color for the sake of tradition. But I more than make up for it by relishing some great food. Since everyone is so tired/thirsty playing in the sun, the snacks and refreshments served should ideally be something cool/chilled. Apart from traditional drinks like lemonade and Thandaii, dahi vada and namkeen para make for great Holi snacks. This is a modified version of the traditional 'Thandaii', albeit in the form of Kulfi. Read on for the recipe:
Preparation Time - 25 mins
Ingredients - 1/2 liter milk, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup fresh cream, 2 tbsp cornflour, 3-4 tsp chopped nuts, 4 tbsp thandai extract.
Preparation - Dissolve the cornflour in 1/3 cup milk ( at room temperature ). Keep aside.
Cooking - Bring the remaining milk to a boil in a heavy/thick bottomed vessel and allow to simmer till reduced to 3/4th.
Add and dissolve the sugar in it.
Now add the cornflour mix gradually with continuous stirring. Keep stirring till it thickens sufficiently (3-4 minutes would do but be careful as it has a tendency to stick of the bottom of the vessel and get burnt).
Add the nuts, switch off the flame and keep aside to cool down.
Add the thandai extract and beaten fresh cream. Beat again so that it takes on a uniform consistency and no lumps remain.
Pour into Kulfi moulds. Freeze for 6-7 hours or overnight.
For serving, immerse the kulfi moulds in water for 30 seconds, remove and rub lightly between your palms. Insert a sharp object (like a fork) and take out the kulfi. Cut into bite sized pieces and serve.
Note - Refer to my post on 'Thandaii' for making the thandaii extract.
( Use a slightly warm knife to be able to cut though the kulfi with ease. This gives nice sharp edges unlike the one you see in my pics. This one was taken in a hurry and I could not get around to warming my knife. Reminds one of the saying 'Practice before you speak', doesn't it ??? )