Holi has arrived but has the food in your kitchen?

The most colorful and most lively festival in India has made the knock on the doors. The colors, fun, frolic, continuous jokes, unidentifiable kids and guests. Oops! Now that is an issue. People nowadays do not like to eat desserts and sweets bought from market due to health hazards and hence go crazy after home made delicacies. With little time on hands, can you create magic out of your kitchen?

Well, we can help you out. Read on.

1. Bread Gulab Jamun

Ingredients:

White Bread slices: 6

Sugar: 1 cup

Water: 1 cup

Cardamom: 3-4

Baking soda: ½ tsp

Milk powder: 2 tbsp

Milk: As required

Oil: for frying

Method: Cut out the brown sides of the bread and grind in a mixer. Now to this, add the milk powder, soda and knead into dough with help of milk. Remember to add the milk little by little. On the other hand, heat sugar and water with cardamom to a syrupy consistency. Once the dough is soft and ready, take small portions and make them as round as you can. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the small rounds and then soak in the syrup. Your Gulab Jamuns are ready.

2. Chocolate coconut rolls

Ingredients:

Marie Biscuit - 6

Cocoa powder - 3 tbsp

Butter - 2 tbsp

Milk - to knead the dough

Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp

Sugar - as required

Method: Powder the biscuits in a mixer and add cocoa powder. Slowly add milk to knead smooth dough and let it rest. In a separate bowl, addd coconut, sugar and butter. Mix properly understanding it should be a little sticky. Now take small portions of the dough and roll out thinly like chapattis. Taking spoon full of the coconut mixture spread it evenly on the chapatti. Raise the chapatti from one side and gently roll into a cylindrical shape. Refrigerate these for around 30- 45 minutes. Remove and then cut them into small circles. Serve immediately.

3. Thandai

Ingredients:

Milk - 1 liter (2 cups)

Sugar – 2-3 tbsp

Saffron – 7 to 8 strands

Rose essence – 2-3 drops

To grind to a paste:

Almonds - 30

Poppy seeds - 2 tsp

Fennel seeds - 2 tsp

Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Peppercorns – 15

Method: Soak the ingredients mentioned under to grind for about 30 minutes. Heat milk. Take a tbsp of this in a bowl and add saffron into it. Keep aside. To the already boiled and cooled milk add sugar. Now remove the skins of the almonds and place them along with other ingredients in a jar and grind to a paste. Add this paste to the milk and mix well. Let it rest for an half an hour or so. Strain and then add the saffron milk kept aside and rose essence. Stir well and cool for 2 hours. Thandai is ready.

4. Chakli

Chaklis are made by combining a number of flours and a rigorous process. Here we present an easy version.

Ingredients:

2 cups Maida (all purpose flour)

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Sesame Seeds

1/2 tablespoon Oil + for deep frying

Method: Sieve 2 cups maida, tie in a cotton cloth and place in a small steel container or tiffin. Place the container in a pressure cooker and pour water until it reaches half the height of the container. Close the lid of cooker and steam for 15 to 17 minutes. Turn off flame and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Open the container. Maida would have been altered into a large bulge. Place in a large bowl and untie it. Pound it and break it. Strain it to remove any large lumps. Add the sesame seeds, 1/2 tablespoon oil and salt. Add water as required and make smooth and soft dough. Take star shaped mold and fit it in the chakli maker container. Fill it with dough. Now, close the container tightly with its lid. Make coils on a paper or a thick plastic sheet. Now fry this on medium heat and let it cool to become crisp. Chaklis are ready to be gobbled up.

5. Veg Galouti Kebab

Ingredients:

2 raw bananas

½ cup split Bengal gram dal

1 tsp Garam masala

1 pinch mace powder

3 cloves garlic

½ inch ginger

2 green chillies

Salt to taste

½ cup fresh coriander (optional)

Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Method: Soak the Bengal gram dal and boil in just enough water to soften but not dissolve. Peel, chop and boil the bananas until they become soft as well. Now in a mixer jar, first add dal and and grind. Do not add water. Now add the bananas, garam masala powder along with the ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt and mace powder. Keep mixing till the mixture becomes even. Now take 1 tablespoonful of this mixture on greased hands and flatten out slowly and carefully without the formation of cracks. Heat a skillet or shallow frying pan and place the kebab on it, adding little oil. Using a spatula, turn the kebabs till they become slightly golden brown in color. Your vegetarian galouti kebab are ready to be munched. Serve with mint raita or green coriander chutney

6. Dahi Puri

No time for Dahi vade? Well, why worry when Dahi Puri is here!

Ingredients:

Puri - 8 puris

Curd - 1/2 cup

Sev - a handful

Boiled Green Gram Dal - 1/4 cup

Boiled potatoes - 1/4 cup

Green Chutney - 2 tbsp

Imli Chutney - 2 tbsp

Onion - 1 medium sized chopped

Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped finely

Chat masala powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - as required

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Method: First of all, mash the potatoes and add cumin powder and half of the red chilli powder. Mix well and keep aside. Blend the curd with sugar and salt till the texture becomes smooth. Keep the ingredients in different bowls near a plate in which the puris have been arranged. Make a little hole in the puri, preferably in the center and add small quantity of mashed potatoes and green dal. Add little curd then onions and then remaining curd with chutneys and sprinkle sev and chat masala on top. That easy!

7. Fresh Fruit Sundae

This is the easiest. Place ice cream and fresh seasonal fruits in a glass and serve. You may do this in alternate layers and even add pieces of cake or sprinkle chocolate chips or chocolate syrup.

8. Cucumber lemondae

Ingredients:

Sugar: 1 cup

Lemons: 8 juiced

Cucumber: 2, sliced

Water: 2 cups

Method: Dissolve sugar into water over medium heat and then set aside to cool for about an hour. Blend the cucumbers and strain through the sieve so as to only collect the juice of them. Add this to the syrup prepared earlier. Stir well and serve in glassed with ice cubes and decorate with cucumber and lemon slices.

P.S.: You may add a few leaves of mint as well.

9. Missi Puri

All you need is dough made from 3 cups of wheat flour, 1.5 cups of besan or bengal gram flour, 1 tbsp cumin seeds, some finely chopped coriander leaves and salt to taste.

Make a hard but smooth dough, roll out pooris, fry and you are good to go!

You may have these with any curry, gravy, curd or even pickle! Serve hot!

Hope we helped you. Let us know if you try any of these!