This Holi, ditch the ordinary! Impress your guests with these 3 recipes

Holi, the vibrant festival of colours, is a riot not just for the eyes, but also for the taste buds! Forget bland snacks and predictable sweets — this year, let’s turn the fun up at your Holi party with these traditional recipes with a contemporary twist, brought to you by the top chefs.

Kanji vada, courtesy Birjesh Kumar, executive chef, Le Meridien, Gurgaon

Vadas with a twist. (Representative Image: Freepik)

Ingredients

For Kanji:
*¼ cup mustard seeds split/rai na kuria
*1 tablespoon black salt
*1-½ teaspoon chili powder
*Salt to Taste
*5 cups water

For Vada:
*2- ½ cups moong dal soaked for 1 ½ hours and drained
*1 small ginger
*2 green chillis
*½ teaspoon saunf/fennel seeds
*¼ teaspoon asafoetida/hing
*Salt to taste
*Oil for frying

Method
For Kanji:
*In the chutney bowl of the mixer, add the yellow mustard, black salt and chilli powder.
*Blend to a smooth powder. Add the powder into a deep bowl, add water, and mix well.
Cover it with a lid and refrigerate for 24 hours.

For Vada:
*Soak the moong dal for 1-½ hours.
*In the mixer ginger, green chilies, saunf and hing, salt. Run to get a coarse paste.
*Add the moong dal to the mixer and make a coarse paste without using any water.
*Heat the paniyaram pan, add about ½ teaspoon oil in each compartment.
*Dip the hand in water and make a small ball of the dal paste.
*Drop it in the pan and cook until well browned on one side.
*Flip and cook on the other side.
*In case you want to deep fry, drop the ball in hot oil and fry on medium flame until it turns golden brown in colour from all the sides. You can fry 3-4 vadas in one lot.
*Drain the vadas well. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
*Meanwhile, soak the drained vadas in a bowl of water for about 1 hour.
*Drain and squeeze out all the water by pressing each vada gently between your palms.
*Set aside.
To Serve:
*Add the vadas in the kanji and refrigerate.
*Soak for minimum 1 hour and serve chilled.

Pista Sandesh, courtesy chef Meghna Kamdar, American Pistachio Growers

Would you try this recipe? (Source: PR Handout)

Ingredients
*3.5 oz pistachios blanched
*5-6 cardamom pods
*1 cup cottage cheese (paneer)
*1/4 cup condensed milk
*1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
*Rose petals as desired for garnish
*Edible gold leaf as desired for garnish

Method
*Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods.
*In a blender, combine the pistachios and the cardamom seeds and process until a paste-like consistency is achieved.
*In a skillet combine paste, cottage cheese, and condensed milk.
*Heat mixture over low heat while stirring continuously until mixture is well combined and loosens from the bottom of the skillet. *Add one tablespoon of ghee/clarified butter and mix until combined.
*Place mixture into a well-greased baking tray and refrigerate until set.
*Garnish with chopped blanched pistachios, rose petals, and edible gold leaf.
*Cut and serve.

Baked Mawa Chilgoza Gujiyas, courtesy Sachin Malik, executive chef, Radisson Blue MBD, Noida

Traditionally Gujiyas are deep-fried sweets, but why not try air frying or baking them? (Source: PR Handout)

Ingredients
For dough:
*2 cups all-purpose flour/maida
*¼ tsp salt
*6 tbsp ghee/clarified butter
*Water as required for kneading

For frying:
*Vegetable oil (as required for deep frying)

For filling:
*1 cup khoya (grated)
*½ cup chopped pine nuts (chilgoza)
*1/8 tsp cardamom powder
*¼ cup of caster sugar/ white or brown powdered sugar

Method

For dough:
*Add all the dough ingredients in a bowl except water, and start mixing. The flour mixture will become crumbly in texture.
*Now add water slowly, and knead firm dough. Keep aside, covered.

For filling:
*In a frying pan, sauté the grated mawa over low heat for 5-6 minutes or until it turns light brown. Keep aside, and cool completely.
*Now add sugar, cardamom powder, and chopped chilgoza to the cooled mawa. Mix well and keep aside.

For gujiyas:
*Make lemon-sized balls from the dough.
*Apply vegetable oil over a surface and start rolling the dough balls separately.
*Start rolling each ball to a 3.5” diameter round.
*Add 1½ tbsp mawa mixture in the middle of the circle. Apply water by using your finger to seal the edges.
*Now fold the pastry circle to a half-moon shape and press the edges gently to seal. *You can use a pizza cutter to trim the edge. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the gujiyas.

For air frying or baking:
*Bake the gujiyas in a preheated oven at the same temperature.
*Transfer the gujiyas to a baking paper-lined, oven-safe tray and bake them for 20-25 minutes or until they turn golden and crisp to the touch.
*Alternatively, preheat the air fryer for 180 degrees celsius for 5 minutes.
*Apply ghee over the ghujiyas by using a pastry brush.
*Grease the air fryer basket base with vegetable oil.
*Air fry the gujiyas for 15 minutes and flip them in between.
*Take them out from the air fryer basket and keep them aside to cool.

Enjoy!

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