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Rang Barse! ... Holi is here Tarla Dalal
Holi symbolises the abolition of evil and the victory of good. There are several myths about the origin of the festival. As one story goes, Putna, the evil demon, was instructed to kill the baby Krishna by Kansa. She was outsmarted by Krishna who killed her instead. Villagers witnessing the incident burnt Putna in the Holi fire, thus symbolising the death of evil. The other myth about the origin of the festival is about King Hiranyakashyapu, a demon, who failed in coercing his son, Prahlad (a devotee of Vishnu), to worship him, instead of Vishnu. The king decided to burn his son alive. His sister Dunda had a boon that she could not be burnt in fire so the king asked Dunda to hold Prahlad over the pyre to kill him. But as good always triumphs over evil, Dunda was burnt alive. Prahlad was unhurt. Over the generations, Holi is celebrated on the night of Phalgun Purnima or the full moon by burning a pyre around which the sacred thread symbolising good is tied. Even today when the pyre is burnt to ashes, the thread retains its form symbolising good. Apuja is observed, and offerings of coconut, milk, sweets like puran poli are put into the sacred fire. The following day -- Dhuli Vandan or the second day of Holi -- is marked as the beginning of a new era and celebrated with much fanfare. Everyone runs wild in a carnival atmosphere, splashing each other with brightly coloured dyes. The western state of Gujarat celebrates Holi with typical fervour. Gujaratis have perfected the art of festive cooking. Using a little ingenuity, they have succeeded in transforming the simplest ingredients into mouth watering festive delicacies. Everyday Gujarati meals include the traditional thali, which is an experience by itself. Beginning with cumin spiked buttermilk, followed by hot fluffy rotlis, accompanied by a variety of lentils (kathols), vegetables, curds, pickles, mithais and farsans and finished off with rice or khichdi. To reinforce the spirit of Holi in a truly traditional way I have worked towards documenting age-old festive recipes with easy and simple methods for both the inexperienced beginner as well as the connoisseur. So go ahead celebrate Holi by making all the mouth-watering delicacies which you relished all through your childhood. Tarla Dalal, one of India's leading cookery experts, is the author of several cookbooks. Her latest book, The Complete Gujarati Cookbook, has just been released.
Puran PoliPreparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 1 ½ hours. Makes 12 to 15 puran polis
Ingredients:For the filling:
For serving:
Method: To make the filling, wash and pressure cook the dal in 1 ½ cups of water. Drain any excess water and keep aside. Heat the ghee in a pan, add the dal and sugar and cook till the mixture thickens, stirring continuously. Dissolve the saffron in a little water by rubbing. Add the cardamom and nutmeg powder, mace powder, saffron liquid and mix well. Cool, divide into 12 to 15 portions and keep aside. For the dough, combine the flour and oil and knead into a soft dough using water. Divide into 12 to 15 portions and keep aside. Roll out one portion of the dough into a 75 mm (3 inches) diameter circle. Place a portion of the filling mixture and fold the edges of the dough over the filling. Pinch the edges together to seal the filling in. Flatten the dough and roll again into a 100 mm (4 inches) diameter circle. Cook on a tava over a medium flame till it is golden brown in colour on both sides. Repeat for the remaining dough and filling. Smear with ghee and serve hot. Handy tip: You can microwave the filling mixture for seven to 10 minutes to save on cooking time.
Lilva riceGreen field beans, long grained rice and fresh green herbs, cooked in an earthern pot. Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes Serves six Ingredients:
Method: Heat the ghee. Add the cinnamon and cloves and stir for 30 seconds. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes. Add the beans, the paste and salt and 4 cups of warm water and mix well. Transfer to an earthern pot. Cover and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degree C (400 degree F) for 30 minutes till the rice is done. Serve hot with kadhi or yogurt curry Handy tip: You can also use cooked rice, if you have any leftovers. Just remember to boil the green beans.
KhandviA delicious savoury made with gram flour and curds tempered with sesame seeds and mustard seeds. Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 10 to 12 minutes Makes 25 to 30 pieces
Ingredients:
Method:Mix the gram flour, curds, green chilly-ginger paste, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt with one cup of water and make a smooth paste. Transfer into a non-stick pan and heat on a low flame, stirring constantly so that lumps do not form. Keep stirring till the batter becomes thick. Taste the batter to see if the gram flour is cooked. This will take about seven to 10 minutes. Grease the reverse side of three to four thalis or steel trays and spread the mixture as thinly as possible with your hands or a rubber spatula on the greased surface while the batter is still hot. The number of thalis you will need depend upon on how thinly you can spread the batter. When you have finished spreading the batter on the last thali, go back to the first one you spread the batter on and roll up the congealed pancake carefully, like a Swiss roll. Repeat with the other thalis. Cut 25 mm (1 inch) pieces out of each big roll to get bite-sized khandvis. Place these on a serving dish. To prepare the baghar or tempering, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, sesame seeds, asafoetida. And then the curry leaves and red chillies and stir for 30 seconds. Pour over the khandvis and serve garnished with the coriander and coconut. Handy tips: This is a difficult item to make and requires your full attention. Do not do anything else while making this dish. If the curds/yogurt are very fresh, add ¼ tsp citric acid crystals to the mixture to make them a bit more sour. EARLIER FEATURE:
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