Holi Food: Traditional Dishes and Recipes
When and how is it celebrated?
Holi falls on the full moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna, usually in March and occasionally in late February. On the evening before, bonfires are lit in memory of the legend of the demoness Holika. The next day, people take to the streets with coloured powder and water pistols, and nobody stays clean. That is why the cooking is done beforehand. In many families in North India, the women sit together days before the festival shaping gujiya, half-moon pastries filled with khoya (milk cooked down until thick), nuts and desiccated coconut. Anyone who visits is offered a plate of sweet and savoury things. With it comes thandai, a cold milk drink with ground almonds, fennel seeds, pepper and rose petals.
What is on the table?
Sweets come first. Malpua are small pancakes of flour, milk and often mashed banana, fried in ghee and dipped in sugar syrup. In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh they belong to Holi as much as gujiya do. In Maharashtra people make Puran Poli, a thin flatbread filled with cooked split chickpeas (chana dal) and jaggery. Alongside there are besan ladoo of roasted gram flour and ghee, which you can make a good week in advance. To cool down after the colour throwing there is Dahi Vada, fried lentil dumplings soaked in yoghurt and topped with tamarind chutney and roasted cumin. Savoury snacks such as Kachori or pakora are fried in large batches, because guests keep arriving all day. The main meal in the evening is often simple, such as puri with potato curry or Chole. After a day with so much sugar, that is exactly right.
Tips for your own festive meal
Four dishes are enough for a Holi meal at home. Make the sweets the day before. Besan ladoo keep a good week in a tin. On the day, fry Veg Pakora fresh and chill the dahi vada. For the main course, Chole Bhature is a good choice. The bread puffs up as it fries and only tastes right warm. Finish with gulab jamun, lukewarm in their syrup. If people are throwing colour outside, keep the food indoors, or the powder ends up in the yoghurt.
