Gujiya to Thandai, many flavours of Holi

Pushpesh Pant

Come Holi, the festival of colours, and our mouth begins drooling with the thought of gujiya packed with koya/mawa enriched with raisins and assorted nuts and tumblers full of that super-coolant thandai. One remembers with nostalgia the days gone by when revellers roamed the streets greeting everyone with the chorus of Holi Hai! Whenever they reached a house spreading joy with their singing, they were treated to trays of gujiya, namkeen and sherbat. The bands moved on and repeated the performances — smearing gulal on the cheeks of the host, gobbling gujiya, gulping thandai and moving on. Not all gujiya was well-made nor all thandai laced with intoxicating bhang, but who cared? It was the sense of gay abandon that resulted in the high. Late in the afternoon, after the bath to wash of the collars and grime, one settled down to a meal of karhi chawal — a prelude to well-earned siesta.

For most of us, memories of food on this day are restricted to gujiya that has become synonymous with this festival. Gone are the days when gujiya was lovingly made at home — it’s far more convenient to buy the sweet at the corner halwai shop, or better still in a well-packed dabba from a branded outlet. There are rare discerning buyers who fuss over traditional gujiya unadorned by a drape chashni sprinkled with pistachio slivers. Some sweetsellers even try to pass off chandrakala as gujiya and have on offer an ultra lux kesariya version, and for the health conscious, a baked confection packed with grated coconut and dry roasted suji with assortment of dried fruit did bits. The mawa filling is doubly suspect in this season and scary tales of adulterated milk fudge abound. The health conscious are apprehensive of all deep-fried stuff, and this present shape desi pastry has suffered due to this concern. We have encountered tiny baked gujiya that can only dampen the celebrations. But this is not meant to be a lament for our beloved gujiya but a review of what comprises various menus in different parts where Holi is ‘played’ seriously.

Menus aplenty

It is mostly celebrated in the northern provinces, particularly in the region of Braj and Awadh. Uttarakhand, once a part of Uttar Pradesh, has a distinct culinary tradition. Holi begins almost a fortnight ahead of the day colour is sprayed and sprinkled. Singing sessions are organised at home in the evening and continue for hours. Alu ke gutake and suji ka halwa are paired with rounds of piping hot glasses of ginger and black peppercorn-laced tea. The potatoes used to be tempered with jambu, a variety of Himalayan chives and garnished with dried red chillies. Halwa seldom had any frills, dried fruits or nuts but was redolent with saunf and green cardamom. A more elaborate spread would include a single jumbo-sized pua shaped like the spiral sweet jalebi. In Nepal, this is known as seli roti.

In Jharkhand and adjacent parts of present day, Bihar and Purvanchal, dahi bade were also prepared for special guests. Home cooks took great pride in displaying their skills of vada-making that involved beating the batter with hands to exceptional fluffiness that would yield bada that would disappear like a whiff of air as soon as these were put in the mouth. Some used husked moong lentils instead of mash to prepare mangori or phulkiya to be soaked in dahi. The chutney did not play second fiddle to the bada. The sonth was prepared like the bada batter a day in advance with dried dates, dried ginger, black rock salt and jaggery.

Breaking the sweet monotony

Let us not remain under the illusion that on Holi only sweets are enjoyed. Namakpaare a.k.a. nimki break the monotony of the sweet routine. These, like namakpare, were once prepared at home and in bulk to satisfy the craving for something savoury. Matthis, small and big, thin and thick were loaded on trays to greet the choral singing guests. Alas these two are being bought readymade and factory packaged. The form and homogenised taste is not worth talking about.

We are informed by our friends in Odisha that they enjoyed sweet peethas instead of gujiya on celebrations like Holi. The fillings of these peethas played with variations on the grated coconuts and rice flour paste and crystalline sugar.

Time for some drinks

Can Holi be complete without a touch of mild intoxication? People in Banaras believe that nothing compares with Shivji ki booti, hemp leaves ground to a paste and added to a drink prepared with almonds, rose petals, melon, seeds, pepper corn, cardamom, sultanas in condensed milk and then diluted. However, there are others who used hemp to trick their innocent friends with bhaang ki pakodi, the poor creatures gave themselves away with unstoppable giggling or unexplained stupor. Trendy youngsters have long ago given up traditional thandai for the alcohol-based ‘punch’. The big bowl relies of spicing up iced tea with whatever wines are at hand, fruit juices and fortified with white rum or vodka. We must confess that we are quite partial to this initially refreshing but ultimately incapacitating beverage. Like thandai, small gulps are invigorating but trying to swallow beer tankers of the stuff can be disastrous.

In many small towns in the Hindi heartland, the breakfast used to be served early and exceptionally substantial. Poori served with chana or alu or sitaphal ki subzi ensured that there is no dip in energy levels or pangs of hunger interfere with merrymaking.

Perhaps in these unreasonable passion-charged days, it is not politically correct to mention non-vegetarian snacks and delicacies that were/are served for Holi. Holi has never been only a Hindu festival. It epitomises the spirit of amity and exhorts us to let bygones be bygones. As children, many decades back, we were once taken to Lucknow by our father during the Holi season. He had studied in a medical school there and had great fondness for the well-mannered folks who lived there. In the evenings, when everyone had taken a bath, the gentle folks dressed up in muslin kurtas with chikanari, applied seasonal perfumes and visited friends to greet and exchange best wishes. They embraced each other like at Eid. Such Holi milan programmes were also organised in public parks. Needless to add, the evening concluded at many a home with platter of kebabs and sherbat.

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Homemade Gujiya 

Ingredients

Maida 1 cup

Mava 250 gm

Grated coconut 1tbsp

Raisins 1 tbsp

Chironji ½ tsp

Pista slivers 1 tsp

Powdered sugar ½ tsp or less

Ghee to deep fry

Coconut grated

Garnish

Few strands of saffron

Rose water 1 tbsp

Method

Prepare a semi-hard dough akin to the dough for pooris and keep aside for 

30 minutes, allowing the dough to rise. Roll out into 2 mm thin disks.

In a thick pan, crumble the mava and heat till it releases a pleasant aroma. Sprinkle sugar powder and nuts and nuts and raisins. Remove from pot allowed to cool divide into equal portions to pack the gujiyas. Spread out the disks on a flat platter and place a portion of the filling on one half.

Moisten the periphery of the disk with the finger dipped in water then gently fold over and press to seal. Crimple the edges with the cuter or pinch with fingers to create a decorative design. 

Heat ghee in the thick-bottom pan and fry the gujiyas in batches on low medium heat till they acquire a rich golden colour. Turn once to fry evenly on both sides. Remove with the slotted spoon and place on kitchen towels to remove excess fat. If you wish, you may decorate the gujiya with a strand or two of saffron soaked in rose water.

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Thandai

Ingredients

Milk (full fat) 1 litre

Melon seeds 1 tbsp

Poppy seeds 1 tbsp

Fennel seeds 1 tbsp

Almonds (shelled and skinned) Quarter cup

Black peppercorns 1 tbsp

Sultanas/raisins Quarter cup

Green cardamoms 6-8

Rose water quarter cup

Saffron A large pinch

Rose petals A few

Method

Put all the dry ingredients in a blender, along with rose water and grind coarsely. Heat milk in a thick bottom pan and boil on low medium flame till it is 2/3rd of the original volume. Remove a cup full of milk and add this to the ground paste. Pass this milk to a fine cloth pressing with the back of a ladle 2-3 times so that the milk absorbs all flavours of the paste. Mix this mixture to the milk in a pot. Allow to cool then chill. Serve diluted a little with ice cubes. Garnish with rose petals.

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Namakpaare

Ingredients

Maida 1 cup 

Ajwain seeds 1 tsp

Salt (according to taste) 1 tsp or less

A pinch of black rock salt

A large pinch of baking soda

Method

Sieve the maida with salt and black rock salt sprinkle the ajwain seeds then prepare a semi-hard dough just like you do for pooris and keep a side for 30 minutes allowing the dough to rise. 

Roll out disks about 1/4th inch thick into disks with about 6 inches diameter. Spread the disk on a flat surface and with a sharp knife cut into half-inch thick strips. Cut some strips into diamonds if you like. Heat ghee or oil in the thick bottom pan and deep fry the 

nimki and the namakpaare turning once or twice to ensure that they are evenly brown. Remove and place on kitchen towel to drain off the excess fat. Sprinkle a little chat masala before serving if you like.