Falling on March 8 this year, the festival of Holi is known to be a celebration of the victory of good over evil. A day prior to Holi, a ritual called Holika Dahan is performed, wherein the effigy of Holika is burned down. The next day, people rejoice and celebrate with colours and water. The quintessential food and drinks on Holi have to be gujiya and thandai, without which the celebration feels incomplete.
However, apart from this, there are several snacks that can be prepared for the day too. Bored of the same old vadas and pakoras? These chefs are making some interesting snacks this year that you might want to indulge in. Here are a few chef-special snack recipes for Holi that you can make at home.
1. Sago Popcorn by Chef Sishpal, Verandah
Preparation: 40 min.
Cooking: 15 min.
Servings: 2 portions
Ingredients:
• 1 cup soaked sabudana
• ½ cup boiled and mashed potatoes
• 1 tablespoon rice flour
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies
• 1.2 teaspoons roasted cumin powder
• ½ tablespoon red chilli powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• ½ cup semolina
• ½ cup chopped fresh coriander
• Refined oil for frying
• Salt to taste
Method:
• Soak the sago for 30–40 minutes.
• Drain excess water; add boiled and mashed potatoes.
• Take a mixing bowl and add rice flour, chopped chillies, cumin powder, curry leaves, 1 tablespoon of sugar, chilli powder, and coriander. Mix all the ingredients well.
• Make small balls out of this dough.
• Coat these sago balls in semolina.
• Fry the sago balls until golden brown. Serve hot with any kind of dip you love.
2. Khandvi Chaat By Chef Sishpal, Verandah
Preparation: 15 min.
Cooking: 25 minutes
Servings: 2 portions
Ingredients:
• 2 cups of gram flour
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon chopped green chillies
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
• ½ tablespoon mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons of refined oil
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt to taste
Method:
• Take a mixing bowl. Add gram flour, turmeric powder, green chillies, lemon juice, and salt, and make a batter out of it.
• Take a pan and put it on a slow gas range.
• Add one and a half cups of water to the pan and boil it.
• To this boiling water, add the above gram flour mixture and cook well.
• Pour this mixture on a hard, flat surface and spread it into a thin sheet.
• Cut and roll this sheet into small, bite-sized khandvi.
• Meanwhile, take a pan and put it on the gas range and heat it. Pour some refined oil into the pan.
• Once the oil is heated, add curry leaves, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, and salt for tampering.
• Pour the tampering on top of the khandvi.
• Serve with the chaat.
3. Dal Kachodi By Chef Anirudh Sethi, Corporate Chef, NH 44
Ingredients:
• 100 g of urad dal
• 15 g of fennel seeds
• Salt to taste
• 2 g hing
• 8 g dhaniya powder
• 6 g of dry mango powder
• 6 g of powdered sugar
• 10 g red chilli powder
• 1.5 litres of oil for frying
• 5 g of cumin seeds
Method:
• Knead the refined flour by adding 200 g of oil and lukewarm water to it.
• The dough should be like roti. Rest it for 30 minutes.
• Take the overnight-soaked urad dal and make a coarse paste of it in a mixer-grinder.
• Add 30 ml of oil to a kadai. When the oil is hot, add hing, cumin, and fennel seeds and sauté well. Add the coarse lentil mix and mix well. Then, add powdered masala to it.
• Add sugar and salt and sauté till the mix is perfectly cooked. Last, add dry mango powder and keep it aside. Let the mixture cool.
• Take the dough and cut a small ball from it. Stuff the lentil mixture and keep it aside.
• Heat the oil. The temperature should be low, around 100 degrees.
• Take the stuffed ball and place it in the centre of your palm. With the other hand, flatten it, and with the help of your thumb, press from the centre and fry them in the oil till golden brown.
• Serve hot with chutney.