Two Savoury Recipes to Jazz Up Your Holi Party

The festival of colours and joy is almost here! Holi is celebrated every year across India with unshakeable enthusiasm. It is a fun-filled exuberant occasion when families and friends get together - to drench each other in vivid colours and savour pure happiness.
Not to forget, a Holi celebration is incomplete without its traditional signature preparations. Gujiya, Thandai, Lassi, and assorted fritters are delightfully sought out for Holi.
We are excited to present two such sweet and savory traditional Holi-special recipes in this blog.
Prepare them, share them - and double your happiness with a flavourful Holi.

Saffron Lassi 
Lassi or sweetened buttermilk is a favourite for many, especially during festivities. Here is the recipe for Saffron Lassi, a tasty cool beverage, to give everyone’s taste buds a real treat during their Holi celebration.

Ingredients required

• Some saffron strands (6-7)
• A tablespoon of hot milk
• 200 to 250 ml of whole creamy milk or Jersey milk (cold)
• 500ml yogurt (prefer using Greek yogurt)
• ½ tablespoon of cardamom powder
• 5 tablespoons of caster sugar
• 5 to 6 finely chopped pistachios

Recipe to prepare Saffron Lassi

• Take a pan and heat it on medium flame, add saffron strands to the pan. Toast the saffron strands mildly. Use a pestle and a mortar to grind these saffron strands. Add this powdered saffron to hot milk.
• Take a bowl and pour cold and creamy milk into it. To it, add Cardamom powder and yogurt. The caster sugar should be added to this mixture as per your taste. Use a processor to froth this mixture.
• You can use the HB 21 Hand Blender, which with its powerful and silent operation can whip the Lassi to smoothness.
• Put some ice cubes in a glass and pour the lassi over it. Garnish the lassi with the saffron mixture and with finely chopped pistachios.

Gujiya
Gujiya is a traditional Indian puff which is fried (can also be baked) and filled with rich sweet filling. Here is the recipe to prepare authentic and flavourful Indian Gujiyas.

Ingredients required:
For the dough

• 150-200 grams of all-purpose flour which is also known as maida
• A pinch of salt
• 5 tablespoons of heated ghee
• A glass of water to knead the dough soft enough

For the filling

• 2 tablespoons of ghee
• Some finely chopped raisins (golden raisins are recommended)
• Take some almonds and cashews and chop them finely
• Take a coconut and desiccate it finely
• Take 200 grams of khoya or Mawa and grate it well, until it softens
• ¼ cup of milk
• ½ cup sugar (fine granules)
• A teaspoon of cardamom powder
• Take some oil or ghee as per your preference, to fry the gujiya.
• Mix 2 tablespoon flour with 3 tablespoon water. This mixture shall be used to seal the gujiya.

Recipe to prepare Gujiya
Making the perfect dough

• Take some maida and filter it well using a strainer.
• Now add a pinch of salt to the maida or all-purpose flour.
• Heat some ghee in a pan and add it to the maida.
• Mix well and do not let the maida form lumps with ghee.
• Take some water and keep adding it gradually to the maida while you knead the dough.
• Let the dough rest for a while and cover the bowl containing the dough, with a plastic film.

Preparing the filling

• Heat some ghee in a pan and add the khoya to it. 
• Let the khoya meld with the ghee until you can feel its pleasant aroma.
• Add some sugar to the khoya as per your taste.
• Keep stirring so that the khoya does not stick to the base of the pan.
• Add some chopped cashews, almonds and raisins, and pistachios to the stirred Khoya. 
• Mix well and let the mixture cool.

And Finally, The Gujiya!

• Take the dough and make small balls out of it, roll them plain until they cannot be made flatter and thin.
• Now, add 1-2 spoons of filling to one side of the flat dough. Take the other side and overlap the too, letting the filling be stuffed inside. Use the dilute water-dough mixture to seal the gujiya.
• Next, take some oil and mix it with equal parts of ghee. Heat the mixture in a skillet. Start frying the gujiya on a medium flame on a Nirlep Selec+ Fry Pan.
• Use tissue paper to soak the extra oil from the gujiyas and serve them hot.

Quick tips and best practices

• Make sure you fry the gujiya at medium flame. If you fry it at a high flame, the gujiya will be fried well from the outside, but from the inside, it will be soggy and undercooked.
• Make sure you do not fill your gujiya excessively. If you do so, it will burst open in the frying pan.
• The dough should not be kneaded excessively. Knead it for a smooth elastic consistency and let it rest for 30 minutes. You can prepare the filling while the dough rests.

Add flavour to your Holi celebration with these traditional Indian recipes.
Go organic, play safe - and serve with love :)