The celebration of every festival is incomplete without food. Many special dishes are made on special occasions. Any joyous occasion marks the beginning of spring and signifies the victory of good over evil, it brings a ray of hope, love, and merriment and makes our lives joyful. Even it’s an adult or a kid, one or the other festival is the favorite festival of people of all age groups. To celebrate the occasion, many special dishes are made by people to greet their loved ones.
Popular foods as well as some new delights that will make your guests lick their fingers are listed below.
Dishes like gujiya, Dahi Bhalla, thandai, ras malai, malpua, bhang pakoda, etc are made on some special occasions.
GUJIYA
This classic dessert is a must on this special occasion. With flavorful sweet stuffings and a crispy outer layer, this dessert will recall your memories from childhood. This dessert is one that you need to prepare and share with your pals and family members.
~ INGREDIENTS USED:-
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
For Filling
- 300 grams of khoya
- 1-1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulate green cardamom
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped almonds
- 1/4 cup semolina
For Dough
- 1-1/2 cup clarified butter
- 1-1/2 cup water
~HOW TO PREPARE GUJIYA?
Step 1:- Mix All Purpose Flour And Water. Take a bowl and add this mixture and water to make a soft dough. For more taste, you can add some ghee also.
Step 2:- Knead A Soft Dough and to make it softer, knead well by spraying some water. Now keep it aside for an hour. In the meantime, take a deep-fry pan then saute khoya and semolina till it turns golden and cool it down.
Step 3:- For preparing the filling for gujiya,
add some sugar, some green cardamom, and some soaked almonds to the cooled khoya and mix it well. You can add some dry roasted nuts and raisins, this will add a nice crunch to the Gujiya recipe. Further, take two drops of ghee or refined oil and spread it well on your palms.
Step 4:- Make puris of the dough and add stuffing to them. After adding the filling seal closets in such a way that it secures the stuffing while frying the Gujiya. Roll the sides of the gujiya and give it a proper shape.
Step 5:- Deep Fry The Gujiya. Heat some oil in a pan over medium flame. Fry the shaped Gujiyas till it becomes golden brown and serves it after it cools down. You can garnish it with some crushed pistachios.
THANDAI
Thandai is the most popular dish in north India. This beverage is made with some mild, spices and dry fruits.
~ HOW TO MAKE THANDAI?
Step 1:- Add 10-12 almonds, 10-12 cashew nuts, 25-30 black peppercorns, 10-12 raisins, 10-12 green cardamoms, 1 teaspoon poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon melon seeds, and 1 pinch saffron to a medium mixing bowl.
Step2:- Nuts, seeds, and spices are added to a bowl. Now Add ½ cup water to the bowl and keep it aside for 5 to 6 hours.
Step 3:- Add the soaked ingredients to a blender and blend it to make a nice paste.
Step 4:- Add 2-3 tablespoons of milk if required while blending and set the paste aside.
Step 5:- Heat 4 cups of milk in a heavy bottom pan over medium warmth and stir frequently.
Step 6:- When the milk comes to a boil, stir in the paste, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon rose water.
Step 7:- Paste, sugar, and rose water were added to the pan.
Cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir frequently.
Step 8:- Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool down for 10 minutes.
Step 9:- Refrigerate the milk mixture for 3-4 hours.
Step 10:- Now pass the mixture through a strainer and discard the leftover pulp.
Step 11:- Now pass the chilled mild from the stainer with the leftover in it.
Step 12:- Pour the Thandai into serving glasses and garnish with fresh or dried rose petals and slivered dried nuts and serve chilled.
DAHI BHALLA
In north India, Dahi vada is known by the name of Dahi Bhalla. Dahi means curd or yogurt and Bhalla means fried fritters.
~ HOW TO MAKE DAHI BHALLA?
Step 1:- Soak moong dal for 5 to 6 hours.
Step 2:- Drain it completely and blend it with ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ inch ginger, 1 green chili, something and add a little chilled water.
Step 3:- Blend coarsely and add some more water and blend again.
Step 4:- Make a smooth and fluffy batter. ( Don’t make the batter runny )
Step 5:- Transfer it to a bowl and beat it for 2 minutes in the same direction.
Tip- you can add cashews, ginger to it for taste.
Step 6:- Add 3 cups of hung curd to a separate wide bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and salt for taste. Whisk it properly and set it aside.
For Frying Vada
Step 7:- Heat oil in a pan for frying. When the oil is medium hot, drop a small amount of batter either with your greased fingers or with your greased palms. Add as many videos to the oil According to your kadhai. Stir them till they got golden brown color. When they become deep golden you can remove them.
Step 8:- Drain them and add them to a bowl containing water. Test them for half an hour.
Step 9:- Now remove Vada from that water when their size seems to be increased by absorbing water. And gently press them with your palms to remove excess water.
Step 10:- Add them to the bowl of curd. And let them rest there.
Step 11:- Now you can transfer them to the serving bowl. And top it with some green chutney and tamarind chutney.
Step 12:- Sprinkle some red chili powder, cumin powder, black pepper, and chat masala.
For finishing you can add some coriander leaves, boiled potatoes cut into small pieces. You can also add some pomegranate to it. And serve immediately.
Writing credits – Sonali Singla
