Holi 2022: 6 Chef- Approv...

The colourful festival, Holi, definitely marks the onset of the Summer season. A relaxing and laid-back vibe is what Holi is all about. And no festival is complete without a lavish feast. Festive dessert delicacies have always been relished across the country as the season is all about a melange of food! The sweltering heat might be at its best but that won't dampen our festive spirit. As you sip down that chilled thandai, binge on these lip-smacking desserts to satiate your taste buds. Whether you want to stick to the good ol' classic gujiyas or want to try a healthier version of traditional delights or vegan ones, here are some of our favourite chef-approved Holi dessert recipes to try out this Holi. Don that chef hat and gorge on these desserts as you enjoy your long weekend.

Savour The Festive Goodness With These Chef-Approved Dessert Recipes

Recipe by Ashok Bandaru, Executive Chef, Shangri-La Bengaluru

Here's a healthier take on this classic delight!

Badam Kheer

Ingredients:

Almond milk: 1000 ml

Whole almonds: 200 gm

Saffron: 1 gm

Sugar-free sweetener: 75 gm

Pistachio flakes: 10 gm

Green cardamom powder: 5 gm

Method:

1. Soak the whole almonds for 4 to 5 hours in warm water.

2. Once soaked properly, drain the almonds and grind them into a coarse paste with a bit of almond milk.

3. Heat the above mixture with the remaining almond milk and saffron, cook it until the desired consistency.

4. Add sugar-free sweetener and cardamom powder, cook it for another five minutes. Afterwards, remove the content from the flame, and serve it warm.

5. Garnish the badam kheer with pistachio flakes and saffron strands.

Recipe by Chef Nitish Pawasker - Sous Chef, Pastry and Bakery JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar

Parfi is a spin off on the Kaju Katli synonymous with the festivals in India. People are becoming more conscious and focused on their health and this recipe is for all those mithai lovers who want to satiate their sweet tooth cravings without being guilty.

Parfi

Ingredients:

Pistachio powder - 400 gm

Sugar - 300 gm

Elaichi - 5 gm

Water - 75 gm

For Garnish

Peshwari Pistachio - 15 gm

Method:

Step 1(Mixture)

1. In a big vessel boil the pistachios for 20 minutes

2. Drain the water and remove the skin of the pistachios. Add the pistachios and in a mixer to blend them to make a paste.

3. In a heavy bottomed 15-inch cast iron kadai, combine together sugar and water.

4. Melt them together without discoloring. When the syrup reaches 112 degree celsius, add pistachio paste and stir continuously.

5. Cook the mixture on a low flame till all are combined into a dough like consistency

6. Allow it to cool and once it is cool, lightly knead to get a smooth texture.

Step 2 (Shaping the final product)

1. Place kneaded dough onto a greased work surface and weigh 20 gm keeping aside.

2. Roll it into a smooth ball and coat with silver leaf. With the help of a knife give a 10 mm deep cross cut on top and fill the gap with chopped pistachio.

Recipe by Pastry Chef Rahul Chahar - Vivanta New Delhi, Dwarka

A gourmet twist to our two absolute favourite delicacies! If you are someone who likes to experiment with your taste buds, then Thandai Cheesecake definitely needs to be on your table this festive season.

Thandai Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Cream cheese: 200 gm

Mascarpone cheese: 200 gm

Castor sugar: 120 gm

Whipped cream: 250 gm

Gelatin: 20 gm

Thandai syrup: 15 ml

Milk: 20 ml

Rose petal: 10 gm

Pista: 30 gm

Melon seed: 30 gm

Fennel: 10 gm

For crust:

Multigrain: 200 gm

Almond flour: 50 gm

Honey: 20 gm

Soft butter: 50 gm

Method:

For Cheesecake Base:

1. In a medium bowl, combine multigrain, almond flour, honey, and soft butter until well combined.

2. Press the mixture into the round cake ring and then refrigerate until the mix is ready.

For Thandai Cheesecake:

1. Dissolving gelatin in water makes sure that there are no lumps. Next, warm milk with pasta, melon seed, and fennel, then blend it.

2. Take cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat cream cheese with sugar until creamy and fluffy.

3. Add the whipped cream and thandai and blend well with the cream cheese mixture. Add milk mix little by little and mix well.

4. Add melted gelatin and thandai to the cheese mix, and then stir well.

5. Pour the mixture in a ring and cover with a multigrain disk. Refrigerate for 5-6 hours.

6. Demould the cake after 6 hours, and then spray it with cocoa butter. Garnish the cake with edible flour and serve it

Recipe by Chef Jerson Fernandes - Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach

A regional, flavourful treat that cannot be missed during festivities.

Puran Poli Pinwheel

Ingredients:

For Puran Poli Filling:

Chana dal: 1 cup

Jaggery: 1 cup

Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg powder: 1/3 tsp

For the poli dough:

Whole wheat flour: 1 cup

Ghee: 1 tsp

For the pinwheel rolling:

Hung yoghurt: 100gm

Icing sugar: 100gm

Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp

Chopped dry fruits: 50gm

Method:

1. Make dough using flour, ghee and enough water to have 5 equal sized soft balls of dough ready which need to rest under a moist cloth.

2. Cook the soaked chana dal with water for about 20mins in a pan, drain once cooked and set aside. Then cook the drained chana dal with jaggery, nutmeg and cardamom in a pan for around 8 minutes until the jaggery melts. Keep mashing and mixing at regular intervals and divide into 5 equal parts. Allow to cool.

3. Place the jaggery mixture in the center of the flattened soft dough ball, seal the edges of the dough and roll into a flat round shape with the jaggery mixture spread evenly inside. Use ghee while cooking on a hot griddle.

4. Once it cools then spread the beaten sweetened yoghurt and dry fruits over it evenly and roll it.

5. Cut diagonally into equal parts. Sprinkle some more chopped dry fruits on top and serve.

Recipe by Chef Vaibhav Bhargava

Here's a vegan treat to savour this Holi and liven up your festive mood!

Vegan Toffee Apple Pudding

Ingredients:

Apples: 4pc

Caster sugar: 100gm

Cinnamon sticks: 1

Star anise: 1

Cloves: 3 - 4 pc

Lemon zest: 5 gm

Orange zest: 5 gm

Vegan ice cream: 1 scoop

For the sponge:

Pitted dates: 125 gm

Almond milk: 300 ml

Oil for greasing: 100 ml

Dark brown sugar: 90 gm

Self-rising flour: 100 gm

Soda bicarbonate: 3 gm

Mixed spice: 2 gm

Method:

1. Wash the apples, cut into small chunks and remove seeds.

2. In a pan, add sugar, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, zests and water to cover the apples. Cover with lid and cook for 15. Leave to cool in the liquid.

3. Now make the sponge. Put the dates in a saucepan and add the almond milk, bring to a simmer and cook till the dates are soft. Make a puree in a food processor until smooth paste. Add the oil and blend again, then scrape into a bowl and set aside to cool a little. Heat oven to 180 degrees. Grease and line a baking tray and put in parchment paper.

4. Put the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix well so that any lumps can be removed from it. Add the date and oil mixture, and stir well. Fold in the chopped apples scraps. Scrape the cake mixture into the tin, bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the cake is cooked through.

5. Bring the apple poaching liquid back to boil and cook till syrup consistency. When the pudding is cooked, make sure to cool it for 10 minutes and then brush all over the syrup and serve with vegan ice cream.

Recipe by Chef Sanjyot Keer

What is even Holi without scrumptious Gujiyas? Gujiyas are the staple food for Holi. A soothing flavour is what we want and this year spark up your Holi party with this Beaked Gujiya recipe.

Baked Gujiyas

For dough

Ingredients:

Refined flour- 1 cup

Wheat flour- 1 cup

Salt a pinch

Ghee- 4 tbsp

Water- 1/2cup

Method:

1. Take a bowl and add the refined flour, wheat flour, salt and ghee, mix and combine well by rubbing the flour and the ghee. This stage is very important for making the perfect gujiyas, take a portion in your hand, tighten the flour it should hold, this indicates the incorporation of ghee in the flour has done right.

2. Now add water gradually and knead to make dough and then cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes.

3. Once the dough is soft, transfer it over the platform and again knead well for 4-5 minutes for best results. Then cover it with a moist cloth and rest for at least one hour.

Ingredients for filling:

Mawa- 200 gm

Ghee- 2 tsp

Rava-2 tsp

Almonds- 3 tsp (chopped)

Cashews- 3 tsp (chopped)

Pistachio- 3 tsp (chopped)

Chironji- 2 tsp

Dry coconut (khopra)- 25 gm (grated)

Jaggery (powdered)- 60 gm

Cardamom powder- 1 tsp

Method:

1. For making the filling, make sure you take a good quality mawa, set a pan on low heat, add the mawa, stir and cook the mawa on low flame while stirring continuously, make sure the mawa should not burn. Once it turns golden brown, remove in a bowl and keep it aside to cool down.

2. Now, add little ghee and rava, stir and roast the rava until the colour changes to light golden brown in colour, stir continuously while roasting and post that and keep it aside in a bowl to cool down.

Now, add a little more ghee in the same pan and add the chopped nuts and roast on low flame until the nuts turn aromatic and the colour changes to light golden brown.

3. Now, it's very important to cool down the roasted mawa, rava and nuts, as when you add powdered jaggery they will tend to melt when mixed with these warm ingredients.

4. Take a bowl, add these cool roasted ingredients, add the crumbled mawa and the remaining ingredients in the bowl, mix and combine well.

Method to make gujiyas:

1. As the dough has rested well, divide the dough in small equal dough balls. By the time you roll the dough, keep the remaining dough balls aside covered with a moist cloth.

2. Flatten the dough ball with hands and roll to make like thin chapati, now there are many ways to shape the gujiyas, one is by using a gujiya mould that's easily available in the market, so all you have to do is place the thin chapati over the mould and fill it with sufficient amount filling in the centre, leave little space on the edges and apply water, close the mould and press firmly so they stick well and you can trim off the excess dough.

3. Another way is, you roll it like a thin mini chapati, take a 4-inch cutter or a lid and cut into a circle, further add sufficient amount of filling and apply water on the edges, bring the edges together by folding in half and stick firmly, further use a fork and stick well.

4. Shape all the gujiyas in the same way or the way you prefer, but make sure to cover the gujiyas with moist cloth by the time you shape others.

5. Preheat the oven at 180, line baking paper over the baking tray, place the gujiyas and brush milk. Bake them in a preheated oven at 180 for 18-20 minutes or until the colour changes golden brown. And voila! Gujiyas are ready to be served.