The most vibrant festival of the country is undoubtedly Holi and is celebrated with colours and a massive gastronomic spread.
Green peas kachori.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Different variants of kachoris and pakoras are in abundance on Holi
When it comes to celebrating festivals, India is one country which leads the world. With so many religions and diverse cultures and geographical locations each festival in India has its own uniqueness. It's not just the cultures which differ but even the food traditions vary from state to state.
The most vibrant festival of the country is undoubtedly Holi and is celebrated with colours and a massive gastronomic spread. It announces the arrival of spring, end of winter and a thanksgiving for a good harvest. Each community and region has subtle differences when it comes to dishes cooked at homes. In Uttar Pradesh a lot of women make savouries and begin the process a week in advance.
With new potatoes in the market and good sunlight many variants of potato chips, aloo lachaas and namkeens are put out on the terraces of most of the houses.
Gulabo and kesar thandai are some of the popular dishes served during lunch in this festive period.
Sometimes five to six families come together to prepare these goodies for the festive season. Sangeeta Khanna, an expert on Uttar Pradesh food traditions, especially Benares, says, "Kathri and Marwari communities make special Kanji vadas for Holi and are perfect to cut the fatty fried foods."
Also different variants of kachoris and pakoras are in abundance. Not to forget the bhang pakoras paired with bhang thandai which is a must-have in all the regions. Bhang or Cannabis first consumed by Lord Shiva on Goddess Parvati's recommendation has now become an integral part of the celebrations. Lassi with bhang leaves and assorted nuts is most commonly consumed during the day. Maneesh Srivastava, a seasoned food writer, says,
"In the Kayastha community in Bihar gujjia, khajja , khoya mal pua during lunch is a norm and mutton for dinner is a must". An interesting fact is that in every part of the country, on this day, people end up eating some kind of mutton dish paired either with poori or steamed rice. In Bengal its kosha mangsho, in Bihar it is mutton curry, in UP it's mutton biryani or kadhai sort of curry and in Maharastra it's again a sukha mutton or a dry preparation of the meat.
The vegetarians satisfy their cravings mostly by making a spicy kathal curry (jackfruit) as it is in season and also a close mock meat. There are some households that do a kathal biryani too. Another common dish is the dahi vada which has variants like, kanji vada , dal vada made both sweet and savoury.
In Jharkhand mutton dhuska is quite common while the Oriyas make chakuli pitha for Holi. Puran Poli, again a very unique dish mainly in Maharashtrian houses, is a part of the festive food. It is basically made out of flat bread stuffed with sweet chana dal with a nutmeg and cardamom filling. Gujjias also differ from region to region as the stuffing changes every few kilometres. From nuts to coconut to condensed milk (khoya) filling, they come in all varieties.
Some people serve it after soaking it in a sugar syrup (chashni) while some avoid it and serve it dry. Even vermicelli stuffed gujjias in Muslim-dominated areas in Benaras are quite popular during the season and are specially made for the fellow brothers celebrating the festival. In Bengal a special sweet called Jilipi is made which has its own unique character and is only made during Holi.
The dish pakohas a close resemblance to the UP Jalebi as it is made with a batter of paneer (cottage cheese) and then dipped in chashni before being served. For many people after a hectic day of colours and fun, hot colourful sabudana papads , crisp bhang pakoras, a portion of mutton curry and a glass of chilled bhang thandai are good enough to end the day on a high.
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