Holi is a festival of colours, but it’s also a festival of flavours. It’s the time when kitchens fill with the aroma of saffron, cardamom and slow-cooked khoya, as families come together to prepare festive treats. The first bite of a perfectly crisp Rango ke Gubaare, breaking into a rich, nutty filling or the cool, spiced embrace of Thandai Rasmalai, soaked in saffron-infused milk, these are the tastes that make Holi special. Each sweet carries a story of tradition, celebration and the simple joy of sharing, making Holi as much about food as it is about colours.
By Chef Vaibhav Bhargava - Consultant Chef, Food Stylist and Entrepreneur
Chenna Rasmalai Thandai
- A delightful fusion of saffron-infused chenna, served in chilled thandai.
- Preparation Time: 20 minutes
- Cooking Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Course: Dessert
- Cuisine: Indian
- Servings: 4
Thandai Recipe
Ingredients:
- Milk - 250ml
- Water - 1500ml
- Sugar - 375g
- Fennel seeds (saunf) - 7g
- Cardamom powder - 3g
- Almonds - 15g
- Pistachios - 15g
- Skinned watermelon seeds - 15g
- Poppy seeds - 7g
- Rose water - 3g
- Whole peppercorns - 3g
- Dried or fresh rose petals - 50g
Method:
- Soak the almonds, pistachios, and watermelon seeds for 3-4 hours, then drain and grind them into a fine paste.
- Lightly roast the cardamom, fennel seeds, and peppercorns, then grind them into a fine powder.
- In a pan, bring the milk to a boil. Add saffron and sugar, then let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
- Once chilled, mix in the ground nuts and spice powder.
- Add rose petals and rose water for a fragrant finish. Your Thandai is now ready.
- Rasmalai Recipe
Ingredients:
- Milk - 1000ml
- Refined flour - 5g
- Granulated sugar - 500g
- White vinegar (for curdling milk) - 60ml
- Water - 1500ml
Method:
- Dilute the vinegar with 2-3 cups of water.
- Bring the milk to a boil and slowly add the diluted vinegar. Stir until the milk curdles and forms soft chenna.
- Add 2-3 cups of water and ice cubes to cool it down, then strain to remove any vinegar traces.
- Drain excess water by placing the chenna in a muslin cloth and hanging it for 2-3 hours.
- Knead the chenna until smooth, then mix with refined flour to form a soft dough.
- Shape the dough into small dumplings.
- Prepare a sugar syrup by boiling 2 cups of sugar with 5 cups of water.
- Add the dumplings to the boiling syrup and cook for 5-10 minutes. Your Rasmalai is ready.
- Assembly - Thandai Rasmalai
- Squeeze the excess syrup from the Rasmalai.
- Submerge them in the chilled Thandai.
- Garnish with nuts and serve elegantly.
