Amazing Holi Food With A Twist Of Good Health!

Festivals are the perfect time to celebrate and a zing to our daily lives. These are the times when we get to de-stress, unwind, and bond with our friends, family and savor loads of sweets and traditional foods. One such festival marking sheer happiness is the festival of colours – Holi! This spring festivity of colours brings with it loads of fun that imbibes a sense of exhilaration amongst everyone!

Holi get-togethers are the best part of this festival and are filled with colourful decors, a variety of mocktails, splash of colours and delectable sweets and snacks. Considering it is almost knocking at the door and we can’t wait for those appetizing Holi treats. But whether the snacks are healthy or baked, it is best to limit the quantities as they contain sweeteners and carbohydrates, which can cause overeating and eventually weight gain and ruins the afterglow from the festival.

Celebrate this Holi the healthy way with these traditional snacks with a twist of good health

Sweet & Savoury Gujiyas: One of the quintessential holi delicacies are the gujiyas. These are flaky and crisp but are loaded with sugar and oil. One can make the sweet puffs by adding khoya and healthy sweeteners instead of sugar, which will also make them a little less sweet, but certainly adds that pinch of health quotient. One of the most brilliant ways to make gujiyas is to make it in an air fryer as it would only need one-fifth of oil which would otherwise be required and make it a fantastic healthy delicacy to enjoy by all.   Here is a quick recipe for Gujias in an Airfryer:

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• Maida – 250 grams
• Vegetable oil – 1 tablespoon
• Water

For Stuffing:

• Dry fruits (roasted) – 100 grams
• Desiccated coconut (grated) – 50 grams
• Sugar – 100 grams (Quantity can be changed as per taste)

Directions:

• Mix maida, water and oil and prepare a firm dough. Make balls of the dough and keep aside.
• Mix all the ingredients for the stuffing in a bowl.
• Preheat the Airfryer at 180 degrees.
• Roll the balls in thin flatbread. Apply water on the edges. Put the stuffing in the center and fold it in half.
• Seal the edges by pressing them.
• Prepare all the gujiyas in the same manner and place them in the Airfryer basket.
• Airfry them for 10 minutes or until they turn slightly brown.
• Take the basket out and transfer them to a kitchen towel and let them cool. Healthy gujiyas are ready to serve.

Dahi Vada With A Twist: Without negotiating on taste, bread dahi vada is a healthy alternative to the traditional and established urad dal vada. High in iron, minerals, and calcium, brown bread vada can be prepared in just ten minutes and requires no deep frying. Garnish it with green chutney and tamarind chutney. Here is a quick recipe for bread dahi vadas:

Ingredients:

• Bread – 1 packet
• Buttermilk – 200 ml

For the filling:

• Shredded coconut - 3 tablespoons
• Salt – ¼ teaspoon
• Ginger – 1 teaspoon
• Green chili – 2 teaspoons
• Almonds - 2 teaspoons (sliced in half)

For the serving:

• Dahi – ½ cup (whipped)
• Tamarind chutney (optional)
• Green chutney
• Salt (as per taste)
• Red chili powder (as per taste)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
• Add all the ingredients for filling in a bowl. Mix well and set aside
• Cut all the bread slices in a round shape with a 3-inch cookie cutter or a bowl.
• Dip the bread in buttermilk on one side and add 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle.
• Fold the bread from the side and make it round in shape. Press the edges seal them.
• Prepare rest of the vadas in the same way.
• Brush the vada with butter or oil lightly and place them on a baking tray.
• Bake until the vadas turn golden brown.
• Take the vada out and soak them in water for 2 minutes. Squeeze out the water and place them on a serving dish.
• Serve the vadas by topping them with whipped dahi, sprinkle salt and red chili. Drizzle tamarind chutney, green chutney and few sprigs of coriander leaves. Healthy and baked vadas are ready to be served.

Cool It Up With Thandai: Holi is incomplete without its staple, Thandai. Any other drink cannot come even close to gulping a glass full of this lip-smacking drink down your throat. This year just make it with low-fat milk and add honey as the substitute for sugar and enjoy the drink guilt-free way.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1 1/2 liter water
• 1 cup honey
• 1 tbsp almonds (badam)
• 1 tbsp melon seeds (kalonji)
• 2 tsp poppy seeds (khus-khus)
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns (sabut kali-mirch)
• 2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (elaichi)
• 1 tbsp gulkand (optional)

Directions:

• Wash and clean all dry ingredients except honey and cardamom.
• Soak the ingredients in two cups of water for 2 hours and keep them aside.
• Grind all soaked ingredients except honey to a fine paste. It works best if you use a stone grinder. Add the remaining water to the paste.
• Strain the mixture through a muslin cloth or a very fine strainer.
• Now add milk, honey and rosewater to the extracted liquid. You can add more honey if you prefer your drink slightly on the sweeter side..
• If using cardamom powder mix it in with the milk.
• Mix well and serve chilled.

Go Green With Halwa: Lauki or bottle gourd constitutes 98% water and is enriched with so many nutrients, especially fibre. So, make a healthy Holi treat of lauki, and you don't have to choose between health and taste during this festival season. Add dry fruits and rose petals, of your choice and voila, you are all set!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups grated bottle gourd (lauki)
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat milk, 99.7% fat-free
• 1/2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
• 2 tsp sugar substitute

Directions:

• Heat the ghee in a deep non-stick pan, add the bottle gourd and mix well.
• Cover it with a lid and cook on a medium flame for 5 to 6 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
• Add the milk and cardamom powder, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 15 to 17 minutes, while stirring continuously.
• Add the sugar substitute and mix well.
• Serve hot with love

With such healthy and yummy snack options on the plate, what should we wait for? So, it’s time to get drenched in colours, fill our tummies with mouth-watering yet mindful choices and leave worries and calories on a different continent. Have a happy & healthy Holi!