Happy Holi

Happy Holi!!.

A working Monday is not the best way to spend it. I miss home very much on the festivals. Though Holi is not one of my favourites, but even I cannot resist the riot of colours. The crisp cold air warming up in the sparkling sun..heralding the onset of spring. You can see the naked branches of trees starting to sprout little buds of life. Palash trees probably steals the show. It is locally also called ‘flame of the forest’. And it actually is. I have had a couple of chances of visiting forests (courtesy my father) in March and April. You can see the orange flowers of the palash trees colouring the edges of the forest. It is pleasure for the colour deprived winter eyes.
Back when chemical colours were not popular, these flowers would actually be used for playing holi. Boiled in with water, it gives a wonderful amber coloured liquid. In fact my father had two big buckets of this done for us one season. It allowed me to play holi with water, which I didn’t do much, being prone to sudden colds).
It is also a festival of freedom. With you face smothered in rainbow colours, we all become one. For some it allows them to be someone else, for other to be more life their real self. Inhibitions are overcome and liberties taken, which add just the little bit of spice a dull life might need.
Mythologically there are quite a few stories connected to holi. The foremost one being prahlad and holika. Prahlad was the son of a demon called Hiranyakashyap. Hiranyakashyap had ordered everyone to worship him. But as destiny would have it, his son became an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. Try what he might Hiranyakashyad could not get Prahlad to forsake his devotion. In a last ditch attempt he asked Holika, his sister to get into a fire with prahlad. Holika was supposed to have a boon that fire could not harm her. They thought Prahlad would be scared with the prospect of burning. Well, turned out that Holika’s boon only worked if she was in the fire alone. So she was burnt while prahlad came out unscathed by chanting Lord’s name.
More on these stories along with Rabri. For now the recipe for Malpua.

Malpua
1 cup of Plain flour(Maida)
2 Tbsp rice flour(optional)
½ banana
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
3-4 Tbsp condensed milk (option- you can just add more sugar)
¼ cup milk
4 Tbsp sugar
Oil/ghee for frying


Mix all the ingredients given above and get it to a thick paste consistency. For better texture, grate or mince the banana in the mixture.
Heat oil in a frying pan. The oil should form a layer of a few millimetres. When it is moderately hot, put a spoonful of mixture and spread it out into a small circle. Do not do it the dosa way. Instead try to lightly spread it by tugging at the corners
Turn to other side and keep frying on medium heat. Once it attains a light golden colour you can take it out.
At this stage many people dip this fried pancake into very thin sugar syrup (chashni). I however think that makes it very rich to eat. And also it takes more time. So I generally stop after frying it.
Do remember however that if you intend to use sugar syrup, the sugar content in the mixture should be less.