Mmmmmmmmm Rang barse bheengey chunar wali Rang barsey.............Holi Haiiiiiiiiii.....
The above line is from a famous Bollywood movie,"Silsila" starring the legend Shri Amitabh Bachchan,his reel to real time wife Mrs.Jaya Bachchan and his one time beau,Rekha.
The song says it all...each and every word is a dedication to the festival engulfing India today,the festival of color,festival of love,festival of fun unlimited..
Yes,Today is "Holi",the insane colorful festival of India....today you can hardly identify any Indians in particular as they are covered in layers of multi colors as if they are celebrating oneness
,unity in diversity,..it's all about happiness,it's all about togetherness,it's all about humanity ...that's exactly why this festival is one of my favourite and it makes me feel proud to be an
Indian because though it's basically a Hindu festival..it's not restricted to just Hindus..it's beyond that ..it's a festival of everyone residing in India..no caste,creed,religion,language,
sex,age is a bar...a day when everyone just let go everything ,from tip to toe,mind to heart...it's pure,it's colorful.....that's the beauty of this festival....THAT'S HOLI....
I am as usual feeling so nostalgic again ....being far away from my motherland ...that's what happens..no matter how you celebrate Hoil abroad it can never match the authenticity of the
fervor experienced in Indiaaa and I am unfortunately not even celebrating that....though my heart is...rekindling those bygone good days of my childhood days..
The celebration would start a month before ,all of a sudden all those boring markets would look colorful like a rainbow's reflection..every face beaming with joy preparing to welcome all
colors and give their dull life a facelift and MEEEE ? well ,I'll be like 
...coz every holi used to be either in between my school exams or starting the next day and I would feel utterly
helpless ...pretty angry...cursing school, teachers ,books..aahhh what not..
All those DD1 blockbuster movies especially of "Meera" ,the devotional one,yeah I loved them...and all those aromas gushing from North, South, East, West ,from my neighbors house
preparing festival delicacies... I would be left.............but whatever,when the air is so colorful how long can I resist to not blend in...my dad dearest would buy me a pichkari
( hand pump used to fill colorful water to play with) and I would be desperately waiting for his arrival from the shop and then next day I would get 1-2 hrs to play with my friends and
it would be a colorful bath :D..ending in loads of facial colors...my bro enjoying with his friends ,my Dad would lock up our gate after a while, seeing a few boys intoxicated with
Bhaang playing and goofing around lol...and afternoon all my neighboring aunties would gang up and visit my house and force my mother out and everyone would just
apply her face with all colors ..she would just coy and be like ,"Nahi jee bass basss" lol :D...but her friends would be like ,"Really?"...bura na mano aaj holi hai behen..:D:D...that's another
beauty of this festival,...anyone can be just themselves, be nice yet their naughtiest and they can just get away by saying so,"Bura na mano aaj Holi hai" ...and yes it's all about accepting
and forgiving others and just enjoying....
By evening everyone would become somewhat normal..they then do look like they are infact from this Planet Earth and not some alien from a colorful planet:D ....and then everyone would be visiting each and other's house and enjoying the varieties of festival delicacies.....and one such Holi special scrumptious sweet/dessert I remember and I simply adore the most is none other than "Bihari Malpua".....OMG!!!...it is a sweet heaven in itself..I can have 10 in one go....and I would only stop to say,"Bura na mano aaj holi hai" ;D........
Malpua is a sweet delicacy which is a major part of Bihari cuisine ...it is like small eggless pancakes with goodness of Banana,coconut and dry fruits,little spices,milk turned into a batter ,either shallow or deep fried especially in Ghee/clarified butter and dunked in chashni/sugar syrup..if you have a sweet tooth like me,I bet you can't have just one....it is so sweet that I bet there won't be any bitterness left in your heart in anyway lol...How sweet right ?:P
Check out yourself ,Lemme give you the recipe ,the "Authentic (in taste) Bihari one" as there are other ways to prepare them as well ..it varies from a few North Indian states to state but here's to the Bihari version with a healthy twist:
Bihari Malpua
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Bananas,ripe - 2 nos.
Coconut,grated - 1 cup
Dry fruits (Pistachio,almonds,cashewnuts)- 1 tablespoon (optional)
Fennel powder - 3 tablespoons
Almond Milk/Milk - 1 cup +
Baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon(optional)
Ghee for deep frying
For sugar syrup :
Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Milk - 2 tablespoons
Cardamom pods,crushed - 2-3 nos.
Saffron strands - 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
Method:
- First of all prepare the sugar syrup by boiling the sugar and water together ,once the sugar dissolves,reduce the flame to medium ,add the milk,cardamom pods.After a few minutes white colored impurities will be floating,remove them with a spoon and allow it to boil until the solution gets thickened like a glue like consistency. Add the saffron strands.Put off the flame.
- Meanwhile prepare the puas - Put bananas,coconut,dry fruits,fennel powder and almond milk in a blender and make a puree.
- Take a bowl ,add whole wheat flour,baking powder and the above puree and mix everything well until it becomes a batter with a thick pouring consistency .
- Heat a Kadai/deep pan with ghee/oil and pour a ladle of batter in round shapes like a mini pancake .
- Cook both the sides until they get brown and fully cooked on medium to low flame.
- Now put the puas into the sugar syrup and allow them to dunk in properly inside out.
- Serve hot or cold.Choice is yours.
Note:
- You don't necessarily have to use the blender to make it a puree but I do to make sure the bananas are mashed properly and coconuts are mixed in well too.
- I used whole wheat flour instead of the All purpose flour and there wasn't even a bit taste difference.That's healthy right.
- I used Almond milk instead of regular milk to make it more flavorful and healthy as well.
- Baking powder is used to make fluffier puas instead of thin ones.
- Fennel powder is a must.
- Ghee gives the authentic taste ,you can use the regular oil as well.
Happy Holi India............:).................
Holi Ke Din Dil Khil Jaate Hain Rangon Men Rang Mil Jaate Hain
Gile Shiqave Bhuul Ke Dosto Dushman Bhi Gale Mil Jaate Hain..............................................
Gile Shiqave Bhuul Ke Dosto Dushman Bhi Gale Mil Jaate Hain..............................................
O Rang barseeyyyyyyy.............................................................
Whoever reads this,may you have not just this day but everyday vibrant ,colorful and beautiful.......
