WISH ONE AND ALL A HAPPY HOLI
KATACHI AMTI, WHEAT PURAN POLI & RANGA PANCHAMI
The last time I made Puran Poli was during Ganesh Chaturthi and then I had promised to share with everyone the recipe of Katachi Amti. This is a by-product of Puran poli and hence becomes as precious as the main dish. Maharashtrians make Puran poli on Holi day. I would like to share with you’ll about Holi in
Holi In
Holi is known as Shimga or Rangpanchami in
One day before Ranga Panchami, a huge bonfire is made and an effigy of Holika with child Prahlad in her lap is kept on the logs. Usually, Holika's effigy is made of combustible materials, whereas, Prahlad's effigy is made of non-combustible one. Almost 40 days before the Holi Festival. People go on throwing twigs, dried leaves, branches of trees left through the winter besides any other combustible material they can spare, on to that log which gradually grows into a sizable heap.
On the day of Holika Dahan which usually falls on the night of Phalguna Purnima, the effigy is set alight. Next morning the ashes from the bonfire are collected as prasad and smeared on the limbs of the body. If spared by the fire coconuts are also collected and eaten.
Metaphorically though, the fire is meant to signify the destruction of evil - the burning of the 'Holika' - a mythological character and the triumph of good as symbolized by Prahlad. However, the heat from the fire also depicts that winter is behind and the hot summer days are ahead.
Dhuli Vandan, is an important festival in
Dhuli Vandan is observed in
Historic significance of Holi in
During the Maratha regime this festival was celebrated with great pomp and grandeur. It was on a Holi festival day that five-year-old Jijabhai, daughter of Lakhooji Jadhav innocently splashed coloured water and threw gulal on young Shahaji, son of Malajirao Bhowale. Taking it as an auspicious event, the two children's engagement was announced that very day. Soon they were married. Later, Jijabhai gave birth to Shivaji, the founder of great Maratha empire.
Festival and Food
Festivals are always marked with good food and Maharashtrians usually make Puran Poli Besides people drink sugarcane juice and feed children with watermelons that are in season.
KATACHI AAMTI
As promised in my previous post on Puran Poli during Ganesh Chaturthi, I am blogging here the recipe of katachi aamti. Katachi Aamti is very popular in my marital home at Pune. They love it so much that they drink little bowls(vatis) full of it. The amti has a hot-sweet taste. I don’t like the sweet taste though, so I add less jaggery, so that the jaggery just enhances the flavor but doesn’t sweeten my amti too much. Katachi Amti is prepared using the water from the chana dal that is boiled for preparing the puran. Yo’s Kaku (Father’s brother’s wife) who lives in Barshi, Solapur, prepares this with lot of enthusiasm and love. She was telling me that it is known as “yelavni” in the solapur region. I think what changes the dynamics of the taste to this amti is using chana dal water.I didn’t use goda masala in my amti as I didn’t have it and I feel that goda masala has a very strong flavor which doesn’t suit my palate too much, but the original recipe has goda masala.
Ingredients
Mashed Chana Dal – 1 ½ tbsps
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 3 tsps
Cinnamon - 1 piece
Bay leaves - 2
Curry leaves -8-10
Garam Masala - 2 tsps
Goda Masala – 2 tsps (optional)
Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsps
Asafetida - a pinch
Tamarind paste - ½ tsp
Grated Jaggery – 1 tsp
Grated coconut - 3 tbsps
Salt as per taste
Coriander leaves for garnish
Oil – 1 tbsp
Method
Take 2 teaspoons of Cumin seeds and dry roast it till it crackles. Keep aside. Now dry roast 3 tablespoons of grated coconut and roast until faint pink color and aromatic. Now run both in a blender to make a fine paste. Keep aside.
In a wok, add oil, when its hot, add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, when the mustard seeds start to crackle add in the curry leaves to it, then add a pinch of asafetida, now pour the katache pani (water from the boiled chana dal), add the mashed dal, then add, red chili powder, garam masala, goda masala, tamarind, jaggery, and salt to it. Bring this to boil and then add coconut paste. Boil for some time, add water if it’s too thick. Mix well and let it boil for about 10 minutes.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve hot with puran poli.
WHEAT PURAN POLI
This is the same recipe as blogged before, the only difference being that the refined flour has been replaced with wheat flour. Wheat is a healthy option and doesn’t alter the taste too much and the Puran poli tastes yummy anyways.
Jaggery - 2 cups
Wheat flour -2 cups
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Cardamom powder -1 tsp
Nutmeg powder 1/4th tsp
Dry ginger powder(soonth) -1/4th tsp
Ghee as required
Method
Grate the jaggery, keep aside. Soak the
Mix wheat flour, a pinch of salt, oil and water and knead the dough.
The dough will be very soft and sticky dough. Keep this aside for about half an hour till it sets. Then knead again, by punching it and folding it. You can remove all your frustrations on the dough…Imagine the joys of cooking….
Knead well and divide the dough into 20 equal portions.
With greased palms, take one portion of the dough and flatten it into a disc of the size of the palm. Place a ball of "chana jaggery" paste in the centre and fold the disc from all sides to cover the paste completely.
On a well-floured board, gently roll out each poli with the help of a rolling pin into a 6 inches disc. This can get tricky as the paste does try to slide out. Use a little flour if that happens.
Roast each poli on a hot, dry girdle.Add a teaspoon of ghee around the poli , once you see some spots on the backside flip over, you will see your Puran polis puff up. Once done, Remove on a plate. Serve hot with a dollop of ghee or a bowl of warm milk and with steaming hot Katachi Amti.
I would also like to send Wheat Puran Polis and Katachi Amti to Purva of "Purva's Dawat" for "Festive Food-Holi" event.
Wheat Puran Polis, go to Roma of "Roma's space", who is guest hosting "JFI-Wheat" this month, an event started by Indira.
I would also like to send this to PJ’s Tasty Bites for Toddlers event