The festival of Holi is all about colours and delicious foods. While we are surrounded by a lot of options to satiate our taste buds, eating mindfully can help us enjoy food more without compromising our health. Here are 7 simple tips to ensure your cooking and preparations are as delightful and colourful as the festival of Holi itself:
Planning and batch cooking for a joyful Holi: Holi is a festival of colors, a time to make cherished moments with loved ones. But the looming shadow of kitchen duties can sometimes steal away the magic. This Holi, befriend batch cooking – the latest culinary trend on the block where you prepare food in larger quantities ahead of time and store it. It helps you to drastically cut down on preparation time later! So, invest in airtight containers for safe storage, and voila! You’ve unlocked a world of possibilities.
The refreshing tradition of Thandai at Holi: Beat the heat and quench your thirst in true Holi spirit with the iconic Thandai! This flavorful, chilled beverage has been a centerpiece of Holi celebrations for centuries. Thandai’s cooling ingredients like fennel seeds and melon seeds make it a natural choice as summer sets in. Here’s a modern twist to keep your Thandai refreshingly unique! Freeze Thandai into ice cubes. As your drink warms up throughout the day, simply pop in a few cubes to it. This way, you and your guests can cool down and re-energize with multiple glasses of refreshing Thandai in the summer heat!
Heritage-inspired cocktails: Holi is the perfect excuse to experiment with unconventional concoctions that bridge the gap between traditional and modern. Surprise your guests with combinations such as Bhang Margarita, Saffron-infused Gin and Tonic and Thandai Mojito.
Also Read: How to eat sweets and still stay healthy this Holi

Celebrate Holi with a vibrant thali: Design your Holi menu to include all colour profiles in your food to craft a colourful feast for your guests. Let your thali reflect the festival with each element boasting a vibrant hue and a wealth of health benefits. For instance, your colourful thali could consist of pink beetroot salad (a good source of Manganese), white yogurt (source of protein and rich in probiotics), red tomato pulao (rich in Vitamin C), green pea curry (packed with Vitamin A and K), yellow aloo gobi (much needed carbohydrates) all cooked in an iron kadhai for an additional plus of infused iron in your meals.
Thandai with a twist: You might have heard the term fusion cuisine? If your home is one of those where you happily cook both international and Indian cuisine then Holi could be the right time for you to blend two different cultures and create a unique flavour combination! Since Thandai – the quintessential Holi drink has a creamy, nutty flavor it can be easily made into desserts such as Thandai spiced cakes, Thandai custard tart or Thandai panna cotta! This fusion of tradition and innovation is sure to leave a lasting impression on everyone’s taste buds!

Keep calm and eat chaat: No Indian celebration is complete without the Indian version of hors d’oeuvres – the exotic chaat. Serve bite-sized portions of popular chaat varieties like dahi bhalla, aloo tikki, and papri chaat which allows everyone to indulge in a quick snack. Bite sized portioning and easy to consume nature of a chaat makes it seamless for people to play holi, eat and repeat! If you are adventurous then set up a DIY chaat counter and let your guests choose from an array of toppings like chopped vegetables, chutneys, fried savouries, roasted makhanas and soothing yogurt. This will not only keep the chaat fresh and crunchy but also reduce your workload.
Colorful Burfi: Prepare colorful Holi burfis using natural ingredients like beetroot, carrots, and pistachios, creating bite-sized squares that are both visually stunning and delicious. Add the flavors while mixing the ingredients of the burfi in a kadhai, perfect for ensuring a stick-resistant surface to blend all the rich ingredients of the burfi well. The color and flavor elements can be a quick but easy tip to add a little extra to your classic Holi preparations!
Contributed by: Neha Deepak Shah, Chef Stahl