Happy Holi ~ 1
If wishes come in rainbow colors then
I would send the brightest one to say Happy Holi ....
India is a land of colors and flavors and the festival of colors or Holi
truly justifies it . The tradition that started ages back as a festival of
harvest took a turn during the epic period and became a symbolic
depiction of the immortal love between Lord Krsna and Radha.
Also another story of devotee Prahalad who was saved from the cruel
hands of his aunt Holika is also linked to the celebrations .Festivities
begin by smearing each other's faces with powdered pigments .
Like all celebrations it is the time of merrymaking and also feasting ,
right from traditional sweets and savories to Indo fusion cuisine,
the delicacies on the tables are simply unending .
The festival is incomplete without the traditional Indian beverage
Thandai - a drink prepared by pounding together pistachios , almonds,
saffron, rose petals, pepper , cardamom ,fennel, melon seeds and sugar
with milk and rosewater . The aroma of this mix is absolutely divine -
my mother used to mix this fresh concoction with curd to make a lovely
lassi (smoothie ) , or with gram flour to give a twist to traditional
ladoos (truffles ). Inspired by her I added some premix to my cake
batter for a pre Holi bash with friends.
Thandai is believed to have superb cooling powers to gear one up for
scorching summers ahead .Earlier the Thandai ingredients were
pounded on traditional grinding stones but now readymade pre mix
Thandai powders are readily available at all grocery stores. Of course
premix have a much milder flavor in comparison to freshly pounded
version but then it surely makes the flavor of festivities much easier :)
The flavors of the mild premix can blend beautifully with any egg , vegan
or eggfree recipe but a generous sprinkle of chopped nuts , dehydrated
rose petals,cardamom ,some more saffron and rose water surely adds
to the flavor . I just love the basic eggless vanilla cake recipe from Nita
mehta and used it as the base .
Some shade dried rose petals from my rose bush gave a perfect
zing to the recipe . You could dehydrate some fresh petals
in shade /oven or simply use chopped fresh ones if time is
a constraint .
a constraint .
Thandai Cake ( Eggless)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (maida), 1 cup yogurt( room temp), 2 tbsp
milk, 2 tbsp readymade Thandai powder(sweetened) , 3/4 cup powdered
sugar ,1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder , 1/2 cup refined oil,
1 cardomom pod coarsly powdered(opt) , 1 tsp dehydrated rose petals (opt) ,
1/4 cup chopped nuts( almonds and pistachios) ,6-7 saffron threads,
1/2 tsp rose water , A few sliced pistachios and rose petals for topping
milk, 2 tbsp readymade Thandai powder(sweetened) , 3/4 cup powdered
sugar ,1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/4 tsp baking powder , 1/2 cup refined oil,
1 cardomom pod coarsly powdered(opt) , 1 tsp dehydrated rose petals (opt) ,
1/4 cup chopped nuts( almonds and pistachios) ,6-7 saffron threads,
1/2 tsp rose water , A few sliced pistachios and rose petals for topping
Method
Preheat oven to 200C. Sift the refined flour and keep aside.
Whisk together yogurt, milk, thandai powder, saffron, sugar, rose
water and cardamom powder till creamy . Sprinkle baking soda and
baking powder, gently mix and leave aside for 2-3 mins .Once the mixture
turns frothy mix in oil . Gently fold in the sifted flour ( make sure not to
overmix). Mix in the petals and nuts .Pour in a greased and dusted 8" pan
sprinkle the sliced pistachios and petals on top and bake in a preheated
oven at 200C for 10 mins. Reduce the temp to 180 and further bake for
30-35 mins or till the toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.
Cool for 35- 40 mins unmold, slice , sprinkle some powdered
sugar , chopped rose petals and serve.
Its advisable to use readymade thandai powders as freshly ground
homemade powders are much more sharp and aromatic . You might need to
adjust the sugar in cake owing to the varied sweetness levels of
readymade thandai powders.
homemade powders are much more sharp and aromatic . You might need to
adjust the sugar in cake owing to the varied sweetness levels of
readymade thandai powders.
Wow.....wonderful cake recipe and awesome and beautiful clicks :).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words Valarmathi :)
DeleteThat is truly stunning! Loved the twist!
ReplyDeleteThnx Saee :)
DeleteFabulous...must try!
ReplyDeleteDo try it Anagha & let me know !!
DeleteWow awesome cake! Loved ur beautiful cake...
ReplyDeleteThnx Premalatha :)
DeleteLooks super
ReplyDeleteThnx Abraham :)
DeleteSuch a gorgeous cake and what a lovely presentation.
ReplyDeleteThnx for the kind words :)
DeleteSuch a festive looking cake, beautiful flavors, happy Holi!And more more food recipe posts please!
ReplyDeleteThnx for kind words Suma . Will surely post more recipes :)
DeleteSuch a beautiful cake ,I'm in love with the gorgeous clicks !
ReplyDeleteThnx Jessy :)
DeleteThe cake looks yummm, the concept great (thandai).
ReplyDeleteThnx for the kind words Manu :) glad u liked it !!!
DeleteThat the most innovative cake flavour of the season. Thanks for posting this..should try this...beautiful pics to match with
ReplyDeleteThanks Deepasri , do try it out & let me know :) :)
DeleteWow this looks absolutely divine! I am definitely going to try this... I have never had thandai, so this will be a new taste for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shankari . You must try Thandai , it truly reflects the taste of India !!
DeleteWow too good.. thandai powder..shd hv been awesome.. nice clicks..
ReplyDeleteThnx Kalpana . It was full of aroma & vivid flavors.
DeleteAwesome!!very innovative.never heard about using the thandai flavours in a cake..bookmarked!
ReplyDeleteThnx :) do try it out & let me know :) :)
DeleteVery very nice cake n innovative...
ReplyDeleteThnx Vijayalakshmi :)
DeleteThnx :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures and loved the recipe and all the info given , this is all new to me. I am seriously tempted to make this cake as its my hubby b'day on Mar 29th and I was hunting for an eggless cake recipe. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! :-)
Luv,
Manju
http://manjuseatingdelights.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the kind words Manju :) Homemade goods perfectly depict love , hope u have a great time baking & celebrating !
DeleteThis is gorgeous Smita and what a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThnx Ruchira :) its always lovely to hear kind words from great bakers :) :)
Deleteawesome cake...very inviting ...love it
ReplyDeleteThnx Divya :)
DeleteSo innovative and simple! Thanks for sharing such lovely recipe :)
ReplyDeleteThnx Rimli , glad u liked it :)
DeleteOh Smita,
ReplyDeletethat looks so so so so inviting. Imagine rose petals, pista, saffron, cardamom all in one eggless cake...must have been so amazing when it was baking???
Happy Holi!
Shobha
Truly it was !!! every bite was a lovely essence of our Indian flavors :)
DeleteSuch a wonderful creation..perfect blend of creativity and Indian flavors! Happy Holi Smita.
ReplyDeleteA very Happy Holi to u too Sanjeeta , thnx for the kind words :)
Delete