Happy Holi

~ Happy Holi ~

Hope your life is framed with the colors of 

love and happiness, today and always ....

Little Food Junction wishes all its readers a very Happy Holi !! 
Holi or the festival of colors , is the most fun filled and boisterous of 

Indian festivals . It is synonymous with aromatic colors, music,delicious

 treats, fun and play. The warm breeze , the colorful flowers, the fun and 
frolic  of kids , the smell of aromatic Holi pigment and freshly made sweet
 treats all beautiful symbolize the advent of spring.



The festivities begin with lighting a bonfire the previous evening 
and offering the new harvests, particularly wheat sheaves, gram pods,
sugarcane and natural pigments made of turmeric, marigold or flame of
 the forest flowers ( called tesu/palash in local dialect) to the fire God.
Soon after this ritual elders start distributing sweets while the lil ones 
 get busy smearing dry pigment on each other.  

Holi is incomplete without Thandai - a spiced traditional Indian beverage 
made by pounding together almonds,melon seeds, rose petals , fennel 
n cardamom. For my lil ones pre Diwali bash I prepared some Thandai choco
 cups. Filled with  bits of cake and chopped fruit and topped with thandai 
flavored whipped cream,  surely too quick to assemble.

Once the choco shells are made the rest of the recipe is truly a breeze.Fill
 it with some diced fruits and cream or with some chilled custard ,pudding
 or mousse - the crunch of chocolate makes everything heavenly !!

The shells can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
A tiny 'Fill your cup counter' at a kids party with loads of ice cream 
berries, nougats and colorful sprinkles is always a win win idea .Lil ones 
 love to fill their cups with tons of goodies and eat it inside out too !!

Choco Thandai Cups 

The thandai flavored cream is perfect to add a zing to the Holi
 party , the aroma of this traditional mix beautifully blends with the 
whipped cream. The heady fragrance of cardamom and saffron and a nutty   
 taste of finely pounded pistachios and melon seeds make it very Indian. 

Makes - 13-15 cups 
Ingredients 
250 gms cooking chocolate ( I used Morde Dark compound), 1 cup 
 whipping  cream (Richs / Delecta / Tropolite work great) , 1 tbsp 
mild thandai powder ( reduce the quantity if using home pounded version)
few drops green food color (opt), 1 cup chopped mixed fruit , 1 small sponge cake 
( or pic up 2 packets of Brittania sponge cake ) few colorful sprinkles/nonpareils 
Gadgets - 13-15 silicon muffin molds , piping bag and a star/1M tip 

Method 
Melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler. Brush the inside of
 the silicone cups with melted chocolate ( make sure to use a thick coat
or it will break while de molding). Refrigerate for 3-4 mins. Gently peel 
off the silicon case. Divide the sponge cake in small squares and place a  
piece of sponge cake in each cup, top with chopped fruits and  keep aside. 
Whip the cream till double ,mix in thandai mix and food color and pipe
 with a bag fitted with star/1M tip. Sprinkle colorful nonpareils.Serve .