Traditional dishes are flavour of the season

RANCHI: After a splash of colours and some dancing, people make a beeline for food in every Holi party. The delicacies made on this day such as pua (pancakes), dahi vada, chole, and gujiya are hot favourites among revellers. With changing times and intermingling of different cultures, food famous in Jharkhand has given way to chaats and shakes from all over the country.
Homemakers are found busy rustling up innovative dishes during the festivals. Anju Kumar said last year she learnt some new items which she has plans to serve her guests this Holi.
"I have decided to make aloo pua which is a little different from the usual pua. This apart, I have also learnt how to make stuffed dahi vada with dry fruit stuffing. It is an elaborate process as stuffing the vada takes a lot of time. Batata puri is also on my list of experiments. I have started preparing potato pickle to serve with pua," said Kumar.
Nisha Tiwary, another homemaker, feels the damand of traditional food is still there among all age groups despite new entries in the culinary department.
"These days people prefer variety even if it means retouching traditional dishes. Malpua has become popular in the past few years. Urad pua is also a delicacy. Vadas made of urad dal are fried and dipped in syrup," said Tiwary.
Working women, too, are making time to entertain their guests this Holi. Diya Sinha said special homemade dishes complete the celebrations. "I will go for traditional food on Holi like kadhi badi, gulab jamun, malpua, dahi vada and either papri or samosa chaat. Also, I will try my hands at soya chilly and gobi manchurian for a different flavour," said Sinha.
Fast food remains in demand even during Holi. Seema Pandey, another working woman, is keen on preparing momos which are her children's favourite. "Momos are everyone's favourite and is less time consuming. This apart, I will buy sweets and ice creams for my house party," said Pandey.