Have an Explosion of Colours this Holi!

Before one can even finish saying "Holi", the slew of usual suspects come to mind - thandai, malpua, gujiya, dahi vada and puran poli. But why not extend the colourful spirit to the food menu at your Holi party as well? The world of culinary delicacies offers representation to almost every colour (even black!). So we've decided to round up 10 unique, vegetarian recipes to help you have a rainbow feast on the festival of colours.

Black: Kappa Maki

Seaweed sheets, cucumber and rice are combined in the authentic, Japanese way.

Maroon: Beetroot Barfi

Make these barfis with 100g sugar, desiccated coconut, 1 full beetroot, boiled and grated, 100g condensed milk (mava), 1 small cup of grated coconut and water.

Pink: Strawberry Mousse

Blend 1 egg white, 2 tsp sugar, 1 drop vanilla essence, 10 chopped strawberries and cream to make this creamy mousse.

Red: Kokum Curry

Mix 1/2 cup kokum concentrate with 3-4 cups water, salt, coriander, 1 tsp Sugar and 1 tsp lime juice. Make a tadka with 1/2 tsp ghee, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, green chillies and asafoetida and add it to the kokum juice.

Green: Beeda Paan

Remove the stalk from a betel leaf and coat it with lime paste. Fold the leaf into a cup and fill with fennel, betel nut, crushed cloves, cardamom powder, tutti frutti and rose petal jam. Top with dessiccated coconut and seal the paan. Place a cherry on top and pierce with tooth pick to hold the paan together.

Brown: Coffee Cake

Mix unsalted butter, powdered sugar and eggs. Fold in all-purpose flour, coffee and cacao powder and baking powder. Mix well. Line a baking tray with the mixture and bake in an oven. Cut into slices and serve.

Yellow: Raw Mango Dal

Cook toor dal in a cooker using 2 cups of water. Once the dal is done, mash it and keep it aside. In a pan, add the cooked dal, green chillies, raw mango, turmeric powder and simmer for 10 mins. Add coconut milk and black pepper powder. Then add salt and sugar & cook for 1 minute. In a tempering bowl, add ghee, mustard seeds, hing & curry leaves. Add to the dal and simmer for 2 mins. Serve and enjoy with some rice!

Orange: Kaju Apple

Combine 1 cup cashew powder with syrup of 1/2 cup sugar. Once partially cooled, shape into balls and press slightly to make apples. Shade with orange colour and garnish with cloves.

White: Sweet Potato Rava Tikki

Mash cooked sweet potatoes and season with some salt. Clean, wash and parboil the chana dal. In a pan, add oil and saute chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies. Add red chilli powder, turmeric, jeera powder, coriander powder and saute. Add the dal and cook it till dry.

Add salt, chopped walnuts and freshly chopped coriander leaves. Once the mixture is cold, add mozzarella cheese to it. Divide the sweet potato mixture into equal sized balls. Stuff the balls with the dal and walnut mixture. Coat the balls with semolina and deep fry till golden brown.

Purple: Jamun Popsicle

Blend jamuns or jamun juice in a mixer along with lime juice, sugar and basil leaves. Strain into the popsicle molds, place the stick and keep them in the freezer for 3 hours. Demould and serve.