Colorful Mathri / Holi Special

Holi is just around the corner and one can feel the excitement in the air. All Indians around the globe wait eagerly to celebrate this festival of  colors. A time to have fun with family and friends and relishing special food made for the occasion. 

This Holi apart from the traditional Thandai and Layered Gujiya , i made this colorful mathri to add more colors to the festivity. Have used fresh vegetable juices to color them and made into spindle shape to make the mathris more appealing. This crispy , flaky and flavorful mathris are simply irresistible and a visual treat too. These can be made ahead of time and stay good for about a week in airtight container. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 tbsp of Nigella seeds / Kalonji
• 3 tbsp hot Ghee / Oil
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 small Beetroot
• 7-10 leaves of Spinach
• 3-4 tbsp Spinach / Palak leaves
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method:

1. Wash , peel and cut Beetroot into chunks and grind with little water in a grinder. Strain the juice. Similarly wash and crush the spinach leaves in a grinder with little water , strain the juice. keep both the juices aside. Now in a bowl sieve the flour. Add Nigella seeds and Salt to it mix well.

  2. Heat 3 tbsp ghee or oil and add it to the dough. Mix well to get a crumbled mass. Divide the flour roughly into three parts.

  3. Add the beetroot juice to one part of the flour and knead into a soft yet firm dough. You may add water as per need . Similarly add Spinach juice to the second part of the flour and knead it into a dough. Mix Turmeric powder to the remaining third part of the flour and knead it into a soft dough using required amount of water.

  4. Pinch out lemon size dough and make equal balls of dough of each color. Keep the dough covered while working. Now roll out the small dough ball into a puri ( disk shape). Using a knife give vertical slits to the puri, as shown in the pic, taking care not to separate it apart.

  5. Now holding at two corners, slowly roll the puri to give it a spindle shape as shown in the pic. Make all the Mathris in the similar fashion.

  6. If you do not have the patience to give the mathris this shape, you can simply roll the dough into a large thin chapati on the kitchen platform and cut into desired shapes using a knife.

  7. Heat Oil in a deep frying pan and deep fry the mathris on a medium flame until crisp. Fry all the mathris in small batches from both sides. Remove using a slotted ladle and place on a plate lined with absorbent paper. Allow them to cool and transfer into air tight container.

 8. Serve the colorful mahtri with chutney or sauce of your choice and enjoy the festival of colors with your loved ones ! I have served it with Khajur Imly Chutney and Coriander Chutney.

  Hope you would give these colorful mathris a try this festive season. Do not forget to give your valuable feed back. Wishing a very colorful and joyful Holi to all those who celebrate !!