see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi
This is what it was for me...
Saturday I went to Brinda's house. She works at the Japanese School with me. It was nice to be in her home and finally meet her mother and husband. Two other co-workers and friends from the Japanese School joined us, Gunjan and her daughter Megumi and Rama and her granddaughter Anya (sp?). It would so much fun and the food was delicious. Brinda is from Calcutta where fish is a specialty. We were treated to some fresh fresh with lots of yummy sides!
Here we are!
After lunch I went home with my friend Gunjan. I stayed with her and her family till Monday night. I enjoyed learning to cook every dish we ate.
Here are some of the things learned how to make:
Yellow Dal (lentils)
Vada frying
Vada Dahi (Vada with yogurt and a special sauce)
Muttar Paneer (peas and cheese) and chapati/roti (Indian tortilla)
Raja and Chavel (Indian Beans and Rice)
Jeera Pulao (cumin seed rice)
Aloo Methi (potatoes and fenugreek)Fro Holi a special sweet is made and then offered to Holika. It's called gujiya. It's delicious!
It's filled with khoya, sugar, almonds, raisins, cardamon powder & coconut.
Khoya is a milk food, made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan. It is similar to ricotta cheese, but lower in moisture and made from whole milk instead of whey. It's like thick condensed milk.
Sunday a bonfire is made for each community. Different families have different traditions surrounding the bonfire. Some do poojas (worship) while others do not. I went to watch my friend and her family offer their gift to Holika. I saw people doing very different things depending on their family's tradition. My friend offered a gujiya, water, color and other traditional items.
For more info on poojas in general: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puja_(Hinduism)
After the ceremony which functions as a purification one can play color...
This is my friend's mother-in-law. I call her dadi because she is Megumi's dadi (paternal grandmother).
The next morning it was time to really play Holi!
Before and After...
The playing...
Here's a video I took of the people dancing.....
