Get 92 Holi recipes that are everyone’s favorite while celebrating this festival of colors. I share sweets, drinks and snacks in this collection of Holi recipes. This year Holi festival is on 29 March, 2021. Choti Holi or Holika Dahan is on 28 March and the rangwali Holi (color celebration) is on March 29.
What is Holi
Holi is an Indian festival of colors and spring that we celebrate in different ways but with the same intensity of joy, togetherness and love. The Hindu Holi festival marks the victory of good over evil, of light over darkness, of positive over negative.
Holi is one festival in which people celebrate together without bringing the caste, color or social status in mind.
Wishing everyone a happy and safe Holi this time. As much as I love colors, I also like the festival of Holi with everyone celebrating and sharing the warmth, joy, love and happiness.
Here in this post, I am sharing 92 Holi recipes that are made during this spring festival. These recipes can be easily scaled to feed a crowd.
Wishing happy Holi to all our readers.
Note: While playing Holi, it is better to avoid chemical based colors and play with plant-based colors or eco-friendly colors. Chemical based colors can be toxic and is difficult to clean later or irritates or harms the skin.
A common trick which people use to minimize the effect of the colors is to spread some mustard oil on their skin before they go out to play Holi. This thin layer of oil on the skin make sure that the color leaves off from the skin easily without much rubbing.
If possible use eco-friendly or plant-based colors that are easily available in the market. Enjoy this festival of colors and spread love and peace around you.
Popular Holi Recipes
There are some snacks and sweets made for Holi, that are a must and traditionally made in North India. Can you imagine Holi without Thandai or Gujiya?
You will find these essential Holi recipes in the below list. They are not only popular but a must have during Holi Festival. These popular holi recipes include a varied list of sweets, snacks and drinks.
Some preplanning is great to make things easy and time-saving for you. Like with a samosa or kachori, you can make the filling or dough a day prior and refrigerate. Or the Thandai paste can be made a few days earlier before the festival and refrigerated or frozen.
Do what works best for you and adapt the recipes with the ingredients available in your city or town.
1 hr 15 mins
This crisp and flaky gujiya is made with khoya or mawa. Gujiya is a popular North Indian sweet of a crisp, flaky pastry filled with a sweet khoya and dry fruits stuffing. Khoya or mawa is evaporated milk solids.
1 hr 30 mins
Thandai is a traditional cooling drink, popular in the northern parts of India. It is made with a mix of dry fruits, seeds and a few spices.
Moderate
8 hrs 45 mins
Fluffy, tender, tangy and sweet dahi vada are a combination of all your favorite flavors and textures in one tasty snack. They consist of homemade fried lentil dumpling fritters, dunked in creamy whipped yogurt and topped with both spicy and sweet chutneys.
1 hr 5 mins
Malpua is a popular Indian sweet of fried fluffy pancakes dipped in sugar syrup and served with rabdi or sweetened thickened milk.
Moderate
2 hrs 45 mins
Flaky and tasty kachori made with spiced moong lentils stuffing.
10 mins
Sweet Punjabi lassi flavored with cardamom powder and saffron.
Easy
45 mins
Delicious gulab jamun recipe made with khoya (mawa) and paneer in the traditional way.
5 hrs 30 mins
Popular North Indian snack of dahi bhalla papdi chaat.
1 hr
Peas kachori is a flaky & crisp Indian pastries stuffed with spiced & mashed peas. Vegan recipe.
50 mins
Papdi chaat is a popular North Indian street food made with papdi, boiled chickpeas, potatoes, pakori and curd
2 hrs 30 mins
This Restaurant Style Paneer Tikka is a popular and delicious tandoori snack where paneer (Indian cottage cheese cubes) are marinated in a spiced yogurt-based marinade, arranged on skewers and grilled in the oven.
Holi Snacks Recipes
Snacks are a must during Holi parties or get togethers. There are so many varieties of Indian snacks that we can make during the festival. Many of these snacks are deep fried, but for a healthier option, you can always bake or air-fry them.
I have categorized this Holi Snacks recipes list into:
- Fried Snacks
- Pakoda Varieties
- Chaat & Street Food Recipes
Fried Snacks
Moderate
1 hr 30 mins
A Samosa recipe that is your popular and classic Punjabi samosa with a super flaky, crispy crust and a savory, tangy potato and green peas filling.
40 mins
Aloo tikki is a popular North Indian snack of spiced, crisp potato patties.
8 hrs 15 mins
Dahi kabab are crisp, soft and tasty kababs made with dahi or curd. Here the dahi used is hung curd.
50 mins
Hara bhara kebab recipe is a delicious variation of vegetarian kabab. it is made with fresh spinach leaves, green peas and potatoes. So they are nutritious as well as delicious. Hara bhara kabab makes for a good Indian starter or snack. This green veg kabab can also be stuffed in burger buns or sandwiches can be made from them.
Moderate
1 hr 10 mins
Vada pav basically has batata vada which is sandwiched between two slices of a pav, along with sweet chutney and green chutney.
Easy
30 mins
These are crispy french fries or finger chips that can be made at home easily.
Easy
30 mins
This recipe post details both the fried and baked methods of making potato wedges.
50 mins
This is a crisp and tasty bread roll with a soft spiced mashed potato filling.
45 mins
Batata vada is a fried potato stuffed fritter. The recipe shared here is the Maharashtrian recipe of making batata vada.
1 hr 10 mins
Mathri is a tea time snack. Flaky, crisp and spiced flour crackers.
1 hr
Urad dal kachori are soft as well as crisp stuffed kachori from the Uttar Pradesh cuisine. Kachori are stuffed with a spiced urad dal paste.
Pakoda Recipes
Easy
30 mins
Onion pakoda are onion fritters made with thinly sliced onions, gram flour or besan batter and some spices. This is a classic Punjabi style onion pakora recipe and one that I make at home as a tea-time snack.
Moderate
1 hr 5 mins
Bread pakora is a popular North Indian snack of bread fritters. Bread slices are stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes filling, batter-coated and then deep-fried.
40 mins
Aloo pakora or potato bajji are crisp potato fritters which are deep fried.
Easy
30 mins
Easy Palak Pakoda recipe are a quick savory snack made with finely chopped spinach leaves mixed in seasoned gram flour batter and deep fried.
Easy
25 mins
Paneer pakora are savory gram flour batter coated Indian cottage cheese fritters. Paneer pakora make for quick evening snack having a lovely crispy texture with a moist, soft paneer from within.
40 mins
Tangy, spiced, crunchy and tasty stuffed mirchi bajji. These delicious bajjis are also known as mirapakaya bajji in Andhra and is a well known street food there.
Moderate
30 mins
Vegetable pakora is easy and tasty recipe of fritters made with mixed veggies, gram flour, herbs and spices.
Chaat Snacks & Street Food
35 mins
Pani puri is a popular street food of India, where crisp fried dough balls are stuffed with potatoes, sprouts, spicy tangy water or sweet chutney.
50 mins
Ragda Patties is a popular Bombay chaat recipe where potato patties are topped with ragda (dried peas curry) and the various chaat chutneys, sev and spice powders.
Easy
40 mins
Pav bhaji is a popular street food from Mumbai consisting of spiced smooth mashed mix vegetables, served with lightly toasted buttered bread.
40 mins
Raj kachori also called as the king of all kachoris is a popular chaat snack from north India.
45 mins
Katori chaat also known as tokri chaat is a popular chaat snack from north India. Fried potato baskets are topped with cooked chana, boiled potatoes, sweet and spicy chutneys, curd and a few spice powders.
1 hr 15 mins
This aloo puri is a traditional Punjabi spiced potato curry served with pooris.
8 hrs 30 mins
Matar kulcha is popular street food from Delhi and Punjab.
1 hr 10 mins
Aloo kulcha are crisp and soft leavened flatbreads stuffed with a spiced potato stuffing.
3 hrs
Paneer kulcha are leavened flatbreads stuffed with a spiced cottage cheese filling.
Easy
9 hrs 45 mins
One of the best chana masala recipe that you can make. This chole masala is made with freshly powdered spices, onions, tomatoes, herbs making the chickpea curry taste like the ones you get on the streets of Delhi.
Moderate
9 hrs
Bhatura or Bhature is a thick leavened fried Indian bread made with yeast or without yeast. These soft and fluffy no yeast bhatura are made with whole wheat flour (atta) and curd (dahi).
1 hr
Dahi puri also known as dahi batata puri is a delicious, yummy, chatpata chaat snack from Mumbai. It is sweet, sour, tangy, spicy and crispy chaat.
Easy
30 mins
Bhel puri is a crispy, sweet, tangy, spicy dish made with puffed rice, onions, tomatoes and assorted chutneys. This bhel puri recipe is easy to make and includes quick recipes for the three chutneys.
1 hr
Sev puri is a spicy, sweet and tangy street snack from Mumbai.
15 mins
Aloo chaat is fried crisp potatoes tossed in spicy & sweet chutneys, a few spice powders and then topped with curd or pomegranate arils or sev.
1 hr 5 mins
This Veg frankie recipe is a delicious frankie made with thin wheat rotis stuffed with crisp aloo tikki, veggies and yogurt raita.
Moderate
55 mins
In this paneer roll recipe, the stuffing is of paneer tikka, green chutney and veggie salad. Overall this is a healthy and delicious recipe of paneer roll or paneer frankie.
Moderate
50 mins
This Burger Recipe covers everything needed to make delightful veggie burgers from scratch, including how to prepare delicious homemade vegetable patties, a spiced mayonnaise dressing with fresh veggie toppings.
40 mins
Aloo tikki is a popular North Indian snack of spiced, crisp potato patties.
Holi Sweets
Sweets are a must for any Indian festival. One cannot imagine any Indian festival without sweets!
Find some popular Indian sweets in this collection that you can consider to make for the Holi festival with my easy step-by-step guide.
45 mins
This is an easy and delicious recipe of kala jamun made with khoya (mawa) and cottage cheese.
5 hrs
Puran poli is a sweet flatbread stuffed with a sweet lentil filling made from skinned spilt bengal gram/chana dal and jaggery.
Easy
30 mins
Phirni is a classic creamy sweet pudding made with ground rice, sugar, milk, almonds, saffron and cardamom.
Easy
50 mins
Rice kheer is a popular Indian sweet dessert made with basmati rice, milk, nuts and saffron. Rice kheer is easy to make and is made with a one pan or one pot method. Rice kheer is basically Indian rice pudding and makes for a creamy delicious pudding.
20 mins
Vermicelli kheer also known as seviyan kheer or semiya kheer is often served during festival or any occasion of celebration.
Easy
15 mins
Suji ka halwa or Sheera is a classic Indian semolina pudding made with sugar, ghee and dry fruits. The recipe I have shared is a family heirloom recipe. We have been making this suji halwa recipe for decades during family get togethers, special occasions & festivals. The sooji halwa recipe can be easily halved, doubled or tripled.
1 hr 20 mins
Karanji is a crisp flaky fried pastry stuffed with desiccated coconut and dry fruits. it is also one of the sweet snack that is a part of Diwali faral.
15 hrs 45 mins
This is a crisp, crunchy, syrupy jalebi recipe. The traditional method to make jalebi at home.
50 mins
Rasmalai is a popular Indian sweet of cottage cheese balls soaked in thickened, sweetened and flavored milk.
40 mins
Rasgulla is a popular Bengali sweet and is also called as rosogolla. This Bengali rasgulla recipe will guide you in making soft and spongy rasgulla.
Moderate
20 mins
These kaju katli are the way they are actually meant to be – thin, smooth, melt in the mouth slices of cashew goodness.
Moderate
30 mins
Besan Ladoo is a popular ladoo made from gram flour, powdered sugar and clarified butter (ghee).
30 mins
Motichoor ke ladoo are melt in the mouth ladoos made from gram flour. One of the most popular Indian sweet.
Easy
30 mins
An easy method to make rava laddu recipe for Diwali or any festival. This rava ladoo recipe is made with rava (sooji or semolina), coconut, powdered sugar, dry fruits and ghee.
25 mins
Easy method and recipe of dry fruit barfi. No sugar added.
1 hr 20 mins
Rabri or rabdi is a traditional Indian sweet of thickened sweetened milk with layers of cream. Also known as lachha rabri in hindi.
1 hr 30 mins
Shahi tukda is a rich, royal Mughlai dessert of fried sugar syrup coated bread topped and soaked with fragrant creamy sweet thickened milk or rabri and garnished with dry fruits.
15 mins
This doodh peda recipe is made with khoya and taste too good. Peda is one of the popular Indian sweets.
20 mins
Indian milk cake recipe – moist, granular two ingredient kalakand recipe in 15 minutes. Made with paneer and sweetened condensed milk.
Holi Drinks
Here you will find a list of some Indian drinks and a few drinks from the global cuisine. I share non-alcoholic drinks in this list, which you can easily make.
A few of these drinks like Jaljeera, Nimbu Pani can be made a few days prior to the festival and refrigerated.
For the aam panna, make the mango concentrate a couple of days earlier and refrigerate it.
20 mins
Jaljeera is a spiced Indian cooling drink also had as an appetizer.
30 mins
Nimbu pani with basil seeds – spiced nimbu pani or Indian lemonade is a quick and ideal beverage for summers.
16 mins
This ginger tea or adrak wali chai is a warm, spiced Indian tea made with milk, ginger and cardamom.
Easy
15 mins
Sharing the way I make cold coffee, which gives you a nice coffee flavored frothy layer on top. Much like the cold coffee you get in cafe outlets like cafe coffee day.
Easy
45 mins
Falooda ice cream is a layered summer dessert drink made with milk, rose syrup, sabja seeds, falooda sev, dry fruits and ice cream. Faluda is a popular Indian summer drink and very easy to make.
20 mins
Aam ka panna is a cooling vegan Indian summer drink made with unripe green tart mangoes. It is slightly sour and sweet to taste and is flavored with cardamom, cumin and black salt. This recipe post shows the method of making both aam panna concentrate and the drink.
15 mins
Mango mastani is a popular dessert drink from Pune. Thick mango milkshake topped with vanilla or mango ice cream.
5 mins
Piyush recipe is a thick, creamy sweet beverage made with shrikhand, yogurt and milk. Summer cooling drink.
15 mins
Thick, smooth and delicious mango lassi.
Easy
10 mins
Vanilla milkshake is a classic milkshake recipe that can be made in many ways. This vanilla milkshake recipe gives a thick, rich, creamy, cafe style milkshake. The recipe can be easily adjusted to make a less thick shake or a thin shake.
10 mins
Strawberry milkshake is a refreshing healthy drink made with strawberries and milk.
10 mins
This is an easy and quick recipe to prepare chocolate milkshake made with cocoa powder.
15 mins
This recipe gives you a thick, creamy & delicious mango milkshake. The recipe is made with ripe, sweet mangoes and milk. Substitutions and adding some more additional ingredients are also mentioned in the recipe post.
40 mins
Badam milk is a delicious drink flavored with ground almonds, cardamom powder and saffron.
5 mins
Gond ka sharbat recipe – a summer cooling drink. The gond used here is katira gond which has cooling properties.
Sandwiches and Pizza
Many of us love sandwiches and pizzas, especially kids! So I have compiled a separate list of these food recipes. Sandwiches are easy to make.
And a pizza is also easy provided you have the pizza crust dough and pizza sauce ready – then assembling and baking them is a breeze. You can make pizza dough earlier and freeze or refrigerate it.
For healthier options, make sandwiches with whole grain breads. Make the pizzas with whole wheat crust and assorted vegetable toppings.
35 mins
This Bombay vegetable sandwich is a popular Mumbai street food of delicious sandwiches made with mix vegetables, green chutney and a few spice powders.
Easy
50 mins
This grilled sandwich recipe is filled with spiced cilantro chutney and delicious vegetables, then grilled to perfection.
15 mins
This is a crisp cheesy sandwich made with Indian spices and grilled.
14 mins
Chilli cheese toast on tawa – tasty cheese toast spiced with chilies and ginger. An easy breakfast to prepare and serve.
Easy
15 mins
This is a tasty and easy to prepare mayonnaise sandwich made with mild veggie mayo stuffing
Easy
10 mins
These quick to prepare cucumber sandwiches makes for a nice finger food snack for kid parties or tea parties.
Easy
15 mins
This bread pizza made on the griddle is a quick, easy and tasty bread snack. The bread base mimics the pizza base with veggie toppings.
Easy
1 hr 30 mins
Treat yourself to the best homemade pizza that’s completely customizable to your tastes. Plan your next pizza party using my foolproof recipe for making perfect veggie pizza from scratch every time!
Easy
Flavorful Margherita Pizza made with homemade whole wheat pizza dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil, but can also be made using store bought staples and your choice of toppings.
Easy
45 mins
Easy recipe of a no yeast veg pizza made on a tawa or skillet or without oven.
This Holi Recipes post from the blog archives (March 2020) has been republished and updated on 22 February 2021.