Gudi Padwa is a Spring Festival that marks the Marathi and Konkani New Year. It is traditionally celebrated with the arrangement of the Gudi (Gudhi) which is a bamboo pole decorated with a silk scarf, neem and mango leaves, a garland and finally capped with a copper, bronze or silver handi. The festivities can never be complete without the Gudi Padwa Rangoli and of course, lots of delicious food.

What You Should Know:

Types of Foods Eaten on Gudi Padwa

Healthy Gudi Padwa Recipes

Mixed Fruit Shrikhand

Kothimbir Vadi

1. Types of Foods Eaten on Gudi Padwa

On Gudi Padwa, every family does a puja in their homes. After all the rituals including making the Gudi Padwa Rangoli are complete, the family sits down to a traditional meal of vegetarian savoury and sweet delights. Some popular Gudi Padwa dishes include sabudana vada, batata vada, puran poli, modaks, and coconut ladoos, to name just a few. There are also drinks like the bitter neem leaf juice and refreshing aam panna that make it to the menu on Gudi Padwa.

2. Healthy Gudi Padwa Recipes

The last year has made us more conscious about our health, so for Gudi Padwa 2021, why not try some of these healthy Gudi Padwa Recipes that are just as delicious as the originals:

3. Mixed Fruit Shrikand

Ingredients:

3 cups curd
Stevia powder (optional)
1-2 Mangoes
1 Apple
1 Pear
1 Pomegranate
Ground cardamom (elaichi)
Few strands of saffron (kesar)
1 tablespoon warm milk.
Chopped almonds

In a bowl, add the saffron to the warm milk and leave it to infuse. Place the curd in a clean muslin cloth and hang for 30-40 minutes. The hung curd should be thick and creamy. You can sweeten the curd with stevia or blend one mango and whisk it into the curd. Add the saffron milk and ground cardamom to the curd and mix well. Chop the apple, pear, and second mango into small cubes and remove the pomegranate seeds. Mix the fruits together and spoon them into your dessert bowls, add a scoop of the shrikand, sprinkle the almonds on top, and serve.

This sugar-free version of shrikand makes a nice treat for diabetics and weight watchers during the festive season.

4. Kothimbir Vadi

Ingredients:

¼ cup peanuts, cleaned and roasted
1 cup gram flour (besan)
1 inch piece of ginger
3 garlic cloves
2 green chilies
2 cups fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon each of turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and compounded asafoetida (hing)
Salt to taste
Water as required

Grind the peanuts into a coarse powder. With a little water grind the garlic, ginger, and chili into a smooth paste. Place the coriander leaves in a mixing bowl and add the ground peanuts, the garlic, ginger and chili paste, and all the other ingredients except the water. Toss together with a spoon to mix. Add a little water at a time to the mixture till it forms a dough. Add just another tablespoon of water to make the dough very soft. Take an 8–9-inch stainless steel plate with raised sides (thali), and grease it with a little oil. Evenly spread the vadi dough on the plate. In a large vessel add enough water to come up to two inches. Place a metal stand in the water and put the water to a boil. Once it is boiling, place the plate with the dough on the stand using tongs. Be careful of the steam and hot water. Make sure that the water doesn’t come near the top of the plate. Place a lid on the vessel and steam the vadi dough for 15 minutes. The dough should be firm when cooked. Remove the plate from the vessel and leave it to cool. Place another plate over the cooked vadi and turn it over. Cut the vadi into a diamond/square shapes and fry lightly till slightly brown on both sides. Serve with sauce or chutney.

Steaming the kothimbir vadis helps to retain all their nutrition and the frying requires very little oil.

Enjoy your Gudi Padwa 2021 with these healthy recipes. For more recipes check out the Nutrition section on the Activ Living Blog. You can also get great articles on fitness and mindfulness on the blog.