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Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
6 Min
02/03/2026
Whenever wellness comes into the picture, green tea is not far from the scene, especially Matcha. Matcha is a Japanese green tea that is everywhere, from fancy cafes to homes with experimental cooks. It has flooded travel feeds with the green lattes that Gen Z has completely claimed as their own. In India, it went from 'that expensive powder that looks like mehendi' to a full-blown wellness and food trend in barely two years. Now, it’s time to incorporate this green tea into Holi special food.
If gulal can come in multiple colours, what is stopping you from adding a pop of colour to your Holi dishes? Like the green of Matcha in your usual Holi food and beverages, to keep things trendy and aesthetic! At first glance, this Japanese green tea powder might feel out of place among all the prepared food for the Holi festival. But look closer, and it makes total sense as Matcha's deep, vivid green is one of the most striking natural food colours out there, and no artificial dye is required.
Matcha is not a colouring agent, which is the mistake most people make when they first introduce it into dishes. It is bitter and grassy, and it pushes back against sweetness rather than disappearing into it. That is exactly why it is a perfect addition for any Holi special food, be it rich, fried, dessert or beverage.
Matcha sticks out, but somehow that works well with the dishes below because the combination of matcha's earthiness against the traditional sweetness of festive preparations creates something genuinely interesting. Stop treating it as a dye or garnish and integrate it into the base for best results.
This one’s the easiest here, as the rich Holi beverage will turn a pale green and, depending on how much matcha you add, might develop a slight bitter edge (add just the right amount to keep the flavour subtle).
The non-negotiable step for adding matcha to thandai is dissolving the matcha properly. Whisk the green tea powder with a small amount of warm milk first, before anything cold goes in. Skip this, and you end up with green powder floating in an otherwise regular thandai. Once dissolved, fold it into the chilled mixture. Tip: Use a fresh matcha batch.
Thandai might not be everyone’s cup of tea, and as heat spreads across the plains, some hanker for a tall glass of lassi. Introduce these folks to matcha lassi, and this makes immediate sense as a Holi special food because lassi is already a festival staple.
Blend the matcha directly into the yoghurt before you add any liquid. If it goes into the finished lassi, it either clumps or sinks. Blended into yoghurt first, it disperses completely, and the bitterness gets softened by the curd. Keep the sweetener light to let the matcha and curd duo stand out. You can add more flavours like rose or mango.
The obvious move with this Holi special food is to put matcha into the gujiya dough so the gujiya looks green on the outside. But the deep-fried yellow hue of the gujiyas is what guests will look for, and an off-putting shade of green won’t work. Also, the dough will be subjected to high heat during frying, which strips both the colour and flavour from the sweet.
The better way to incorporate matcha is to add it to the khoya filling instead. It retains the green colour of the matcha, and as it does not come into contact with direct heat, the flavour is preserved. The filling stays a pale, clean green against the golden fried crust, and when the gujiya breaks open, guests might just love it.
Malpua batter rests before frying, usually for thirty minutes, and that rest period is what makes it a good thing for matcha. Add the powder when you first mix the batter, before resting, and it has time to fully hydrate and distribute through the mixture rather than sitting in dry, unincorporated pockets.
The result is a uniformly green malpua with a bitter, grassy edge that cuts against the sugar syrup the malpua soaks in post-frying.
One of the simplest foods for the Holi festival, as matcha barfi and matcha ladoo are technically simple to make. Condensed milk and khoya are the bases for barfi, besan or coconut for ladoo, and both are mild enough to let the matcha flavour come through clearly.
Where people go wrong is adding matcha to a heavily spiced base, where cardamom and rose water completely drown it. When you are making a matcha version, pull back the other flavourings significantly, or remove them entirely. Matcha with a bit of honey or jaggery is enough.
Who does not love chocolate, and to make the most of the green hue of the matcha, use white chocolate. Making this chocolate dessert barely requires any special tricks or techniques and produces something that looks expensive.
Melt the chocolate, stir in matcha until fully incorporated, pour onto a lined tray, scatter dried rose petals and crushed pistachios over the top, and leave it to set. Break into irregular shards and put them with the food for the Holi festival spread. It’s pretty enough for the gram, tastes good, and is likely to be finished before anything else.
Every application above follows the same logic – matcha does its best work when incorporated into a mild, fat-rich base early in the process, with the competing flavourings pulled back enough to give it room. Holi food is sweet and rich by default, which makes it the right canvas – matcha has something to push against. Stop using it as a last-minute garnish dusted on top for colour. Get it in early, taste as you go, and use enough of it that it actually registers.
