Punjab: City residents are all set to use colors this Holi. The harmful effects of chemical colors are also well known. It is easy to make organic colors at home using everyday kitchen ingredients. Since most of the ingredients are edible, there is no harm if Holi colors accidentally enter the mouth.
A wide range of colors can be prepared at home using arrowroot powder, henna powder, ratanjot powder, turmeric powder and annatto seeds. What is more interesting is that different shades of different colors can also be created by using different proportions of these ingredients.
Unlike chemical colors, the biggest and important advantage of these colors is that they do not cause any harm to the skin. And even if the color somehow gets into the child’s mouth while playing Holi, there is no harm because the ingredients used to make it are used in some common dishes.
Marigold flowers, Amaltas, Tesu (flame of the forest), pomegranate peels, turmeric rhizome for yellow color, beetroot slice for dark pink or magenta color, madder and golden for dark red color to add fragrance to the colors. Drop roots, henna leaves. For green, annatto seeds can be used for orange and jacaranda flowers for blue. Even roses and dahlias can be added to give fragrance to the colors.
To make dry powder, these flowers can be mixed with base ingredients like gram flour, arrowroot and rice powder. Two or more of these ingredients can be mixed to produce color. The choice and variety of colors will depend on one’s creativity and imagination. These can be mixed with water for a wet solution and soaked overnight to get a deeper color.
The study and compilation of preparation of organic colors from kitchen ingredients was done by the Textiles and Textiles Department and Home Science Department of Punjab Agricultural University.
An assistant professor (pediatrician) at the Government Medical College said, “Chemical colors are especially harmful for children’s skin as it is very sensitive. It would be better to avoid chemical colors and adopt alternative ways of celebrating the festival of colors.
