Making play-dough at home takes ten minutes and can itself be a fun activity. Photo: Aparna George
After our previous article on playdough, we wanted to try and make our own do-it-yourself (DIY) version. The aim was to use ingredients that are easily available in our kitchens. Most DIY homemade play dough recipes seem to use cream of tartare, and this is not an ingredient that is easy to source for everyone. Here is an easy – no fuss, no cook, no cream of tartare – recipe for you to try out with your kids. It is something they can have fun playing with it over the summer holidays or any time. It won’t take you more than 10 minutes to make!
All purpose flour or Maida – 1 cup
Salt – ¼ cup
Oil – 2 tsp
Hot water – ¾ of a cup
Colouring agent of your choice*
In a bowl, add the dough and salt and mix them up using a ladle. Add the oil and the food coloring before adding the hot water and starting to form a mixture. Please add half a cup first and the rest at the end as different flours behave differently, and you might need a bit more or a bit less water in some cases. As it starts coming together, you can knead it using your hands while making adjustments to get the perfect texture. Store in a Ziploc bag in the fridge to keep longer.
*For the colouring agent, while acryclic colours can be used, we thought we would make it even more fun and try edible food colours only. As we’re sticking to kitchen ingredients, here are a few ideas:
• Turmeric for yellow
• Beet juice for pink
• Carrot juice for orange
• Tea concentrate for a light or dark brown
Please remember that some of these might stain hands and clothes though they wash off easily. Do take necessary care while making or playing with the dough.
The high quantity of salt helps to preserve the dough for longer, in the absence of the cream of tartare. Please note though that it does dry out the hands more than store-bought playdough, so a good handwash and lotion application is in order after playtime.
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