Traditionally associated with the harvest of the rabi crops, Lohri is a festival that most of us eagerly wait for in the winter chill. Adding to the great pomp and fanfare of the festive galore are sweets and traditional recipes. And when it’s Lohri, there’s nothing like delicious recipes from the grandma’s kitchen. And as farmers thank God for a good harvest, ladies in the city give us some traditional recipes straight from their kitchen.
“Made with pistachios, jaggery, cashew nuts and kesar, we usually make chikkis at home instead of getting them from the sweet shops. As a kid my grandmom used to prepare them days in advance. It is made from four basic ingredients — jaggery, sugar, liquid glucose and the basic material (groundnut, cashew, til etc). A measured portion of the groundnut is roasted and then crushed after its skin has been removed. In a kadhai, a syrup of jaggery and liquid glucose is prepared. The crushed groundnut is added to this mixture and some sugar powder is added,” says Anuradha Vohra, a housewife. giving us the recipe of crushed groundnut chikki. The above mentioned mixture is rolled out to make a uniform thick layer, which is then cut square pieces.
And the wonder of sesame seeds cannot be left out when one talks about traditional favourites on Lohri. Made with honey and sugar, Pasteli is one dish that not many experiment with for they think it takes relatively longer to prepare. However, giving us a quick recipe for this one, Sonia Nathani, a homemaker, says, “When I was in Mumbai, my mother-in-law would send it across from Delhi. After marriage when I shifted base to Delhi, I literally stole her recipe,” quips Sonia. “It works best if you have an oven at home. And the only trouble is that you need to bake the sesame seeds first. Also, it’s quite fattening as a mix of honey and sugar is used,” she adds.
Another recipe quite a hit in the Punjabi families is that of sweet rice. And by sweet we don’t mean added sugar. “We have a family tradition of making meethe chawal with ganne ka ras (sugarcane juice) or jaggery. We dissolve the jaggery in water and keep it aside. Then add ghee to a pan and add dry fruits. Fry them. Keep aside. Then add jeera and elaichi to the hot ghee and sauté rice in the same. Then put water and cook it. When half cooked, add the jaggery dissolved in water, or the ganne ka ras to it. You have to make it in an open pan with a lid on top and not a pressure cooker. The recipe takes about 20 minutes,” informs Neeta Khurana, a food expert.
Apart from the sugary treat, there are many who make the traditional sarson ka saag and aloo gobi for dinner.
“Since both the vegetables are season specials, many people prefer cauliflower and saag to any other reciepes like paneer and dal makhni. Many of our guests even prefer the makki ki roti with the saag. And the gobi is made specially by adding coconut and wheat flour. A mix is prepared by grating coconut, ginger, green chillies, onion, garlic and wheat flour together,” says a chef in the city.