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Winter is here and so is the craving for varieties of food. Winter delicacies when served hot in the chills while being cozy in the warm blankets, seem to be heaven for us. Besides, with the change in weather, our body demands change such as want of hot and spicy food. In our country, we make the best use of seasonal vegetables blending them with homemade spices and flavours. Also, there are ways out for meat lovers as well.
Nothing can be better when lip-smacking winter delicacies are served at home. Thus, enjoy your whole winter months with these delicacies across India:
1. Koraishuti’r Kochuri
A winter morning breakfast can be made perfect with Koraishuti’r Kochuri. Served with Notun Aloo’r Dum or Sada Aloo’r Torkari or Chola’r Dal, Koraishuti’r Kochuri is a popular dish in West Bengal. When fresh green peas (koraishuti) are pasted and stuffed inside the dough ball, and after making flattened bread is deep fried in oil, the delicious Koraishuti’r Kochuri is made. Cumin, carom, dried red chillies, asafoetida (hing), ginger, and other homemade spices give way to the secret flavour of the kochuri. Either you can gulp this winter special recipe at Bengali sweet shops or at home.
2. Notun Aloo’r Dum
It can be regarded as a compulsory dish for winters in the homes of West Bengal. Notun Aloo or new baby potatoes have a distinguished taste and when cooked in Bengali curry potato style, the dish is sure to satiate your appetite. Often served with luchi or Koraishuti’r kochuri, Notun Aloo’r Dum is salty, spicy, and garnished with green peas and coriander leaves.
3. Gajar Ka Halwa
With the winter falling in, the vegetable markets are full of colours. Among most vegetables, fresh, bright red, and juicy carrots make their way through it. Carrots are used in a variety of dishes and the most popular one in the winter season is Gajar Ka Halwa. Hailing from the north of the country, the sweet dish is well-known in every Indian house and restaurant. Made of ghee, nuts, carrots, and sugar, the sweet dish was first mentioned in a book called ‘Kitab-al-Tabikh’ in the 13th century in the Middle East.
4. Undhiyu
Very popular in the state of Gujarat, Undhiyu is made of a vegetable called papdi. Papdi is a creeper that only grows in winter. The word ‘undhu’ which in Gujarati means upside down suggests that the dish is prepared upside down underground in earthen pots with a continuous flame from above. Along with other vegetables like brinjals, sweet potatoes, peas, and others with lots of ghee are tossed in spices and made into a spicy veg dry stew. This special veg dish is often eaten with puris, roti, or traditionally with methi muthiyas. Besides, the dish includes fenugreek with is an essential ingredient to be consumed in winter as it keeps cold at bay.
5. Patishapta
Makar Sankranti is a cherished winter festival in most Bengali homes and it is incomplete without Patishapta. The sweet dish is a kind of crepe or pan cake made of rice flour mixture which includes refined flour and semolina and is stuffed with grated caramelised coconut or traditional kheer. The crisp Patishapta can be well eaten with fresh ‘nolen gur.’
6. Nihari
Winter mornings are perfect for meat lovers if served with Nihari. First prepared by hakims, to Shah Jahan and then the emperor of India in the historical city of present Delhi, which was known as Shahjahanabad, Nihari became a popular dish overnight. Food historians state that the emperor consulted hakims who used to look after the food in the royal kitchen to come up with a dish that would give relief to people acting as medicine against seasonal coughs and colds. Thus, Nihari was made. Notably, Nihari was meant to be eaten in the early mornings on empty stomach especially on winter mornings to soothe winter ailments. The dish is cooked overnight with large cuts of beef, lamb, or mutton along with spices, flour, and ghee. The combination is Nihari and khameeri roti is what people crave.
7. Beetroot Thoran
A South Indian winter delicacy, thoran is cooked with one of the most popular vegetables of the cold season, beetroot. The dish is nutritious and full of flavours. The winter special dish is cooked with chillies, turmeric, and coconut and the beetroot is stir-fried with homemade spices. The dish is often served with rice. Besides, the perfect blend of sweet and spicy provides relief from chills.
