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The elaborate festive food spread for Makar Sankranti is a treat to the taste buds and eyes too. It brings forth a diverse assortment of traditional indigenous culinary fares from different regions of India. However, it can be intimidating for those new to cooking or who aren't confident about their skills to put such an array of festive grubs on display. There is a solution to it. The festival has several simple recipes. Out of them, let's explore 10 easy Makar Sankranti dishes to try at home.
Puran Poli
A sweetmeat belonging to Maharashtra, the Makar Sankranti spread is incomplete without it. Sweet lentil mixture prepared from chana dal and jaggery is put within a delicious flatbread. In Maharashtra, it is one of the foods often prepared during celebratory and significant events.
Nolen Gurer Payesh
West Bengal's state gets busy making various delicacies with nolen gur, or new jaggery, as winter sets. Makar Sankranti is known as Pous Sankranti in this area. It takes milk, rice, nolen gur, ghee, cardamom, and dry fruits to make the winter delicacy known as nolen gurer payesh. And a delectable rice kheer is made from rice and date palm jaggery.
Pulihora
Tamarind rice, Image Source: iStock
This tangy and spice rice preparation from the southern states of India follows one of the most hassle-free recipes. This classic South Indian dish, often known as tamarind rice, is tangy, sour, and spicy rice. In Tamil, it is also known as puliyodharai. Tamarind rice is another common prasadam in South Indian temples. Rice, tamarind, peanuts, green chillies, chopped ginger, curry leaves, mustard seeds, and a spoonful of lentils are a few of the ingredients.
Jaggery Rice
Locals call it Meethe Chawal and devour it during festivities. Lohri is observed in Punjab during the Makar Sankranti festival. And the party's focal point is this traditional Punjabi dish, which many know as jaggery rice. Boiled basmati rice is cooked with jaggery, cashews, peanuts, raisins, cloves, and green cardamom to make this delicacy.
Venn Pongal
Popular South Indian breakfast made with rice and yellow moong lentils. This savoury version of pongal, also known as Khara Pongal, is laced with the beautiful flavours of cumin, black pepper, ginger, asafoetida (hing) and curry leaves. A profuse use of pure ghee suffuses a lovely aroma in it.
Undhiyu
Gujarat has a large-scale celebration during Makar Sankranti. The signature delicacy of Gujarati vegetarian cooking during this festival is undhiyu, a one-pot dish. This native dish's wonderful recipe doesn't require much preparation time. Thanks to the straightforward procedures that call for heating all the vegetables and the methi muthia in a pressure cooker.
Sweet Pongal
A bowl full of sweet pongal, Image Source: spicesandstyles.com
In Tamil Nadu, sweet Pongal is also referred to as sakkarai Pongal. It is a delectable dessert prepared during Makar Sankranti and many other significant occasions. The only ingredients in the traditional sweet pongal recipe were freshly harvested rice, milk, and jaggery. With time, the traditional sakkarai Pongal evolved into a sweet delicacy resembling porridge prepared with rice and mung lentils and sweetened with cardamom and dry fruits.
Bhogi Chi Bhaji
One day before Makar Sankranti, the Bhogi festival is observed. A delicious mixed vegetable dish, "Bhogi chi bhaji", is prepared in the Maharashtra region on Bhogi. That is how the name came to be. Seasonal vegetables like several kinds of flat beans, carrots, brinjals, and fresh green chana are included in this medley meal. The dish contains diverse tastes with a faint sour and sweet taste. Peanuts and ground sesame seeds are also included. As a result, bhogi chi bhaji is a hearty and filling dish. God Indra is revered during the bhogi festival. And this meal is noteworthy in its own right.
Badam Chikki
Badam chikki and laddoo, Image Source: Shutterstock
Indians enjoy munching badam chikkis, and Makar Sankranti provides the ideal occasion for them to do so. This festival's hallmark dish is a wintertime treat of crunchy peanut brittles. This dish just calls for two primary ingredients and is very simple to prepare! Make this delightful treat in less than 30 minutes by combining some peanuts and jaggery.
Minnapa Garelu
These urad dal deep-fried dumplings are staples on the Makar Sankranti spread in the South Indian state, especially in Andhra Pradesh. Though it can be referred to as a close cousin of Medu Vada, garelu's recipe is slightly different. The batter is often seasoned with black pepper, chopped green chillies, ginger root, coriander, and curry leaves. The savoury garelus are then deep-fried.
