Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival which is celebrated in almost every part of India. The festival celebrates the end of the bleak winter days and the beginning of spring. People celebrate Makar Sankranti by going to the temples, taking a holy dip in the Ganges, flying kites, decorating their houses and preparing a wide spread of delicacies. People worship Surya, the sun God, on this auspicious day and show their gratitude to him for blessing them with a plentiful harvest.
Are you planning to woo your guests with some delicious and authentic Makar Sankranti dishes this year? Lucky for you, we have curated a list of handpicked traditional Makar Sankranti recipes, which are so scrumptious that they will leave your guests licking their fingers.
Nolen Gurer Payesh
Nolen Gurer Payesh is a rice kheer preparation which consists of date palm jaggery. It is a popular Makar Sankranti dish in Bengal. In Bengali, payesh means payassam or kheer. It is sweet and warm and serves as a perfect comfort food to enjoy during cold winter evenings. This sweet dish has an intense chocolatey taste to it and is a hit amongst children and adults alike. This sweet delicacy is known to provide warmth to your body during the winter months. Check out the ITC store to get the best Aashirvaad 5 kg atta price ever.
Puran Poli
Puran Poli is a signature Makar Sankranti dish that is popular in Maharashtra and prepared in almost every Maharashtrian household during Makar Sankranti. Puran Poli is a delicious flatbread, which has a stuffing of jaggery, mashed chana dal, til and roasted gram flour. Serve them hot with a dollop of desi ghee on top of them and watch your guests drool.
Atta laddoo
Want a no-fuss Makar Sankranti recipe that is easy to make and tastes divine? We are talking about the classic atta laddoos. Make a batch of them and store them in an air-tight container and you are good to go. You need three basic ingredients to make this sweet treat- Aashirvaad atta, ghee and sugar. You can substitute sugar for jaggery if you want to make your laddoos healthier. We recommend you add dry fruits like cashew, almonds, dates, and raisins and spices like cardamom powder to further enhance the nutritional value of this sweet treat.
Chakkli
Want a crispy, crunchy and delicious snack to eat during Makar Sankranti? You must consider making a batch of chakli. Chakli is a deep-fried savoury delight which is made from rice flour, gram flour, Aashirvaad atta or a mixture of lentil flours. You can make them mildly spicy or very spicy depending on your taste preferences. To make your chakli spicy, you simply need to add more red chilli powder to your chakkli mixture. You can make them in large quantities and store them in air-tight containers to enjoy throughout the year. Chakkli is a perfect quick refreshment to have with your evening cup of tea or to binge at midnight when you are feeling peckish.
Undhiyu
In Gujarat, Makar Sankranti is referred to as Uttarayan and it is celebrated with great pomp and show. Kids and adults fly kites on their terraces and the women in the house prepare a wide array of traditional Makar Sankranti recipes which include, til laddoo, basundi, jalebis and a showstopper dish called undhiya. Undhiyu is a one-pot recipe which is filling and easy to prepare as it doesn’t take a lot of time. All the veggies used in the dish and methi muthia are thrown in together in a pressure cooker to steam and cook. Serve undhiyu with hot and crunchy jalebis and make your guests swoon.
Remember that there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to deciding your Makar Sankranti feast spread. So, which of these Makar Sankranti recipes are your favourite? Visit the ITC store to get your hands on high-quality ingredients which will make your Makar Sankranti recipes taste more delicious.
