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Baisakhi, the harvest festival of Punjab is celebrated on 14th April. The enthusiastic, energetic people of Punjab take a lot of pleasure in a good meal and when there are celebrations then food is what sets the mood.
Here are a few traditional Baisakhi Recipes to try out on this joyful and colorful festival.
Chole Bhature
Chole
Ingredients:
1 cup Chickpeas (chole)
21/2-inch Ginger, 3/4th of it shredded finely for garnish
2tsp. Garlic, finely crushed
2 Onions (chopped)
3 medium sized Tomatoes, chopped
2 Green Chilies, sliced
Finely chopped coriander leaves
2tsp. Ground Coriander
11/2 tsp. Ground Cumin
1/2tsp. Turmeric powder
1/2tsp. Garam Masala
2 teaspoons chole masala
1/2 - 1tsp. Red chili powder or as per taste
2-3 tbsp. Oil
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:
Soak Chole in water overnight or for about 6 hours. In the
morning cook chole in the cooker with salt and enough water
for about 20 minutes or till it is fully done. After that,
heat oil in a kadhai / deep saucepan and add onions to it.
Sauté the onions till they are golden brown. Then add
garlic, chopped ginger and green chilies. Now add tomatoes,
coriander, cumin, turmeric, chili powder and chole masala.
Sauté over low heat and wait for the oil to separate.
After this add salt and coriander leaves to the kadhai. Keep
it on a low flame, uncovered till the liquid in it gets absorbed.
Once done, add a pinch of garam masala and sprinkle it with
the remaining coriander leaves. Chole are ready to be served.
Bhature
Ingredients:
Maida - 2 cups
Yeast - 1 pouch
Yogurt - 1 cup
Vegetable Oil - 2tbsp
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:
Mix maida, yeast, yogurt, vegetable oil and salt in a utensil.
Add some warm water and mix it into thick dough. Cover the
dough with a wet cloth and keep it aside for 5-6 hours. Though
the longer it is kept the better it turns out to be. After
the dough becomes soft roll it like puri but remember that
it needs to be thicker than puri. Deep fry it in kadhai /
deep saucepan till both sides turn golden brown.
Tip: if want to get the dough ready in half an hour then
soda, little sugar and salt to the flour.
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Gajjar Ka Halwa/ Carrot Halwa
Ingredients:
Carrots - 1 kg
Milk - 1 litre
Cardamom seeds - 1 teaspoon
Water - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 3 tablespoons
Whole dried milk (mawa) - 200 gms
Raisins - 2 tablespoons
Almonds - 2 tablespoons
Pistachios - 2 tablespoons
Sugar - 450 grams
Method of Preparation:
First wash and grate the carrots. Blanch and shred the nuts
and soak the raisins in water for ½ an hour. Put water
in a kadhai/deep saucepan. When the water starts boiling add
the grated carrots. Cook for 6-8 minutes and then add the
milk. Now, cook on a low flame for an hour and stir occasionally
to prevent any sticking. Add sugar and mix it well. Cook till
the sugar gets dissolved and milk gets absorbed. After that
add ghee and mawa and fry on low flame for 2-3 minutes. Wait
for the ghee to start separating. Now add the slightly crushed
cardamoms and raisins. Arrange the gajjar ka halwa in a serving
dish and garnish with almonds and pistachios. Serve hot.
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Sarson ka Saag
Ingredients:
1bunch sarson greens
1bunch spinach
1 onion (grated)
1inch piece of ginger (grated)
6 cloves garlic (grated)
cheese or paneer ( to garnish)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp ghee.
1 tbsp oil.
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp cornflour
3 green chillies
salt to taste
Method of preparation
Chop the sarson and the spinach greens, wash and drain, keep aside.
Heat some oil in the pressure cooker. To this, add the chopped greens
and the green chillies. After stirring for some time add the ginger
and garlic paste, stir and let it cook for some time. Then add the
salt and a cup of water. Pressure cook till done. Mash the cooked
sag. Now heat some oil in a pan and saute the grated onion. To this,
add the cooked sag and mix all the other ingredients and cook until
the oil separates. Garnish with cheese and serve hot
(Source - Saroj's Cook Book)
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Makki di Roti
Ingredients:
Makki atta - corn flour
Grates radish and salt ( optional)
Warm water to knead
Method of preparation
For the Makki ki Roti, knead the makki (corn) ka atta with warm
water just before cooking the rotis. While kneading, add some grated
radish and salt. To roll it, put a square of polythene paper on
the chakla. On this put a ball of the kneaded dough. Cover with
another piece of polythene and then press with the ball of your
palm till you get the size of a roti. This roti is slightly thicker
than the normal roti. Remove the polythene cover and transfer the
roti to a hot tava. Cook on low heat, turning till both sides are
roasted. Apply some ghee. Similarly, cook the other rotis.
(Source - Times of India)
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Kheer
Ingredients:
1/4th cup long grain rice (washed and drained)
4-5cups milk
2-3 cardamom seeds (crushed)
2 tbsp. almonds (blanched silvered)
A pinch of saffron threads, soaked in a little hot milk
1tbsp skinned pistachio nuts (chopped)
1tbsp raisins (optional)
1tbsp ghee 2-3tbsp. sugar or as desired
Method of preparation
Put the rice, milk and cardamom in a pan, bring to boil and simmer
gently until the rice is soft and the grains start to break up.
Add almonds, pistachio, saffron and raisins and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add ghee and keep
stirrring until cooked.
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Til Gajak - Punjab
Ingredients:
1 cup sesame
3/4 cup jaggery
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp ghee
Method of preparation
Roast sesame on low flame stirring continuously to avoid it from
spluttering out of the pan. Boil jaggery in 1/2 cup water to form
thick syrup. When done, check its consistency by putting a drop
of the syrup in a dish of cold water. If the drop stays firm the
consistency is right. Add the roasted sesame to the syrup. On a
rolling board, spread a film of oil and spread the sesame-jaggery
mixture. Flatten it to 1 cm thickness. When the mixture is sufficiently
cooled, cut into square pieces. Store in an airtight container.
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