Find out how India celebrates the Harvest Festival

The harvest season is a significant part of the year all over India because of the role it plays in our society. India is still a largely agrarian country and so the arrival of the harvest season is a cause for much celebration and when it comes to celebrations, you can’t have them without delicious food.

Makar Sankranti Recipies and the Harvest season

Harvest festivals change from state to state with each having unique characteristics and timings but each of them has some iconic dishes associated with them that you absolutely have to have during this season. Which is why we have made a list of Makar Sankranti recipes as well as for other harvest festivals.

1. Makar Sankranti

The first festival we will be talking about is one that has its roots all over India. Makar Sankranti is mostly celebrated in Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, and Haryana.

The festival marks the arrival of the Sun into the zodiac sign of makar or Capricorn. Since the festival is a time to celebrate abundance most popular Makar Sankranti recipes are heavy on ghee content. Another common element is the use of til recipes for Makar Sankranti, the most popular of which is the Til Ladoo

Ingredients for Til Ladoo:

• 100 g sesame seeds
• 100 g jaggery
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp Badshah Chai Masala/Cardamom powder

Method to make delicious Til Ladoo:

1. In a pan, roast sesame seeds on a low heat till lightly browned
2. In a separate pan heat jaggery with the water till it forms a thick syrup
3. You will know the syrup is ready when you can put a spoon of the syrup in water without is dissolving in the water.
4. Run the jaggery through a sieve to avoid the particulate matter
5. Add your chai masala powder and the sesame seeds, mixing quickly.
6. Form the mixture into balls while it is still hot.
7. Enjoy!

2. Lohri

While Lohri takes place a day before Makar Sankranti, it is celebrated primarily in many parts of Punjab to mark the conclusion of the winter season and celebrate the first harvest. 

Like Makar Sankranti, Lohri is also famous for dishes that contain a lot of ghee and til but it is just as known for its amazing Pindi Chhole. Try out this simple recipe to this iconic dish.

Ingredients for Pindi Chhole:

• ¾ cup Chickpeas 
• 1 tsp Rock Salt
• 3 cups Water
• 3 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Anardana
• ¼ tsp Ajwain
• ¼ tsp Hing
• 1 ½ Inch Ginger 
• 4 Green Chillies 
• 3 tsp Badshah Chhole Masala 
• 2 tsp Badshah Garam Masala
• 1.5 tbsp Tamarind Juice optional
• 1 tbsp Chopped Coriander optional
• ½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• Salt to taste

Instructions for Pindi Chhole:

1. In a pressure cooker, place soaked and drained chickpeas and 3 cups of water and 1 tsp salt. Pressure cook the chole for 30 minutes on medium heat
2. Once the chickpeas are cooked, drain and reserve the water 
3. In a kadhai or cast iron pan, roast anardana on a low flame for a few minutes. Then add the cooked chickpeas, rock salt, ajwain, hing, half the ginger, two slit green chillies and Badshah Chole Masala and Garam Masala. Mix this well. Add ½ cup of reserved chole water and let this cook on low flame for 7-8 minutes.
4. Keep adding water little by little (approx 2-3 times) and cook the chole on low for 15-20 minutes till the masala coats the chole well, and the dark colour of the dish deepens.
5. In another pan, heat all the ghee and add the remaining ginger and two more slit green chillies. Fry the ginger and chillies and then pour all the ghee on top of the chole. Mix well and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Serve and enjoy hot

3. Pongal

Unlike the previously mentioned festivals, Pongal is mostly celebrated in several cities of Tamil Nadu. It is synonymous with Makar Sankranti though there are some observances which are unique to this festival. One of the key aspects that sets Pongal apart from Makar Sankranti is the food served. 
While Makar Sankranti recipes contain a great deal of til, that is not the case during Pongal. This festival is always marked by cooking the dish Pongal. The fact that the dish and the festival share a name is indicative of how important this dish is. So let’s take a look at a simple recipe for this iconic dish.

Ingredients required for Pongal:

• ½ cup Rice
• ¼ cup Moong Dal Split
• ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ⅛ tsp Hing
• 1 tsp Ginger 
• 3 cups water or add as required
• Salt to taste

Ingredients for Tempering of Pongal:

• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder 
• 10 Curry Leaves
• 10 Cashews 
• 2 to 3 tbsp Ghee

Method to make Pongal:

1. In a pan, roast your lentils on a low heat till they become fragrant.
2. Add rice in the bowl containing the roasted moong dal and rinse a couple of times
3. Drain very well and then add them to a pressure cooker.
4. Now add the cumin seeds, hing, chopped ginger and salt as per taste. 
5. Add the water
6. Pressure cook on a medium to high heat for 12 minutes
7. Let the pressure settle down and check the consistency.
8. Both the rice and the moong dal should be cooked very well.

Method of Tempering for Pongal:

1. In another small pan, heat the ghee.
2. Add the cumin seeds. Let them splutter.
3. Then add the cashews. Fry until the cashews become light golden.
4. Add black pepper and curry leaves.
5. Fry until the curry leaves become crisp.
6. Now pour this entire tempering on the pongal. Mix very well.
7. Cover with the lid and let it rest
8. Serve warm with extra ghee

The Bottom Line:

Indian celebrations are joyous occasions and the unique dishes that we associate with them make lasting memories in our minds. We hope you try some of our recipes and make some memories of your own. For all the spices that are used in these recipes and many more, go to the Badshah Masala store and open yourself up to a world of flavour.