Indian Festivals: Makar Sankranti

Unlike most of the other Indian Hindu Festivals, the date of Makar Sankranti is fixed. Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition. There is a sankranti every month when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next. The popular Indian festival “Makar Sankranti” is the first Indian festival falls in New Year. It is one of the major Indian harvest festival celebrated on 14th of January of every year. It’s an important festival of the Hindus and celebrated almost everywhere in the country in myriad cultural forms and different names. Every region celebrate it in innumerable ways, according to the localization, culture and traditions.

Festival of Kites: 

Makar Sankranti is also known as Uttarayan or Festival of Kites in Gujarat and Rajasthan. This is a full kite-flying day, colorful kites in the sky convert Sankranti into the beautiful colors of kites. The International Kite festival is held at Ahmedabad on January 14 of every year. Kite festival is one of the most popular festivals of Jaipur “The Pink City” Rajasthan.

Patang-Uddi-Re-Patang

Fairs and Festivals:

During the Makar Sankranti festival, so many mela or fairs held’s in different region’s of India. A biggest fair held at Ganga Sagar  in west Bengal, where the most scared river “Ganga” enters the sea, thousands of pilgrims and Sadhu the holy men come here for the holy bath on the day of Makar Sankranti. The bullock festival, cattle fair held on Makar Sankranti at different places, where many camels, bullocks and horses are sold and purchased by animal lover people. One of the famous and unique fair is held at Rajgir, Bihar.

Ganga Sagar Festival Mela in West Bengal

The famous Makar Sankranti festival is related to harvesting the food grains. Its called Lohri in Punjab, In south India it’s known as Pongal “The National festival of India”, in Karnataka it’s called Sankranti and in Kerala it’s called Makara Vilakku. In Bengal, Makar Sankranti is celebrated at the last day of the Bengali month of Poush. This festival goes on for ten days, feasting, boat races, songs and dance are the major parts of attraction of this important Indian festival. It is celebrated with the til (sesame seeds) ke laddoo, gajak, Ellu Bella and sarson ka saag-makka ki roti.

White-Til-Laddu

Indian Cuisine: Wazwan from Kashmir

Kashmiri cuisine tends to be very meat dominated, in particular mutton is used in a wide variety of dishes such as the well known Rogan Josh which can be found on Indian menus throughout the world.

Wazwan

Wazwan is a traditional Kashmir multi-course meal. The word Wazwan comes from waz which means a chef with rare culinary skills that have been passed on through generations, and wan which denotes a shop with abundant supply of meats and delicacies.

Preparation-of-Wazwan

Hours of cooking and days of planning go into the making and serving of a wazwan and the preparation is considered an art. The pride of Kashmiri cuisine Wazwan is a 36 course weddings banquet is now also served on other special and important occasions. Traditionally 15 to 30 dishes of Wazwan are comprised of meat. Many of the delicacies are cooked all through the night and under the expert supervision of a Vasta Waza or head chef, assisted by an entourage of wazas under him.

Meat-balls-for-Wazwan

Wazwaan is a beautiful blend of the Mughal style with that of the Kashmiri Panditsr. The basic difference between the two schools is the abundant use of heeng (asafetida) and curd amongst the Pandits, and the use of onions and garlic amongst the Mughals. It is interesting to note that the meat for some of the Wazwan items requires being really fresh. Timing is very crucial! More than half an hour cannot elapse between the slaughtering of the goat and the pounding of the meat.

Dishes included in a Wazwan feast

At a typical Wazwan it is observed that guests are grouped into fours for the serving. The meal begins with ritual washing of hands, as a jug and basin are passed among the guests. A large serving dish piled high with heaps of rice, decorated and quartered by four seekh kababs, four pieces of meth maaz, two tabak maaz, (ribs of lamb simmered in yoghurt till tender, then fried,sides of barbecued ribs), and one safed kokur (white chicken), one zafrani kokur (masala chicken), along with other dishes is brought out for the diners. The meal is usually garnished with Kashmiri saffron, salads, Kashmiri pickles and dips.

Ready-to-serve-Wazwan

Some of the most popular dishes served at a typical Wazwan are:

• Rista which are meatballs in fiery red gravy
• Lahabi Kabab which are flattened mutton kababs cooked in yogurt
• Waza Kokur two halves or two full chicken cooked whole
• Rogan Josh, tender lamb cooked with Kashmiri spices
• Yakhni, delicately spiced yogurt curry
• Dum Aloo, potatoes cooked in yogurt gravy

The man meal concludes with the very exclusive Gushtaba which is a velvety textured meatball in white yogurt gravy, a speciality, and one that is never refused. Then finally comes the Phirni a dessert of semolina thickened in milk set in earthenware topped with nuts and silver leaf. Served at the very end is a cup of Kahwa, the green tea flavoured with saffron, cardamom and almonds.

It can be safely concluded that Wazwan is not simply a meal; it is in fact an art that must be experienced at least once to understand and appreciate all the effort that goes into this centuries old tradition.

It is possible to take a Kashmir cooking lesson if you are staying in the region where you can learn some of the component dishes of a typical Wazwan.

Kashmiri Pulao

Try some simple Kashmir cuisine at home with this easy recipe of Kashmiri Pulao, a popular rice dish in the region.

Kashmiri-Pulao

Ingredients

• 2 cups – Long grain rice (basmati)
• 2 cups – Milk
• 1/2 cup – Cream
• 1 tsp – Sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp – Cumin seeds
• 3 nos – Cloves
• 1 inch – Cinnamon Stick
• 3 – Cardamoms
• 1 No – Bay leaf
• 2 tbsp – Ghee
• 1 cup – Canned chopped mixed fruit (drained)
• 2 nos – Rose petals

Cooking Instructions

1. Wash and soak rice for 15-20 minutes.
2. Mix milk, cream, sugar, salt. Drain rice, keep aside.
3. Heat ghee in a heavy pan, add cumin seeds, cinnamon, bayleaf, cardamoms, cloves.
4. Allow to splutter, add rice and fry in ghee for 2 minutes.
5. Add milk, cream, mixture.
6. Add 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer till cooked.
7. Mix in drained fruit very gently, garnish by sprinkling finely broken rose petals.
8. Serve hot with a curry or tadka dal.

Indian Cuisine: Popular spices in Indian cuisine

Spices in an Indian kitchen may very well be referred to as the heart of Indian cuisine. Each spice has its own distinct taste and flavour. However, when combined in the preparation of a dish they come together to create a unique flavour.

Indian-Spices

We take a look at the use of spices in Indian food.

Most Popular spices

Turmeric is usually used in powder form and adds a strong yellow colour to the food. Although it is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent, it is still recommended to use sparingly, as even a little of it goes a long way!

Cumin Seeds are used in both forms; whole as well as powder. It has a distinct aroma and is used quite extensively.

Indian-Masala-Daani aka Masaal Dani

Black pepper is the fruit of the black pepper plant and is used whole as well as split. Rich in a number of vitamins, it is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. Pepper is indigenous to India.

Mustard and Coriander Seeds are both used to garnish dishes and are extremely popular in an Indian kitchen.

Red Chilli is a very important spice and is mainly used in the dry form. When grounded into a fine powder and sautéed in oil, it adds a fiery element to a dish. The degree of hotness depends on which part of India the spice originates. The Kashmiri red chilli is the most popular one that used in Indian cuisine followed by the Andhra red chillies.

Cardamom is a sweet spice having a very distinct aroma and is used in many North Indian as well as South Indian desserts.

Spices-on-wholesale-Market

Saffron is one of the most expensive spices. It is produced in very few regions of the world, Kashmir in India being one of them. Not only is saffron aromatic and delicious but it also adds a beautiful rich colour to the food.

Nutmeg and Mace are mainly used in desserts. Keeping in mind how strong and potent they are, it is strongly recommended to use them both sparingly!

Cloves are dried up flower buds and are a strong and heady spice. It is mainly used in North Indian dishes such as biryani and curry. They are barely used in South Indian delicacies.

Cinnamon is actually the dried bark of a tree. It is added to oil as its getting heated, in this manner the oil gets flavoured and the food gets cooked in this fragrant oil.

Fresh-picked-Pepper

Indian Cuisine: Best cuisine of east India

We look at the best cuisine of east India and the delicious dishes you should sample in Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Sikkim.

Three common threads connect the cuisine of the eastern states of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The first is the use of opium, or rather poppy seeds. The seeds are considered highly nutritious, and the paste of white poppy seeds is added for thickness, texture and a unique flavour.

East-Indian-Food-Thali

Bengal makes the alu posto made with potatoes and gourd. A paste of posto made with ground seeds seasoned with mustard oil, green chili and salt is also had with hot steamed rice. Orissa has jahni alu posta (a potato and gourd dish), and Bihar loves postaa-dana kaa halwa, a sweet pudding made of poppy seeds.

The second common thread is the use of the strong and pungent mustard oil as a cooking medium.

The third is the use of paanch phoron (literally ‘five seeds’ – aniseed, mustard seed, fenugreek, carrom, and nigella seeds). Beyond this, the cuisine of Orissa and Bengal overlap quite a bit with both states laying claim to inventing several famous foods (like the rosogolla, a famous sweet made of cheese).

Bihar

The cuisine of Bihar is a mixture of North and Eastern Indian cuisine. Chickpea flour is used in a variety of ways including the popular litti (baked and stuffed bread made of roasted chickpea flour, pictured below) served with chokha (potato, tomato and brinjal mash), sattu parathas stuffed with chickpea flour and the sattu drink, used in summers to cool down and get quick energy. The sattu along with Bihari kebabs are two signature dishes of Bihar that are popular outside the state as well.

Litti-From-Bihar

Orissa

Orissa, though famous for its food, often gets overshadowed by Bengal. It is believed that most of Bengal’s famous cooks came from Orissa, and quite a few Bengali dishes are derivatives of Oriya cuisine. Dalma is a unique and famous dish prepared in Orissa with vegetables and dal. All meals have a khatta – a sweet and sour dish. The famous khattas are dahi baingan, tomatoes khatta and amba khatta. During scorching summers, the cooling pakhal (pictured below),  made of rice, water, and yogurt fermented overnight, prevents heat strokes.

Pakhala from Orissa

Bengal

Bengal loves fish and no meal is complete without ‘maachher jhol and bhaat’ (fish curry and rice). If you have a sweet tooth, you will be spoilt for choice here as Bengalis are famous for their sweet concoctions (pictured below) – fried, steamed and baked.

Mishti doi, rosogolla and sandesh from Bengal

Try the mishti doi (sweet curd), rosogolla and sandesh (both made from cottage cheese).

The city of Kolkata has its own special cuisine, different from the rest of Bengal. It is influenced by the passage of conquerors and immigrants the city has witnessed over centuries. Street food like kathi kebabs and rolls are influenced by the Mughals. The footprint of the Brits can be seen in the varieties of cutlets including the kabiraji cutlet, the Jews gave alu makallah, the khaw suey came from the Burmese, and the Chinese contributed chowmein and noodles. A signature dish of Kolkata, the Chingri Malai Curry, has Malaysian roots.

Sikkim

Further up from Bengal, towards the Himalayas is the state of Sikkim, which has its own distinctive culinary style influenced by neighbouring Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal. A popular food is the momo (pictured below) – a dumpling stuffed with chicken, pork, beef or vegetables.

Sikkimese people love noodle-based soups with or without meat to keep the chill out. Thukpa, thanthu, gyathuk, and fakthu are one-pot soup meals.

Sha-phaleys are fried patties filled with minced meat had as a snack. Chhurpi is a local cheese made from cow or yak’s milk, commonly used by mountaineers who chew it to maintain salivation.

Momo from Sikkim

Sikkimese use a lot of fermented foods – like kinema, a fermented soybean with a high protein content, and the sel roti made with fermented rice. Gundruk soup (prepared using leaves of mustard, radish and cauliflower) is a great option for vegetarians. So is Sinki made from roots of the radish.

Rice isn’t the only grain, Sikkim uses a wide variety – finger millet, wheat, buckwheat and barley. When the Himalayan chill gets to you, try the local drink chhang, a millet beer served in bamboo tankards, sure to warm you up.

No matter where you travel you’ll find the cuisine of east India offers plenty of variety to get the mouth watering and taste buds tingling!