Celebrating Lohri With 5 Innovative Recipes

By Dt. Manoli Mehta

The festival of Lohri is around the corner after one full year and whether you have any plans this year to celebrate this festival or not, there is no reason needed to enjoy the scrumptious Lohri recipes and food meals and enjoy with full zeal, happiness, love and life. Try out these delicious and healthy recipes with your loved ones and enjoy!

PALAK SAAG

This palak saag recipe is the same way Sarson ka saag is made but for when you don’t get sarson you can make the Saag with spinach and radish. And you can make the saag with any greens of your choice. A combination of spinach and fenugreek leaves/Methi is also good. If you can get mustard leaves, then make the same recipe with mustard leaves, spinach.

Ingredients:

For the Saag:

• 1 bunch of spinach (palak), chopped
• 1 & 1/2 radish with tender leaves (mooli), chopped
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 to 2 medium size tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 green chili, chopped
• 1/2-inch ginger, chopped
• 2 to 3 small to medium garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tablespoon maize flour (makki ka atta)
• 1/3rd cup water
• salt as required

For tempering the saag:

• 1/2 medium sized onion, finely chopped enough for saag meant for 2 people
• 1 small green chili, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger, optional
• 1/2 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

For cooking palak saag:

1. Add all the greens, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chilies with salt and water in a deep pan or a pressure cooker. Add around 1 cup water to the veggies.
2. Cook the whole lot in the pan for 7-10 minutes or in a pressure cooker for 3 to 4 minutes. Also add maize flour and butter.
3. Once cooled blend into a smooth or coarse paste. Add the saag in another pan and simmer for 7-10 minutes till it thickens a little bit.

For the tempering:

• Brown the onions in ghee and then add the saag to it.
• Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Top the saag with this and serve hot.

COCONUT BURFI

This Guilt-Free Coconut Barfi is a quick and easy recipe which combines dates and desiccated coconut into a sweet barfi is perfect for your lohri dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Badam (Almond), powdered
• 15 Dates, seedless
• 3/4 cup Dessicated Coconut, + little extra for garnishing
• 3 tablespoons Milk
• 1 tablespoon Ghee, /clarified butter + a little extra for greasing the plate
• 1 teaspoon Cardamom Powder (Elaichi)

Method:

1. Using 3 tablespoons milk, make a thick puree of Dates by wet grinding it in the mixer.
2. Heat a tablespoon ghee in a saucepan kept on medium high and once the ghee melts, add dates puree. Sauté it for about 5 minutes.
3. Add almonds powder and mix well. It should form a nice and dry dough.
4. Add Coconut and mix well for about 2 minutes and switch off the flame.
5. Add cardamom powder and mix.
6. Pour this barfi mixture on the greased plate or pan that you had prepared and spread well.
7. Sprinkle some dry desiccated coconut on top for garnishing and press with your palm.
8. Give the cuts using knife. You can give square or diamond shaped cuts.
9. Let them cool completely and only then, remove the pieces of guilt free coconut barfi out and serve.

MAKHANA KHEER

Another great option for a healthy, dry and delicious dessert for lohri is this yummy Makhana kheer.

Ingredients

• 1 cup makhana (foxnuts or phool makhana)
• 2 cups organic milk or 500 ml organic milk
• 3-4 green cardamom, powdered
• 10-12 cashews or 10-12 almonds – blanched and sliced
• 1 tablespoon golden raisins
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 1 pinch saffron
• 2 to 3 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

Roasting the Makhanas and Cashews

1. Heat 2 to 3 tsp ghee in a pan.
2. Add the phool makhana and cashews.
3. On a low flame, roast 1 cup phool makhana and 10 to 12 cashews in ghee till the makhanas become crunchy and the cashews become golden. Stir often. Remove and keep aside.

Making the Kheer

1. Heat 2 cups milk/500 ml in a saucepan or a thick bottomed pan.
2. Stir at intervals so that the milk does not scorch from bottom. Let the milk come to a boil.
3. Whilst the milk is getting heated up, reserve 1/3 cup makhana and add the remaining in a grinder or blender jar. Add cardamom seeds from 4 cardamom pods along with a pinch of saffron strands. Grind to a fine powder.
4. When the milk comes to a boil, then add 3 tbsp sugar. Add the ground powdered makhana and the reserved 1/3 cup makhana. Stir very well.
5. Simmer till the makhane softens and the milk thickens a bit. About 9 to 10 minutes on a low to medium flame.
6. Scrape the evaporated milk solids from sides and add to the milk.
7. Lastly add the golden cashews and raisins. If using blanched and sliced almonds, then you can add at this step.
8. Stir and simmer the kheer for a minute.
9. Serve makhane ki kheer hot or warm or chilled.

CORN & SPINACH TIKKI

Every celebration needs a crispy delicious snack! This healthy & delicious corn and palak tikki will be your new favourite snack.

Ingredients

• 200 Gram Corn kernels
• 2-3 Cups Milk
• 2 tsp Lemon juice
• 1 tsp Chaat masala
• 800 Gram Spinach
• 1 Cup Potato, boiled
• 1 Cup Paneer, grated
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1 tsp Black pepper powder
• 1 tsp Garam masala powder
• 1 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 tsp Kasoori methi powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ginger, chopped
• 2 Nos Green chilli, chopped
• 1/2 Cup Green coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp Cornflour
• oil (to shallow fry)

Method

• Blanch spinach in water and chop.
• Now blanch corn in milk to soften it. Grind and keep aside for a while.
• Take the ground corn and mix in lemon juice along with chaat masala to balance the sweet flavour of corn.
• Add blanched palak, boiled potato and grated paneer to mix with corn.
• Add all the spices in the ingredients along with the salt, ginger, cornflour and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well prepare the tikki paste.
• Make round tikkis of the mixture and shallow fry in ghee or oil till crisp.
• Serve hot along with a coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

RAGI & JAGGERY ROTI

If you want to try something new and nutritious this lohri this sweet ragi roti is perfect for you.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fingermillet flour (ragi flour)
• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• a tiny pinch of cardamom powder
• oil to toast
• 1/3 cup jaggery
• 1/3 cup water

Method:

1. First take ragi flour in a mixing bowl and add jaggery syrup to it.
2. Add coconut and cardamom powder to it.
3. Mix well with a spoon, if its dry sprinkle little water and keep mixing with a laddle till it forms a smooth dough, it will be slightly sticky.
4. Mix well and form a dough. Make big lemon sized balls. Grease a glass plate and your hands with few drops of oil place the ball and flatten it. Start patting it with your fingers till its thin.
5. Heat a non-stick tawa and drizzle oil, carefully transfer the roti to the tawa. Toast the rotis on both the sides, drizzle oil. Flip over only when one side is cooked and cook other side. Serve hot!

Happy Lohri!