This Sankranti we bring you festive specials from the kitchens of India

Makar Sankranti is synonymous with food and rightly so. With every region, community and state having its own special menu, the harvest festival celebrates the bounty of nature and offers gratitude for the plentiful crops. It is a great time to cook for your friends and family. We bring to you traditional recipes from the Eastern and Western parts of India that you can cook this Sankranti.

Patishapta

A traditional Bengali Sankranti dish, patishapta is made with all winter special ingredients: freshly harvested rice, date palm jaggery and coconut. It can be served on its own or with a rich payesh, the Bengali version of kheer, also made with rice and date palm jaggery (nolen gur). Well-known food blogger duo Anindya Basu and Madhushree Basu Roy share their family special recipe of patishapta with our readers.

Ingredients

For the filling

2 cups freshly grated coconut
3/4 cups grated jaggery
2 tbsp milk powder
1 tbsp ghee

For the batter

1 cup flour
1/2 cup semolina
1/4 cup rice flour
2 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup nolen gur (liquid date palm jaggery)
1-2 cups milk

Other ingredients

3 tbsp ghee
3 tbsp nolen gur for garnish or drizzling from top

Instructions

For making the stuffing

1. In a heavy bottomed frying pan add the ghee and add the grated coconut. After frying for a minute on medium to low flame, add the jaggery.

2. Keep stirring for about 6 minutes until the jaggery melts and you get a good mix. Add the milk powder.

3. Stir for another minute and turn off the flame. Keep it aside to cool.

4. Once cooled, shape the stuffing in thin cylinder with moist hands. Keep aside.

For making the batter

1. In a mixing bowl, add the flour, semolina and the rice flour.
2. Make a well in the centre to add ghee and jaggery.
3. Slowly add milk while stirring the mix to make a smooth batter.
4. The batter should coat the back of your spoon.
5. Keep aside.

For making the patishapta

1. Take a shallow pan and grease it with ghee.
2. When it is hot, take a small ladle of the batter and pour it in the centre.
3. Using the back of your ladle spread the batter into a 3 inches circle.
4. Cover for a minute on low flame for the batter to set.
5. When the batter has set, add one of the coconut cylinders at one end.
6. Now, roll it with your hand to seal the ends. Remove from flame.
7. Repeat the process with the entire batter.
8. Serve it with a drizzle of nolen gur.

Puran Poli

Puran poli is a Maharashtrian dish specially made during Makar Sankranti. There are variants of the same dish across many south Indian states also made at this time. It is known as Boli/Poli in Tamil Nadu and Holige in Karnataka. A sweet flatbread stuffed with a lentil filling made with split Bengal gram and jaggery, it is loved and cherished by all. Food blogger Swati Udayraj shares her family recipe of the festive puran poli.

The following ingredients make eight medium-sized Puran poli.

Ingredients

For the outer covering – Poli

1 ½ cups of wheat flour or atta
½ cup all-purpose flour or maida
5 tablespoons ghee
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Water as required to knead
Ghee as required for cooking puran poli

For the sweet lentil filling – Puran

1 cup chana dal
1 cup jaggery (powdered)
3 teaspoon ghee
1 teaspoon roasted fennel powder
½ teaspoon dry ginger powder
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder

Instructions

For making the dough

1. Add whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, turmeric powder, and ghee in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add water little by little and knead it into soft and smooth dough.
3. Cover and keep it aside for an hour.

For making the sweet lentil filling

1. Soak chana dal for an hour, rinse well and pressure cook with 3 cups of water for 6 whistles. Strain the cooked dal and keep it aside.
2. In a mixer blend the cooked chana dal into a smooth paste.
3. Heat ghee in a pan and add ground spices; fry on low flame for 15 seconds.
4. Add the chana dal paste and jaggery and cook on a low flame till it becomes dry.
5. Switch off the flame and let it cool.

Making Puran poli

1. Take the dough in the size of a lemon. Roll it into a small circle using your fingers and some ghee.
2. Place a portion of the puran in the center and bring the edges together. Join and pinch off excess dough.
3. Gently press it using your palm so that the mixture inside spreads evenly. Apply little ghee and roll it into a circle. Be careful so that the sweet mixture does not come out.
4. Heat an iron tawa and place the rolled puran poli on it. Cook both sides evenly till golden brown spots appear.
5. Add some ghee and cook both sides till it is well cooked. It should turn golden brown.
6. The puran polis should ideally puff up if properly cooked. Keep adjusting the flame based on the hotness of the tawa so that the puran poli does not burn.
7. Serve the puran poli hot with some kesar milk or ghee.