Makar Sankranti 2022: 10 Easy recipes to try at home this Sankranti

It is said that Makar Sankranti is the time when we start bidding goodbye to the bone-chilling winters. A day celebrated across India, this festival is the epitome of good food that warms your body. It is actually the first festival of the year, which is celebrated with much pomp and show that a Magh Mela is also organized that starts on this day, during which several devotees take a bath in the holy river - Ganga. Looking at it astrologically, Makar Sankranti, which usually falls on 14th January is a day when the Sun transits or moves into the sun sign - Capricorn (known as Makar in Sanskrit). It’s a popular Hindu festival, which is known as Bihu in East India, Uttarayan in Gujarat, and Pongal in Western & Southern India. On this day, the sky is adorned with colourful kites all over the country and several dishes are made like Til Ke Laddoo, Dahi Chooda, Khichdi, Undhiyu, Halwa and Kheer. Here are some of the easy recipes that one can make on this special occasion. (Images: istock)

One of the simplest recipes that one can make on this day is Khichdi. All you need to do is soak the khichdi rice with some split green moong dal or urad dal and is pressure cooked. To this khichdi, a chaunk made of hing, jeera, red chilli powder and turmeric is added along with some coriander leaves. Though people think of khichdi as the food of ill people, there is a different taste in this khichdi on this day.

Another Bihari delicacy, this sweet dish is made by mixing together just four ingredients - puffed rice, jaggery, peanuts and ghee.

This amazing sweet dish is made by mixing together sesame seeds, jaggery and peanuts and is a winter-special dish. Some people also add ginger powder to the laddoo to make it more flavourful. It also makes this laddoo healthier.

This pakora is made in Bihar mostly and is served with khichdi as a side dish. All you need to do for making this dish is cut thin slices of baingan or eggplant and dip in a batter made with gram flour, hing and powdered spices along with some water. These dipped eggplant slices are fried to perfection and enjoyed hot.

It’s a tempting sweet paratha that’s prepared by filling the plain roti with grated gud and a little black pepper and then pan-fried with a little ghee. This is the simplest sweet dish one can make in their homes on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. (Image courtesy: Instagram/@roshanara_food)

It’s a traditional Punjabi recipe, which is made by mixing boiled basmati rice with jaggery, cashews, peanuts, raisins, cloves and green cardamom. This sweet rice preparation is quite famous on the occasion of Lohri and is also called Meethe Chawal. (Image courtesy: Instagram/@earthy.flavors)

Another Bihari speciality, it is among the simplest recipes and is made by simply mixing the washed Chiwda/Chura (flattened rice) with dahi and jaggery. This traditional Bihari recipe can be made anytime and is a great breakfast option. (Image courtesy: Instagram/@itshealthyfreshtasty)

Originating in Maharashtra, Puran Poli is a delicious sweet dish made with a batter of mashed chana dal and roasted gram flour, which is flavoured with jaggery. This batter is cooked on a pan and is enjoyed with lots of ghee.

This Gujarati dish is literally a one-pot vegetable casserole dish and is traditionally cooked in earthen pots, which are sealed and placed upside down in a fire pit dug in the ground. Ideally, this dish is slow-cooked with most of the root vegetables like sweet potato, yam, baby potatoes, brinjals, unripe banana, ivy gourds and what not! The reason it is cooked upside down led to its name is Surti Undhiyu, as ‘Undhu’ means ‘upside down’ in Gujarati.