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India has many harvest festivals that are celebrated throughout the country at different points in time and in different states. Lohri is one such popular harvest festival. Also known as Lal Loi, this folk festival is primarily celebrated in north India and is a Punjabi festival. It is a common belief that this festival marks the end of the winter solstice. Basically, Lohri marks the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of longer days. Lohri is observed one night before Maghi, also known as Makar Sankranti, and typically falls on the same date every year, which is the 13th of January.
In Punjab, Jammu, and Himachal Pradesh, Lori is an official holiday. While people in Delhi and Haryana celebrate Lohri, it is not an official holiday. Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Muslims celebrate this festival. Lohri has been referred to by Wade, a European visitor to Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s court in Lahore in 1832. Another account from 1844 notes that the making of a bonfire at night in the royal court marks the beginning of the celebration of Lohri. After weeks of cropping work in the Rabi season, Hindus and Sikhs would light bonfires in their yards, socialize around the fire, and sing and dance together, marking the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of longer days. Lohri is linked to the tale of Dulla Bhatti. Many songs sung during Lohri have the legend of Dulla Bhatti as a central theme. Dulla Bhatti’s father, a zamindar (land owner) during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, is regarded as a hero in Punjabi folklore as he rescued Punjabi girls from being sold as slaves in middle-eastern slave markets. As a part of the celebrations, children go from house to house singing songs, including the name "Dulla Bhatti." While one person sings the song, the others end each line of the song with a "Ho" in unison. When the singing troupe of children has finished, the adults of the house give them snacks and money. Singing and dancing are integral parts of Lohri. People dance Bhangra and Gidda to the beat of a Dhol (a traditional drum-like instrument) while wearing brightly colored clothes. In houses that have experienced a marriage and/or a childbirth, the celebrations happen with more excitement.
Let us look at some dishes that are very popular during Lohri.
1. Sarson ka saag: In the mustard growing season, the green fields of Punjab or North India are covered with yellow mustard flowers. Green mustard leaves are used like spinach and are turned into a delicious green gravy, which is also made with mustard seeds. Some spinach or palak may also be added for color and thickness, but this would alter the taste. This dish is cooked with spices and enhanced with an oil seasoning. The popular dish originated in the Punjab region of India and is popular all over North India. It is served at many dhabas or trucker's restaurants. This dish is generally served with a dollop of unsalted white butter or ghee, also known as clarified butter. It is traditionally eaten with a Makki ki roti and makes for a heavy breakfast and/or lunch.
2. Makki ki roti: Traditionally served with sarson ka saag in the winter, this flat unleavened bread made from corn meal or maize flour is popular in northern and western India. Maize was a "new world" crop introduced to India by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. When the British annexed Punjab in the 1850s, they brought maize with them. While it is a staple of Punjabi cuisine and is served with sarson ka saag, it is also eaten with lentils, curries, pickles, jaggery, butter, and ghee in other states.
3. Gur ki gajak—Lohri is unfathomable without Gur ki gajak. Gajak is a crispy and textured dessert that originated in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, and is made of sesame seeds, peanuts, and jaggery.In the Mughal era, Hindu kings used jaggery, sesame seeds, and lentils as a rich source of nutrition for their soldiers and horses. Owing to its nutritional value, even regular folks started using the same ingredients later. The softness or hardness of the dessert is dependent on the extent to which the jaggery is cooked. Dry fruits like almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pistachios have also become integral to this dessert dish.
4. Dahi bhalla: The dish known as dahibhalla originated in the Indian state of Karnataka, where it is called mosaru vade. The recipe is referred to as "Kshiravata" in a twelfth-century Sanskrit encyclopedia named Manasollasa that was compiled by King Someshvara III, who ruled from what’s today called Karnataka. This dish is also mentioned in literature dating back to 500 B.C. While Dahi Bhalle is prepared for Lohri, it is also a staple of another major Indian festival, namely Holi, the festival of colors.
5. Halva, also known as gajar ka halwa or gajrela, is a Middle Eastern confectionery that first appears in the seventh century as mashed dates mixed with milk. In the Kitab al Tabikh, a thirteenth-century Arabic book, many Persian halva dish recipes are referenced. Gajar ka halwa translates to "carrot pudding" and is believed to have been accidentally cooked in the year 1526 when some carrots brought by some merchants in the Mughal era were cooked in milk, sugar, and khoya (dried and thickened whole milk). A sweet delicacy that is cooked on special occasions, it pleases the palate and is savored all over India today, although it is a staple during Lohri.
