The Punjabi festival Lohri is all about families and friends sitting together around the sacred fire and marking the end of cold winter nights. Praying for the mist to clear and sunny days to come forth to help their crops, Lohri is celebrated every year on the 13th of January with family traditions and regional cuisine.
While the Punjabi classic makki ki roti with sarson ka saag is a staple, families have now incorporated munchies like popcorn, peanuts, rewari, etc, as a part of their Lohri thali. However, if you want to know about the traditional North Indian dishes that are perfect for celebrating Lohri, here’s everything from til ke laddu to the warm pinnis.
Sarson Ka Saag And Makki Ki Roti
One of the most popularly made Punjabi staples on Lohri is makki ki roti and sarson ka saag. Made with mustard greens, known for their slightly bitter and pungent taste, it is paired with makki ki roti topped with white butter. Garnished with a generous amount of ghee on top and paired with gud (jaggery), sarson da saag is a traditional Punjabi dish that you cannot miss out on.
Til Ke Laddu
Til ke laddu is another traditional sweet that is commonly made in North Indian households for Lohri. You can make the staple at home by roasting sesame seeds. Once golden brown, you can grind them into a coarse powder. Next, mix in jaggery (gud) and cook till you get a consistent mixture. Roll into balls and enjoy them next to the bonfire.
Pindi Chole
Originating from Punjab, Pindi Chole is a spicy and tangy chickpea curry that’s perfect for the festival. To make it at home, you can prepare a masala with chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, and spices like cumin seeds, coriander powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder, and garam masala. Once the masala is fragrant, you can add overnight soaked chickpeas and let it simmer till the chole absorbs all the flavours.
Gajak
Another ‘something sweet’ on a Lohri thali is gajak. The winter-special brittle sweet is usually served in two major types. One is the til vali gajak and the other is made with gud and peanuts. You can keep both variants to celebrate Lohri.
Pinni
All you need to make the warm winter dessert pinni is wheat flour, ghee, sugar, dry fruits and nuts, and jaggery powder. Just add sugar, dry fruits, nuts, and jaggery into an electronic mixer and grind it to make a powder. Next, take a pot and add some ghee. Introduce the powder you just made and cook it until it turns golden. Simultaneously, add wheat flour and ghee and cook until you get a uniform mixture. Then, add both the contents together, mix well, shape the mixture into balls, and add it to your Lohri thali.