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Every year Makar Sankranti brings a season of cooking, experimenting and preparing an array of traditional flavours for Indian chefs across the country. While a few stick to recreating the time-tested taste of a few iconic dishes from their native places, others try to mimic the flavours of some festive grubs from the remotest parts of the country and are less known. Overall, it turns into a time for them to wear creative hats (literally) and enliven the celebratory cheer for the epicureans and revellers.
Chef Solomon, Dakshin, Welcomhotel Sheraton New Delhi, heads the kitchen operations at this star property and is an expert in South Indian cuisine. He hails from Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu and chooses to share a signature dish of the Pongal festival, as Makar Sankranti is celebrated in this state.
Sakkarai Pongal
The decadent sweet pongal, Image Source: Dakshin, Welcomhotel
Ingredients
- ½ cup / 100 gm rice
- ½ cup / 100 gm moong dal
- 2 ½ cups / 600 ml water
- 1 cup / 200 gms grated jaggery
- 8 no – Green cardamom, crushed
- 4 Tbs / 60 gm ghee
- 2 Tbs / 30 gm raisin
- 2 Tbs / 30 gm cashew nut
Method
- Wash the rice and dal separately and keep them aside.
- In a vessel, bring to boil 480 ml / 2 cups of water. Add washed moong dal, stirring occasionally cook, till half done.
- Add the washed rice, mix well, and cook till done on low heat.
- Melt jaggery in a separate cooking pot in 120 ml of water and strain.
- Add the melted and strained jaggery to the cooked rice and dal mixture. Mix well.
- In a pan, heat ghee, keeping the flame low, add the cashew nuts, and fry for a few minutes.
- Toss in the cardamom and sultanas.
- Stir it till golden and add to the rice-dal mixture. Mix well.
Offer it as a naivedyam to God and share it with family and friends.
Chef Shankar Tajne, Executive Sous Chef, heads the kitchen operation at Bougainvillea, Hotel Centre Point, Nagpur. He chose to share a south Indian snack with a tangy chutney that resonates with this festival's flavours.
Pongal Arancini with Tomato Pachdi
Image Source: Bougainvillea, Hotel Centre Point, Nagpur
Ingredients
- Rice 100 gm
- Yellow moong dal 20 gm
- Ghee 20gm
- Black pepper whole 5gm
- Cashew broken 10gm
- Jeera whole 3gm
- Chopped green chilli 5gm
- Curry leaves 3gm
- Ginger chopped 3gm
- Turmeric powder 1gm
- Salt to taste
- Breadcrumb for coating
- Oil (for frying) 500ml
For Tomato Pachadi
- Tomato 50gm
- Oil 20 ml
- Whole jeera 3gm
- Whole coriander 3gm
- Chopped garlic 3gm
- Red chilli whole 2gm
- Green chopped chilli 3gm
- Curry leaves 2gm
- Salt to taste
- Turmeric 1gm
- Coriander powder 1gm
- Kashmiri chilli powder 1gm
- Jeera powder 1gm
For Topping
- Oil 2ml
- Mustard seed 2gm
- Jeera whole 1gm
- Red chilli whole 1gm
- Curry leaves 1gm
Method
- Soak rice and dal for about half an hour. Now cook rice and dal together till cooked.
- Heat ghee in a saucepan, then add jeera black pepper and cashew nuts sauté it till golden.
- Add green chilli, curry leaves, turmeric powder, chopped ginger, and salt and cook it for 2 min.
- Now add dal & rice mix into the sauteed masala, mix it well, and cook for 5-6 min.
- All the mixture to cool down. Make small rice dal balls and coat them with bread crumbs. Now heat oil and deep fry rice dal balls for 2min.
- For tomato pachadi, heat oil, add jeera, garlic, coriander, tomato, red chilli, turmeric, green chilli, red chilli powder, curry leaves, coriander powder, jeera powder, salt and stir well.
- Now grind it in a mixer and make puree as per the recipe.
- For the topping, saute mustard seeds, jeera, chilli, and curry leaves in oil till golden colour and cool it.
Serve hot pongal arancini with tomato pachadi!
Jaffar Ali, Executive Chef, The Gateway Hotel IT Expressway Chennai, is a seasoned culinary expert with international exposure and experience. With a demonstrated profile of working in the elite, luxurious hospitality industry, Chef Ali believes the real joy lies in simple things in life, including food. He shares an easy-to-cook recipe for Makar Sankranti.
Little Millet Samai
Little millet samai, Image Source: The Gateway Hotel IT Expressway Chennai
Ingredients
- Little millet 150 gm
- Moong dal 30 gm
- Peppercorn whole 5 gm
- Whole jeera 5 gm
- Olive oil (or any other oil) 25 ml
- Ginger 10 gm
- Curry leaf 5 gm
- Salt 15 gm
- Water 500 ml
Method
- Wash the little millet and dal, add 500 ml of water and boil it separately.
- Prepare a tempering with whole jeera, peppercorn, curry leaf and ginger.
- Add the millet and dal to this mixture and cook well. Check the seasoning.
Garnish with curry leaves and serve!
