Uttarayan, also known as Makar Sankranti, is a Hindu festival observed in Gujarat and other parts of India. It falls on January 14th every year, making the conversion of the sun into the Capricorn zodiac sign. People fly colorful kites, sing songs, and indulge in traditional sweets like til ladoo and undhiyu. Below are Gujarati delicacies for Uttarayan you can make at home.
1.Undhiyu
Heat oil in a kadhai, add muthia and fry until golden brown. Remove muthia from the kadhai and set aside. In the same kadhai, add chopped onions and sauté until translucent. Add crushed ginger-garlic and green chilies, and fry for 2 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and salt. Prepare until the tomatoes become gooey. Add sweet potato, yam, and green peas. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Add eggplant, surti papdi (flat beans), and cook for another 5 minutes. Now, add the fried muthia on top of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves, grated coconut, and sugar. Cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring at intervals, until all the vegetables are edible and cooked through. Serve hot with puris or rotis.
2.Fafda
To make fafda, start by combining gram flour, salt, turmeric powder, and ajwain in a bowl. Add water little by little to make a sticky dough. Heat oil in a deep-frying pan on medium hit. Take a small dough ball and roll it out into a thin rectangular shape on a greased surface. Gently transfer the rolled dough into the oil and fry until yellow and crunchy on both sides, flipping once. Repeat with the remaining dough.
3.Khandvi
Heat some oil in a pan. Add hing and mustard seeds. Let them splutter. In a bowl, mix besan and buttermilk until smooth. Add turmeric, ginger, and salt. Pour this mixture into the pan. Cook on low heat, stirring continuously. The mixture will thicken. Spread it on a greased surface with a spatula. Let it cool. Cut into strips and roll them tight. Heat oil again and add sesame seeds, curry leaves, and green chilies. Pour this tempering over the rolls. Garnish with coriander.
4.Patra
Wash Colocasia leaves properly and dry them. Mix gram flour, spices, and tamarind pulp to make a thick paste. Spread paste on each leaf and stack them on top of each other. Roll the leaves tightly into a cylinder shape. Steam the rolled leaves for 20-30 minutes until firm. Let the steamed rolls cool down completely, then cut them into thick slices. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, and asafoetida. Fry the slices in the pan until they are golden brown and crispy on both sides. Serve hot with green chutney or ketchup.
5.Dhebra
Take some wheat flour in a bowl. Mix salt, turmeric powder, and red chili powder with it. Mix everything well. Now add finely chopped fenugreek leaves and grated jaggery. Mix again. Gradually add water and kneed it into a stiff dough. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Branch the dough into mini balls and roll them into puri-sized discs. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the dhebras on medium flame until they turn golden brown and crisp on both sides. Serve dhebra hot with green chutney or curd.
6.Handvo
Soak rice and dal for 6 hours, then grind into a smooth paste. Let the batter ferment for a couple of hours. Add grated vegetables like carrots, cabbage, and spinach to the batter. Take a pan, heat oil in it, and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and sesame seeds. Pour it into the batter and combine. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, and hing for flavor. Add salt and baking soda just before cooking. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Oil a baking dish and pour the batter into it. Sprinkle more sesame seeds on top for crunch. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let it cool slightly before cutting into squares.
7.Muthiya
To start, mix besan, wheat flour, and sooji in a bowl. Add chopped methi leaves, grated carrots, and cabbage. Add yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, and green chili paste. Sprinkle turmeric, cumin powder, and salt. Pour a bit of oil and mix everything well. Add water bit by bit and knead into a soft dough. Grease your hands with oil and take a small portion of the dough. Shape it into log-like forms, pressing gently with your palms. In a steamer, boil water and place the muthiya logs on a greased tray. Steam for 20-25 minutes or until cooked. Let the muthiyas cool, and then cut them into round slices. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, and curry leaves. When they splutter, add the sliced muthiyas. Saute them on medium flame till they are crispy and golden brown. Serve the muthiyas with green chutney or yogurt.
8.Lilva Kachori
Heat a pan and add oil. Wait till it is hot. Add hing and jeera. Fry briefly then add turmeric, red chilli powder, and dhaniya powder. Saute till fragrant. Now, add lilva and mix well. Cook for some time till the lilva is tender. Remove from heat and let it cool down. Now, take wheat flour and add salt. Mix and knead into a dough. Divide the dough into small balls. Roll out each ball. Put a spoonful of the lilva mixture in the center. Nip the edges together to bolt and shape into a ball again. Squash the ball to flatten it. Heat oil in a kadhai for frying. Fry the kachoris till yellow and crunchy.
9.Ghughra
First, take a dough and roll it into a thin chapati. Cut round shapes with a cutter and keep them aside. Take a pan and add coconut, sugar, and nuts. Mix well and place a small amount of the filling in the center of each chapati circle. Fold them over to create a half circle, and seal the edges. Press gently with a fork to make a pattern on the edges. Heat oil and fry the ghugra on medium heat until golden brown and crispy.
10.Puri Shaak
Start by heating oil in a pan. Add some cumin seeds and let them splutter. Then, add chopped onions, garlic, and ginger. Fry till they turn golden brown. Next, put in some chopped tomatoes and green chili. Cook for about five minutes till tomatoes turn mushy. Now add turmeric powder, coriander powder, and a pinch of asafoetida. Stir well to mix the spices. Pour in a cup of water and let it simmer for ten minutes. Add salt to taste. Meanwhile, prepare your puris by rolling out small dough balls and frying them till golden brown and puffy. Serve hot with the shaak, garnished with fresh coriander leaves.
11.Dal Dhokli
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and hing. Add chopped onions and sauté till golden brown. Stir in diced tomatoes, green chilies, and ginger-garlic paste. Cook till tomatoes are soft. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt. Add pre-cooked tuvar dal and water. Bring to a boil. In a bowl, mix whole wheat flour, turmeric, salt, and a pinch of hing. Knead into a stiff dough with water. Roll out the dough thinly and cut into small squares. Drop these squares into the boiling dal mixture. Cook until the dhokli squares are cooked and the dal has thinned. Finally, prepare a tempering by heating ghee in a small pan. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chilies, and curry leaves. Pour this tempering over the dal dhokli. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
12.Sukhdi
Heat ghee and add some wheat flour. Roast it until it turns golden brown. Then, add the jaggery and mix well until it melts and combines with the flour. Add some cardamom powered for flavor. Once everything is mixed, pour the mixture into a greased thali or plate and press it down evenly with a spatula. Let it cool down completely and then cut the sukhdi into square or diamond shapes.
13.Kesar Peda
Start by heating a pan on a low flame. Add ghee and grate khoya in it. Stir continuously until khoya melts and begins to thicken. Add condensed milk, sugar, and crushed saffron strands. Continue to cook, mixing now and then, until the mixture thickens. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Once the mixture is cool, take small portions and roll into smooth balls. Flatten them slightly to give them a peda shape. Press a pista or almond on top of each peda for garnishing. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
14.Farsi Puri
To make this, first knead the dough using all-purposes flour, semolina, salt, and a pinch of baking soda. Rest the dough for 30 minutes, then divide it into small balls and roll out each one into a thin roti. Heat oil in a pan and fry the puris until golden brown and puffy. Serve hot or at room temperature with pickle or chutney.
15.Cholafali
Take besan and add it to a bowl. Mix it with wear to form a thick batter, then add a pinch of hing and salt for flavor. Heat oil in a kadhai and pour the batter through a mold with holes, letting it fry until golden. Remove from oil and let it cool. Heat some oil and add mustard seeds, hing, and curry lease. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Then add boiled potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. Once the water evaporates, add lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.
16.Bajra Rotla
Start by taking a cup of bajra flour in a bowl and adding some salt to it. Pour water to form a dough, kneading it well. Make small dough balls and roll them out into round rotis using a rolling pin and some dry flour for dusting. Heat a tava and place the rolled roti on it. Let it cook for a few minutes on one side, then flip it over and cook the other side. Apply ghee or oil and cook till they turn golden brown and crisp.
17.Methi Na Gota
Take some methi leaves and chop them finely. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and hing. Let them splutter. Add the chopped methi and sauté till they wilt. In a bowl, mix wheat flour, besan, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt. Add the sautéd methi to the flour mixture. Knead the dough with water till it is soft and pliable. Split the dough into small balls and flatten them slightly. Heat oil in a kadai and fry the methi gotis until golden brown and crisp.
18.Gathiya
Heat oil in a pan, then mix besan flour, ajwan seeds, hing, salt, and water to form a dough. Fill the dough into a gathiya maker and press out strips of dough into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Repeat with remaining dough. Serve with tea or as a snack on their own.
19.Panki
Rinse the rice and keep it in water overnight. In the morning, drain the rice and blend it with yogurt, green chilies, ginger paste, and salt to taste. The batter should be thin. Heat a tawa or griddle and place a banana leaf on it. Expand a thin layer of the rice batter on the leaf and fold the leave to enclose the batter. Cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the batter cooks and the leaf has left its flavor on the Panki. Serve hot with chutney or pickle.
20.Kansar
Heat a large pan on low heat. Add semolina and ghee, and sauté until it turns light brown. In another pot, bring water to a boiling. Gradually add the hot water to the roasted semolina, stirring continuously to prevent lumps. Cook till the semolina absorbs the water and becomes smooth. Then, add sugar and cardamon powder to the mixture and mix well until the sugar dissolves completely. Add sliced almond and pistachio nuts for extra flavor. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow kansar to cool slightly before serving. Garnish with more nuts and a sprinkle of saffron, if desired.
