Pinni

Its Lohri today! Lohri is an important festival of Punjab and is celebrated with utmost fun and fervor. It is popularly believed that Lohri marks the end of the bitter cold but traditionally it is associated with harvest of Rabi crops. It is celebrated on the 13th Jan every year and marks the last day of Paush and beginning of Magh(both Indian calendar months)  when the sun changes its course.
Like any other festivals, Lohri is associated with yummy food esp the winter must Sarson da saag and Makai di roti. Along with it people relish on Pinni, ganne di kheer, makhane di kheer. In the evening, bonfires are lit and everyone sits around spending lovely time singing, dancing, talking and eating Gajak, rewadi, chikki, moongphuli, popcorn etc
I remember when we were small, my Grandmother, ,my Aunt and my Mom would be busy throughout the day making delicious things for the evening bonfire. Amongst all the things I fondly remember my love for the kurmura ladoo which is made with puffed rice and jaggery.

While vacationing in Punjab recently, we had a relative who gave us heaps of homemade khoya. My elder Masi was quick to use it into some seriously out-of-the-world delicious Pinni. I was so amazed at the purity and simplicity of the recipe. Just mixing of few basic ingredients and you have such a yummy  traditional ladoo.

Try this super easy and super yummy Pinni from Punjab.

Recipe source : My Masi

Ingredients : 

• 3 cups good quality khoya/mawa/milk solids
• 1 cup whole wheat flour/atta
• 1/2 cup ghee/clarified butter
• 3/4- 1 cup desi khand/shakar bura/powdered sugar (depending on your taste)

Procedure : 

Take ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel and warm it. 

Add atta to the ghee and on a medium flame cook it. till it slightly changes colour.

Add sugar to it and mix well. 

Now add khoya and cook till everything comes together and mixes well.

Let it cool a little and then make balls out of it. Put a halved cashew on top or just let it be.

Note :

• Use very good quality of khoya for Pinni. I used homemade khoya which I received from a relative on my trip to Punjab. 
• Desi Khand or Shakar Bura is powdered sugar made of jaggery. It is healthier than using refined sugar. You can replace it with easily available powdered sugar. 
• Adding cashew or almond or any other dry fruit is optional. You may even add chopped dry fruits in the mixture and then make Pinni out of it. 

Sending  this recipe to Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event 

Happy Lohri
Amrita

Nolen Gurer Til Gajak

Getting back to a normal routine after an amazing and relaxed holiday is perhaps one of the most difficult things to do. I have been back from a splendid time spent in Allahabad for almost a week now and am struggling to find  enthusiasm to click and share some food on the blog. I am literally rubbing my cold fingers to warm them up and start the new year with a bang. 

Well, a bang it was, as Vaanya started Montessori last week and I as a typical Indian mother had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat to see my little pumpkin being taken away to her class. She cried most naturally being taken away from the warmth and protection that she has known since birth but I cried even more and tried my best to hide my tears from other parents who perhaps have gone through the very same thing. 

Vaanya is still taking time to adjust and will hopefully very soon love the idea of going to a place called school, a place to make new friends, learn new exciting facts of life and thus enter the inevitable social world. 

Amongst all the craziness in our world nowadays, I just realized that it time of the year to feel cozy warming yourself against the heat of the bonfire, munch on loads of gajaks, rewadis and popcorns and sing merry songs. It is Lohri time. 

Lohri is celebrated to denote the last of the cruel coldest days in North India. It is celebrated in lieu of the harvesting of Rabi crops. All over India, this time of the year is festival time which is known by different names. For Sikhs it is Lohri while for Hindus it is Makar Sankranti just like it is Pongal down South and Bihu in Assam. 
When Kolkata Food Blogger's got together to celebrate Poush Sankranti by sharing sweet delicacies, I was in pretty much a fix as I have never tried the regional sweets devoured at this time of the year. Since the same is celebrated as Lohri by us, I decide to put my hands on this extremely easy and quick recipe called Til Gajak. To add some Bengali flavour to this Punjabi sweet, I made one batch with Nolen gur. For the other batch I used normal jaggery. Both came out wonderful but the Nolen gur ones had a lovely deep colour and looked amazing with the white sesame seeds doing a peek-a-boo. The normal jaggery ones hid the sesame seeds in its own colour and so needed some extra sprinkling on top while rolling thin. 
Both ways it is the easiest way to spend a wonderful cozy time with family doing chit chat, warming yourself against the fire and munching endlessly on goodies  enjoying the last day of the cold winters.

Ingredients : Serves 4-5

• 1/3 cup grated Nolen gur/normal jaggery (I made 2 batches with both)
• 3 tbsp white sesame seeds

Procedure : 

Take a pan and dry roast the sesame seeds on medium heat till they begin to change colour.

Transfer to a plate and allow to cool.

Heat the pan and add Nolen gur/normal jaggery. Stir continuously till it dissolves.

Remove from heat and add the roasted sesame seeds.

Quickly spread the mixture on an oiled surface like your kitchen counter or a plate. 

Allow to cool for 5-10 secs and then put a sheet of plastic on top and roll with a rolling pin as thin as you want. (For the normal jaggery batch I had to sprinkle some extra sesame seeds on top as they hid in the colour of the jaggery, but this is completely optional)

Trim the edges with a sharp knife and make desired shapes out of it. I made rectangles. 

Gajak with Nolen gur

Gajak with normal gur/jaggery

Notes : 

• You can make rewadis out of the same by simply rolling the gur-sesame seeds mixture into round or flattened balls. Be careful as the mixture can be very hot for your fingers.
• Try your hands on Moongfali gajak by substituting sesame seeds for halved moongfali/groundnuts. 
• You can make the same with sugar in which case you will get white gajaks. 

Check out here to see some amazing sweets served for the festivity by my friends at Kolkata Food Bloggers.

Happy Lohri

Amrita