About Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti is the embarking of a New Year as per the Hindu calendar. Across different states of India, the festival is celebrated as – Pongal, Lohri, Bihu, and so on. Like any other Indian festival, Makar Sankranti also has a lot of food rituals around it. There is a variety of traditional food items and dishes enjoyed only on the day of Makar Sankranti. A few popular ones are:
Til Gud Ladoo Puran Poli Undhiyu Sweet Pongal Peanut Chikki Meethe Chawal Urad Dal Khichdi Sarson Ka Saag Chana Dal Pulao Murmura Ladoo
In Kumaoni culture or the region of Uttarakhand, we celebrate the festival of Makar Sankranti with a family meal of urad dal khichdi with loads of ghee, Kumaoni vada, Pahadi raita, and Ghughute (Kumaoni sweets). The khichdi eating ritual on Makar Sankranti day is one of my favorite food memories of childhood. Every now and then I try to relive this memory by making dal khichdi to celebrate the festival of Makar Sankranti.
The Significance of Urad Dal
The split urad dal (chilka urad dal) has some sort of divine connection with the festival of Makar Sankranti. In many regions, it is a must, to consume urad dal on the day of Makar Sankranti. Many people donate packets of uncooked black urad dal and rice to homeless people or those in need. A lot of temples offer urad dal khichdi as parasd (sacred offering) on the day of Sankranti. And not to forget dollops of ghee with urad dal khichdi for the added flavor and to make it easily digestible. Those of you complaining about the busy schedule I must tell you this dal khichdi is done in a pressure cooker and takes less than 30 minutes to get ready. Though I know my grandmother’s soul won’t rest in peace seeing me cooking her favorite khichdi in a pressure cooker. But like you, I too have busy weekdays and demanding weekends. So I did cheat a little bit and adapted the quick route to making urad dal khichdi. You can make it in an instant pot or electric pressure cooker as well like a regular dal khichdi.
Ingredients Required
Urad Dal: split black gram or chilka urad dal is the key ingredient of this khichdi recipe. Rice: short to medium-grain white rice. I do not prefer using basmati rice for making khichdi. Ghee: there is no substitute for ghee in this recipe. Unsalted butter can do the job but the taste is not so delicious. Whole Spices: cloves, cinnamon, black cardamom, dry red chilies Tempering: cumin seeds, ginger, asafoetida, onion Seasoning: turmeric, red chili powder, salt, garam masala
Watch Urad Dal Khichdi Video
Serving Suggestion
There is a food saying prevalent in India, ‘Khichdi ke chaar yaar – dahi, mooli, ghee, achaar.‘ It translates as khichdi has four friends – curd, radish, ghee, and pickle, without these a bowl of khichdi is not complete. Hence, you can serve urad dal khichdi with: Curd or Raita Radish Salad Fried or Roasted Papad Mango or Green Chilli Pickle
More Urad Dal Recipes
Punjabi Sookhi Urad Dal Punjabi Dahi Bhalla Shahi Urad Dal Dal Makhani Medu Vada Subscribe to our weekly newsletter or follow us on Youtube for video recipes.
