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Makar Sankranti Special
Makar Sankantri is celebrated all over India in various forms (on or about 14th January) like, Lohri In Punjab, Pongal in South India, and Khichdi in North India. Makar Sankranti marks the transition of Sun into Makar rashi (Capricorn). This is also one of the harvest festivals. Many people also go for bathing in Holy river Ganga.
In North India, on this auspicious day, it is considered holy to donate a mix of Lentils (split moong dal) and rice called as Khichdi, desserts made with white and black sesame, ghee, jaggery etc. In North India the festival itself is known as Khichdi. There is also a tradition to donate/exchange 14 things by married women. It could be anything, like clothes, food, cosmetics, utensils or whatever comes in your budget.
While most of the other Indian festivals are based on lunar calender, this festival seems to be an exception - it is usual to celebrate Sankranti on 14 January.
As is usually the case, for this festival also, the food is based on the weather. Sankranti falls in the Hindi month Magh (माघ) , which is the coldest time of the year. The food/ grains used for this festival are warm in tendency like, sesame, black til, jaggery, flax seed, etc. Try out some of these traditional, festive, dishes.
Read more about Makar Sankranti
Happy Makar Sankranti,
Shuchi
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Til ki Barfi/ Sesame Squares
Sesame seeds are extremely nutritious. Sesame seeds come in white, black or light brown varieties and are rich in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and a variety of vitamins. Sesame is especially used in winter festivals like Makar Sankranti. Today we are making delicious sesame and jaggery squares or sesame barfi. I have also used pistachio to garnish the barfi so it looks beautiful and attracts kids also. ....read more...
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Tilkut
Til kuta means pound/grounded sesame . This is a very traditional dessert and is especially made for festivals like Sakat Chauth and Sankranti. Sesame is very rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, and also in phosphorus.Til kuta is very easy to make and it takes very little time to make it...
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Til Laddoo (Sesame Balls)
This is a very traditional dessert and is especially made for festivals like Sakat Chauth and Sankranti. Sesame is very rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, and also in phosphorus. I have used jaggery which is unrefined whole cane sugar...
Sweets | Dessert | Mithai | Mishti
The most traditional and delicious Indian Mithai made with mainly wheat flour, ghee (clarified butter) and sugar without using any artificial ingredients. Try making Atte ke Laddu, Shakarpare, Aate ka halwa, and Choorma!
Sesame
Sesame seeds are extremely nutritious. Sesame seeds come in white, black or light brown varieties. Black sesame seeds are considered as more nutritious, but the white variety is more popular. Unhulled (with outer skin) seeds are more nutritious than the hulled seeds since they can have upto two times calcium than that in the hulled seeds. Sesame seeds are rich in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and a variety of vitamins. The picture shows unhulled white sesame.
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Patra
Patra, also known as pataude (पतौड़े) in some regions of India, is a very popular steam cooked snack. This dish is made with Colocasia leaves (in Hindi the leaves are known as arbi ke patte). Patra is a low-calorie delicacy - it is steam cooked and then sautéed. Patras are usually served as appetizers. I am really thankful to my mother in law who shared this recipe and taught me how to make it and made it for us when we were visiting India....read more...
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ChezShuchi Profiled in different sites!
ChezShuchi website and Shuchi have been profiled in a variety of online magazines, newspapers, websites, forums, and social media platforms. You can read a variety of articles on Ayurveda, healthy living, healthy eating habits, gardening, spices and many more topics.read more...
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Bajre ka Cheela
Bajra, also known as pearl millet, is rich in carbohydrates and protein. It also has minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. Cheela is a Hindi word for fine pan cakes made with lentil paste or flours. This dish can be served for the breakfast or even as a brunch. I have added some vegetables in this preparation to make it healthier and tastier. This is a vaishnav and vegan dish. Try out this easy to make recipe... read more...
Some popular and useful articles on Chezshuchi
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Blender and Mixer for Indian Cooking in USA
Many of my readers have trouble finding the best blender or mixer for Indian cooking in USA and Canada (110 volts). This article is an attempt to detail my experiences with a similar exploration. For a family in a new geography, alongside many other challenges, a small but a regular kitchen challenge has been that of finding the perfect Mixer or/and Blender...
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Loading a Dishwasher Correctly
Loading a dishwasher is not rocket science but loading it correctly can save your time and consumption of water, as well as result in cleaner dishes. Here are a few things I have experienced and learned over time about loading the dishwasher....
Vaishnav Food
Dear Readers,
Vaishnav refers to one who is related with Lord Vishnu. As per mythology, Vaishnav food is that which is loved by gods. There are three main categories of food-
- Satvik
- Rajsik
- Tamsik
Vaishnav food is considered as Satvik food. A satvik diet is based on fruits, dairy products if the cow is fed and milked in the right conditions, nuts, seeds, vegetables, legumes, whole grains etc.
Vaishnav food is vegetarian but does not include onion and garlic. In India, in most of the states, food which is prepared for offering to gods does not have onion and garlic.
There are several stories behind this exclusion. One version is that at one time fruits and vegetables were being served to gods. However, onion and garlic were left underground and were not the part of offering. From that time on they are not considered as auspicious.
Happy cooking,
Shuchi
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Mangaudi papad ki Sabji
Mangaudi papad ki sabji is a very popular Rajasthani preparation. Mangaudis are small sun dried lentil dumplings made with moong lentils. Mangaudi is a very common element in Marwadi Cuisine - many dishes can be made with mangaudi, such as Mangaudi ki tehri (a rice dish), mangaudi ki kadhi etc. You can either make mangaudies at home or buy them from grocery stores....
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Chutney ke Aloo
Chutney ke aloo is very North Indian dish. This is a very popular chaat item from Kanpur. Small boiled potatoes soaked in spicy coriander chutney - that's all it is, sounds so simple; yet very pungent and yummyyyyyy......
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Samosa Chaat
Samosas are one of the most popular Indian snacks known all over the world. These are triangular shaped patties stuffed with spicy potatoes. For samosa chaat, crushed samosa is placed on top of a bed of cooked chickpeas and garnished with smooth yogurt, sweet-n-sour tamarind chutney, and green chutney. Now this yummy chaat is garnished with crispies and chopped coriander leaves.read more...
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Balanced and healthy daily North Indian food platter
Dal chawal, roti, and sabji is a perfect, healthy, balanced, delicious, 600 calories meal. This vegetarian food platter is a staple in North India. It has a combination of protein, carbohydrate, vitamin, minerals etc. In North India most families have a similar food platter in one of their meals. This lunch platter which usually consists of - a variety of dal(lentil/beans)... read more...
Dear readers, growing vegetables at home is becoming popular these days. There are plenty of reasons as to why people like to grow things in their own garden....Some people worry about the use of chemicals/ pesticides in vegetables and fruits, while others like to be close to nature, and find it relaxing to work in the garden. Some enthusiasts also grow rare and hard to find vegetables.... Whatever may be your reasons for thinking about growing your own vegetables; it should be fun for you, and not a chore...
Enjoy Gardening,
Shuchi
Vegetable Gardening ideas-
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Homegrown Tulsi/ Basil
Basil can be easily grown at home. You can start by planting basil seeds or can plant a baby plant directly. Basil seeds as well as plants can be easily found in most of the nurseries in spring season. One can plant basil in the ground or in pots. Basil is a summer plant and it cannot tolerate even a light frost.....
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Homegrown Lauki (Bottle Gourd)
Lauki, Ghiya, Kaddu, Doodhi, Bottle Gourd and here in America it is also called as Squash. One vegetable and so many different names. Bottle gourds contains about 96% water. They are rich in dietary fibers, and are also a good source of vitamin B and contain iron as well. Bottle gourd is one of the lightest vegetable and it is very easy to digest...
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Lunch Box
These Idlies are steam cooked savory cakes of fermented batter of Semolina (sooji/ rava ). Usually in South India Idlies are served with chutneys for the breakfast. This is an ideal meal for kid's lunch boxes. You can also put some coconut chutney. Add your kids favorite fruits and sweet!
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Italian Cuisine
Italian cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines around the world. The words bring to mind the world of pizza, pastas, ravioli, spaghetti, delicious breads, salads, mouth watering cakes, pastries, coffee .
