14 January

Happy Makar Sankranti and Pongal to all my readers.

It is an auspicious day today across India, where harvest festival is celebrated today. The harvest festival celebrated across India - Lohri in Punjab, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Bhogali Bihu in Assam and Poush Parbon in Bengal are all harvest festival that marks the significant shift in season that happens around this time when the sun enters Capricorn (Makar in Hindi and Sanskrit) and starts on its Northward journey, a transition called Uttarayan in Sanskrit. 

Makar Sankranti has a host of signature delicacies from across the regions prepared exclusively to celebrate the auspicious festival. During Poush Sankranti or Poush Parbon in Bengal it is customary to prepare Pithe - Puli - Payesh. All the earthen molds come out of the pantry and the kitchen is heavy with the sweet smell of the famous Bengali Nolen Gud being incorporated in all of these traditional recipes by the mothers and grandmothers of the house. 

It wouldn't be really unfair to say, that the prime focus of the festival is food and it should be so, after all that is what Harvest festival should be about - celebration of good food from the beautiful produce of the land. As a kid there is one image that is vividly etched in my memory is that of my dida in front of the mud unun (hearth) on a very cold foggy morning molding the rice pancakes or pithas. We did have gas and all the modern facilities in the house during that time. But since that was a one off occasion when all the mashis ( aunts or grandma's daughters) with their families were present at my Grandparents home. And my Grandpa being an avid traditionalist and food lover had urged dida to setup the hearth in our big courtyard and make pithe in earthen molds. It was terribly chilly that day and foggy too. We kids were very small and huddled in our respective sweaters and shawls and tupis. While our dad's were fully armed with Monkey caps, thick sweaters and mojas. We all sat around dida, in a half circle, while our noses were red with cold. So when the hearth was lighted we kind of snuggled closer to it just to be a little warm. And to keep the elders warm - several rounds of fragrant ginger- cardamom chai made their rounds. Soon the smell of the steamed pithe (rice pancakes) started coming form the molds and the anticipation rose considerably. We kids have never experienced a pithe in such a traditional setup. The first steaming pithes were soon served to us and the impatience of having them made us pop those things right into our mouths only to realize how hot they were! But the moment we tasted the molted jaggery inside the rice coating, all the other senses numbed and it was sheer ecstasy. That was my most favorite Poush Parbon ever, and it was sadly never recreated because later on all of the families would never get vacation time at the same time.

I relocated to Mumbai and later to Pune due to work. And now I am a resident of this state. My association has been somewhat that of around 15 plus years now with the Marathi manus. So it is obvious that I had started to take fancy for many of the regional delicacies Marathis have. Like Puran Poli or Gul Poli (Jaggery flatbread) which they typically prepare at this time of the year and have it with sweet milk. Also the tradition here says to have Til and Gud together. That is considered as a auspicious combination during this festival and also they are two of the most winter-perfect foods that helps to keep the body warm and also increases the immunity at the same time . Til, gud ghya ni god god bola', is a common expression used to greet family and guests in Marathi households during Sankranti celebrations. The expression literally means "Have til and gur and talk sweetly".

Keeping up with the "trying new things" this year, I decided to make a few things from both my worlds and then tweak it a little. So instead of Gul poli, it was a Til Gud Paratha today where the chunks of jaggery kneaded with wheat flour , generously sprinkled with roasted sesame and fried on slow flame with ghee. It reminded me of all those time when mom used to make sugar parathas for me as a kid. Just that this is way more fragrant because I used nolen gud in this case. Check out the recipe below:

• Wheat Flour - 1 1/2 cup 
• Jaggery (Gud) - 1/2 cup, grated
• White Sesame (Til) - 2 tbsp
• Ghee - 3 tbsp + for frying
• Salt - 1 pinch

For Garnish

• Dry Roasted White Sesame - 1/2 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp

Equipment:

• Mixing Bowl
• Rolling Pin and worktop
• Skillet & Spatula
• Fork

Procedure 

1.  Warm a skillet and add the Sesame to it.  Roast it till it starts turning golden. Keep aside the roasted sesame in a bowl.

2. Take about 2 tbsp water in a pan and add the grated jaggery to it. Switch on the heat to low and let the jaggery melt into a liquid completely while stirring continuously. It will take around 2-3 minutes. Take off the heat and allow it to cool.

3. In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt and ghee. Mix well

4. Now in the same mixing bowl add the melted jaggery and knead into a firm dough using enough warm water. 

5. Divide the dough into 5-6 equal balls. 

6. Dust the work surface with additional flour and place the ball and flatten its top a bit. Dust it as required and with the help of a rolling pin roll it out into a circle.

7. Now dust the top of the circle with a little flour and start folding the circle from one side till you make a single long pipe like roll. Now start folding in the pipe from one side into a small disc just like swiss roll. [The process is similar to making laccha paratha]

8. Now sprinkle some roasted sesame on top and dust it with a little flow. Roll this out into a thick circle with the help of rolling pin. Add more sesame if desired while rolling it out. You can even add sesame on both the sides.

9. Now with a fork punch tiny holes into the circle. This will help in getting rid of the steam buildup in the center, and cooking it uniformly.

10. Heat a non stick pan and add some ghee. Once the ghee is little hot, place the paratha slowly onto it and let it cook on low flame. Cook both sides uniformly, adding more ghee if required till there are dark golden brown spots on both surface.

Garnish it with some more ghee and roasted sesame. Serve it immediately with achar or khatte meethe aloo ki subzi. 

Serving Suggestion : Since this is a Sweet Flatbread, serving it with anything tangy or spicy is recommended to cut the sweetness. I had it with a super spicy Red Chilli Achar. Or if you have a super sweet tooth then you can enjoy as is too!

PS: The Aloo ki Subzi recipe will come up in a few days. 

NOTE: This paratha tends to get a little hard due to the presence of Gud (jaggery) hence it is recommended to have it as soon as they are made.