Traditional dishes from Indian communities that can keep you warm this winter

A Rajasthani dhabastyle mealIf you drop in at 29s outlets in Kemps Corner or Thane until February youll find a dish called kacchi haldi ki sabji Made using fresh turmeric a winter herb chopped onion tomato and garlic paste the homestyle dish is had with tukkad a thick wholewheat and bajra flatbread A typical truckers winter meal its found on the highway dhabas in Rajasthans Marwar regionFogle ke dhokleOnce the tukkad comes to your table fresh homemade ghee is poured over it Its nutritious and apt for the cold winters of the state says restaurant founder Nishek Jain who hails from this region He follows the traditional recipe with dollops of ghee which is also used in gheewali dal that accompanies the mealNishek Jain PicsAshish RajeMy nani would always say ghee is your friend butter is your enemy She was right he laughs Another winter staple that Jain plans to add to the menu is the lesserknown fogle ke dhokle a dish made by communities living in the Shekhawati region in northeastern Rajasthan Fogle flour is a mix of pulses and ragi Its mostly had in winters due to its high nutrient value It can be served with jaggery powdered sugar homemade butter pickle or curd adds JainGreen delights of the northeastSo what if the northeast is inaccessible during winters Ask for ou tenga aru xoriyoh pator gahori from OTenga an Assamese delivery kitchen run by home chefs Joyee Mahanta and Priyangi BorthakurJoyee MahantaIt features pork cooked with elephant apples and mustard leaves a rich source of vitamin C My aunts bungalow in Doom Dooma had a vegetable garden where she grew paleng spinach xoriyoh paat mustard leaves and lai xaak mustard greensPriyangi BorthakurShe would add the soft and fresh spinach leaves to the fish curry or salads and used lai xaak and xoriyoh paat in pork says Mahanta while Borthakur reminisces about gorging on kosu paat jalukia colocasia leaves with black pepper during winter in GuwahatiTuck into Parsistyle winter fudgeFoodpreneur Perzen Patel aka Bawi Brides earliest memory of vasanu a dish of fudgelike consistency that makes your insides feel like theyre getting a warm hug is of flushing it down the toiletVasanuMy mom would dutifully give me a small ball of vasanu to have on the way to the school bus stop but I hated it because it would taste so heaty and spicy When she discovered what I was doing I was banned from having it until I turned 18 and actually developed a taste for it says Patel who is offering the dish this season in 250gm to 1kg packs 1200 per kiloPerzen PatelOver 20 different herbs and roots five kinds of dry fruits and two kilos of ghee go into making the grainy and nutty dish says Patel who learnt the recipe from her mother Familiar flavours like dry ginger lotus stem dill and white and black pepper are mixed in with magaz muskmelon seeds ganthoda long pepper root and singhoda aata water chestnut flour among other ingredients I also add a blended mix of dates and milk for a slight creaminess and an earthy sweetnessThe dish takes anywhere between six hours to a couple of days to prepare depending on whether the spices are ground at home or bought packaged All the dry fruits need to be fried in ghee and thinly sliced Each ingredient also needs to be roasted in ghee for 10 minutes before the next one is added in In the olden days grandmothers would make vasanu on a kakra no chulo thermal lamp and that would take even more timeOf Bengali kochuris and Oriya pithasWhile winter days in West Bengal can be rather biting home chef Ananya Banerjee remembers them as the best days since it meant relishing piping hot and crisp koraishutir kochuri made using freshly harvested peas available only in this seasonKoraishutir kochuriMy mother would usually order it from a local mishtir dokan snack shop or make it at home during holidays When the puffed kochuri would arrive on my plate I would puncture it with a spoon and watch all the steam come out It was fascinating reminisces Banerjee who learnt the recipe from her grandmother Its a tedious process You have to first grind the peas then sauteacute them till the mash changes colour and consistencyAnanya BanerjeeIts then stuffed in a dough and deepfried adds the home chef who however serves the dish at her Bengali popups as a shallowfried stuffed matar paratha Having spent a few years in Odisha Banerjee also relishes a variety of pitha a type of rice cake made during harvest festivals symbolising the onset of winterOne of them is the manda pitha an Oriyastyle steamed version of a modak filled with coconut chenna paneer and jaggery which is known to boost your immunity Some also stuff it with dal for added nutrition and shape the pitha as a crescent moon she recallsMeaty flavours from the northBorn into a Sikh family and raised in Srinagar home chef Jasleen Marwah grew up on a healthy dose of Punjabi and Kashmiri fare When Srinagar would get covered in snow Marwah remembers being holed up at home enjoying a piping hot bowl of chhit a traditional Punjabi curry made with finely mashed ginger garlic salt and milkChhitIt would be of soupy consistency so I would tear phulkas and soak them in it The curry is so light Id easily have threefour phulkas with it says Marwah who moved to Mumbai over a decade ago but still rustles up the dish every winter Its a family recipe and can be prepared quickly Wed make it as a cure for cough and cold in winters says Marwah Meanwhile a Kashmiri winter staple would be harissa featuring mutton slowcooked till it turned silk smooth like the Bohri khichdaJasleen Marwah PicsDatta kumbharWe would top it with onion and have it with Kashmiri bread says Marwah adding that meaty fare is preferred this time of the year and it would be laced with vegetables and fish that were dried during summer Both dishes are yet to make it to her popups held at her Goregaon residence but you can gorge on Tabakh Maaz served with a hearty shorba