Wholesome Moong Dal Khichdi : A nutritious and comforting one-pot meal. Try our easy recipes for a tasty, quick dinner.

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Wholesome Moong Dal Khichdi : A nutritious and comforting one-pot meal. Try our easy recipes for a tasty, quick dinner.
by [Archana Potdar] · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments
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January is when we celebrate the Indian festival Makara Sankranti, the Harvest Festival and the end of winter, longer days and beginning of summer, The Season of Kites.
Peanut laddus and til ladoos, chikki, ber, sugar cane pieces, jaggery, sakkare acchu or moulded sugar. These are my childhood companions that I enjoy even now.
India being an agrarian society Sankranti is the Harvest Festival or Suggi Habba is an important festival.
Sankrant as it is also known as is celebrated all over India but is known as Maghi, Makara Sankranti, Pedda Pandaga, Poush sôngkrānti, Sukarat, Magh Bihu, Thai Pongal. I have written so many times about this festival but still, I remember something new. You can read about the festival here too.
The one festival that comes on a fixed date that is 14th or 15th of January every year. Having a festival on fixed dates is a rarity in India but Sankranti is one of the few festivals that is celebrated according to the solar calendar.
Any festival involves worship, feasts and funs so also for Sankranti is celebrated differently around the country.
For the more religious it involves a bath in sacred rivers and ponds with prayers and thanks to Surya, the Sun God for successes and prosperity. Every 12 years at the Prayaga the confluence of River Ganga and River Yamuna there biggest fair held is at the Kumbha Mela. However, Festivities across the country involve fairs, kite flying, dances, bonfires.
As a child, we lived in Nagpur and Kite flying was a big part of festivities. I never did manage to fly one but that never stopped me from cheering kite fights or even running after the cut kites yelling “Katti” on the top of my voice.
The string was called manja and used to be coated with powdered glass. Naturally it a cut your hands hence I helped with Chakri Ganesh, our landlord's son showed me to manage it.
I knew Ganesh would appreciate the kite I managed to snag from the terrace. Unfortunately, there were all the kids in the Galli waiting for me to turn up with it. I remember racing back to the flat running up the stairs, with it and grateful for the locked gates that kept the horde out.
Amma gave me a slap for running over the stairs, not for running after kites or playing "boy" games. Even now I am scared to run up and down the stairs!!
As a newly married bride, I was gifted a black sari. In India black, as a colour is not considered auspicious. (even now some of my aunts will criticise me wearing black ) but on Sankranti, you wear black clothes the most plausible reason seems that black absorbs heat and in winter it is needed by the body. There was beautiful jewellery made from tilgul the sugar-coated balls made by my sisters-in-law and their aunt. Now we get made commercially but you need to place an order.
Socialisation is common in this time you will find scores of ladies bedecked in beautiful saris visiting one another for Haldi -Kumkum.
The ceremony involves married ladies exchanging the Turmeric and Vermilion, along with small gifts that are useful in households. There are grams, berries, sugarcane to exchanged depending upon the region you live in.
These are some ways we celebrate the festival of Sankranti in Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka. How do you celebrate? Please do leave a comment.
This year we are redoing our place and most of my stuff is not with me in this beautiful place we are living in. So making anything is a project however to making singadana ke laddoos are simple enough.
These ladoos are similar to the peanut chikki but one of my friends wanted me to make these peanut jaggery balls (as she calls them) for her.
Peanuts: also called groundnuts these need to be roasted I prefer to buy the regular ones and roast them at home. If you are buying them roasted please check they should be unsalted.
Jaggery: the unrefined sugar is used to sweeten and bind the nuts.
Cardamon: is used as a flavouring.
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Terri says
Hi! I made this today and followed the directions exactly, but my jaggery hardened dull, not shiny. Does it need to get to a certain temperature, or did I heat it too long? Thank you!
ArchanaPotdar says
Hi Terri, first thanks for trying the recipe. I am sorry your ladoos were not shiny this could be because of the jaggery quality? Was your jaggery orangish in colour or dark brown? The dark brown one never fails and I use that one.
Thanks to you I will update my post with this information.
Jayashree T.Rao says
Reading your blog post took me down the memory lane of celebrating Sankranti. The customs are similar to both of us. These peanut jaggery ladoos are one of the favourite at home, it's been long time I made them. Will do it soon.
ArchanaPotdar says
We are from the same region of course our traditions and customs are the same.
Priya Vj says
Peanut ladoos are my favorite ..I love to gorge on them any day . I am saving this perfect recipe to try soon . I had my share of fiasco ,but your jaggery syrup consistency has cleared my doubts ...
ArchanaPotdar says
Thanks, Priya do try and let me know how it goes.