As the winter season sets in with the days growing colder, there is nothing as comforting and satisfying as a plate of wholesome Indian food that warms you from the inside, and the best part about these dishes are that they are not only easy to make but also extremely delicious.
If you have been meaning to enjoy such dishes that celebrate seasonal ingredients with familiar aromas and the nostalgia of winter cooking at home, then there are many to explore from across the north and south of India.
Here are some handpicked from The Tastes of India podcast on Audible, hosted by Puja Darshan, that offer traditional Indian favourites. Whether it is the earthy goodness of methi paratha or the rich Kerala potato stew, each recipe promises warmth, nourishment and the joy of home-cooking this winter.
Methi Parantha
Ingredients:
Methi leaves cleaned and chopped 250 gm
Garlic chopped 10 nos
Green chillies 4 to 5
Besan 5 tsp
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Wheat flour 2 cups
Ghee or Oil 2 tsp
Ajwain 1 tsp
Salt
Whole wheat flour as needed
Method:
1. To knead the dough, take a bowl and add wheat flour, 1 teaspoon of oil or ghee, ajwain and 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix the ingredients.
2. Add water little by little to make the dough soft.
3. Keep the dough aside for 30 minutes to set.
4. To make the stuffing, heat oil in a pan on a medium flame and add the cumin seeds.
5. When the oil starts spluttering, add the chopped garlic and green chillies.
6. When the garlic turns slightly brown, add the chopped methi to it and stir for around 5 minutes.
7. Add the besan and salt to taste and keep stirring for about 5 minutes. Once completed, set aside for it to cool down.
8. Using the mixture, make small uniform balls and set aside.
9. Begin making the paratha by flattening the balls with your palm, take a spoon full of the mixture you have created and fill it into the flattened dough ball. Proceed to seal it from all sides.
10. Roll it into small round chapattis on a rolling board.
11. Preheat the tava and put the chapattis one at a time and apply ghee on both sides as you flip the chapatti.
12. When small brown patches appear on the paratha, remove it from the tava.
13. The parathas can then be served hot with curry, vegetables, raitha, dahi, sauce or achar.
Kerala Style Potato Stew
Ingredients:
Potatoes finely chopped or diced: 250 gm
Coconut oil 2 tbsp
Onions thinly sliced 1/2 cup
Bay leaf 1 no
Cardamom stick 1 inch
Ginger peels and julienned 1 inch
Black peppercorns crushed 1 tsp
Cloves, crushed 2 nos
Green chilli, sliced and diced 2 nos
Curry leaves spring 1 to 2 no
Cow milk 2 to 3 cups
Water 1 to 2 cups
Salt as required
Method:
1. Crush whole black pepper and cloves in a mortar-pestle coarsely and set aside.
2. Heat coconut oil in a pan.
3. Add the onions, bay lead, ginger juliennes, curry leaves and green chilli.
4. Proceed to add the crushed black pepper, cloves and cinnamon stick.
5. Saute the onions on a low to medium heat until they soften and turn translucent. Ensure that they do not turn brown.
6. Ensure to keep stirring the onions until they turn translucent.
7. Add the potatoes and mix them well with the onions and spices.
8. Add two cups of water and season with salt as required.
9. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer on a medium-low to medium heat until the potatoes get cooked. Keep checking and stirring while the potatoes cook.
10. Once the potatoes are cooked, switch off the flame.
11. Add milk and mix everything well. While adding the milk, ensure that the stove is switched off as there is a possibility of the milk getting curdled if switched on.
12. Now, switch on the gas and boil the curry on a low to medium heat.
13. Once the curry gets boiled nicely, switch off the flame.
14. Serve the stew with idiyappams, dosa, ghee rice, cumin rice, appams or Gothambu puttu. It can also be served with roti, poori, plain paratha or lachha paratha.
Makhana Kheer
Ingredients:
Makhana 2 cups
Boiled milk 1 litre
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Almonds, finely chopped: 1 tbsp
Cashew, finely chopped: 1 tbsp
Raisins 1 tablespoon
Cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp
Ghee 2 tsp
Method:
1. Heat 1 teaspoon of ghee in a pan
2. Add the chopped almond and cashew to the pan and roast it nicely.
3. Once they turn slightly brown, raisins can be added to the pan as well.
4. Roast everything together and when the raisins turn slightly pulpy, turn off the flame. The mixture can then be placed on a plate and set aside.
5. In the same pan, add 1 teaspoon of ghee.
6. Add the makhana and roast it for 2 to 3 minutes. Set this aside.
7. Taking 1 1/2 cup of the roasted makhana, place it in a grinder jar and grind until it turns coarse. This can then be set aside.
8. Ensure that the other 1/2 cup of makhana is kept as whole.
9. In the plain pan, add 2 cups of milk.
10. Proceed to add the whole roasted makhana and let the entire mixture boil for 5 minutes.
11. Add the coarsely ground makhana and the whole makhana to the pan with the milk.
12. Let it boil and cook until it’s done.
13. Sugar and green cardamom can then be added.
14. Proceed to cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
15. Once cooked, add dry fruits and let it boil for a few minutes.
16. Garnish further with dry fruits and serve hot or cold.
