Our diet has always been an essential factor determining our health status. One should always take their diet according to the seasons as the food eaten out of season can affect our health due to its opposite nature. In India, the tradition of taking diet according to the season was the only custom, and that is one of the reasons why people were way much healthier and fit back then compared to now. As the winter season is here, we bring you the top 20 Indian winter season food items to enjoy this winter season.
1.Sarson Ka Saag
It is a prevalent dish in northern regions of India, especially in Punjab. It is a dish made of mustard greens with flavourful spices and ginger. This can be served with any bread, but it tastes best with Makki ki roti. The Sarson ka saag topped with white butter or ghee on top is just a treat to taste buds.
2.Gajar Ka Halwa
It is a sweet dish made from red winter carrots. It is made by adding sugar, milk and cardamom in the grated carrots, and then cooked while stirring throughout. This sweet dish is quite famous in north India and is cooked in almost every house in the winter season. This tasty halwa made in desi ghee can also be enjoyed by garnishing almond and cashews at the top.
3.Gond Ka Ladoo
This is another sweet eaten in winter season in north India. It is made up of gond [edible gum], whole wheat flour, ghee, and dry fruits, which are then given a round shape with hands. The making of these laddus is like a ritual in the winter season. They are heavy, filling, and full of nutrients too.
4.Undhiyu
It is a Gujarati dish made by mixing various vegetables. It is most famous primlarily in Surat, as this place is the origin of undhiyu. They are cooked upside down in earthen pots, which are fired from above. All the vegetables together are simmered for a long time with oil. This Gujarati dish is a must-try this winter.
5.Laapsi
Here comes another winter season sweet dish in India. It is a traditional dish having its origin in Rajasthan. The main ingredients used in making this dish are broken wheat pieces, ghee, raisins, nuts. It is a very satisfying dish for people with a sweet tooth and is highly suggested to someone who has never tasted it before.
6.Bajre Ki Roti
Due to their warm nature, they are very famous in India during the winter season. This roti makes an excellent accompaniment to almost all Indian vegetable, but it tastes best with ‘kadhi’. It is gluten-free roti and a good option for someone having gluten intolerance. This winter, do try this Bajra roti instead of your usual roti.
7.Gajak
It is a traditional sweet of India eaten during the winter season, made of either til [sesame seeds] or peanut and jaggery. It is prepared by mixing til or peanut in sugar syrup of jaggery. It is a time-consuming preparation taking 10-15 hours to set into the form of a bar.
8.Bajre Ki Khichdi
It is a staple food of Rajasthan and Haryana that is very famous in even other northern regions of India. To make this khichdi, only bajra and moong dal are used cooked with some spices to add flavor to it. You can even add some rice in bajra khichdi. It is warm in nature and very nutritious during winters.
9.Malai Makkhan
It is a sweet dish made up of milk cream during winters. This dish is quite popular in Uttar Pradesh, especially in Kanpur, Varanasi, and Lucknow. The preparation includes boiling of milk followed by further boiling after addition of cream and then at last kept under the sky to cool it down. The whole process takes around 8 hours, but the taste is worth it.
10.Sku
It is a ladakhi dish that is quite similar to pasta in appearance. It is made from flour pasta which is cooked with vegetables, spices, and herbs, and is a high-calorie dish that is filling too. It is a winter dish usually consumed at temperature below freezing point and is very famous among tourists also.
11.Carrot Poriyal
It is a south Indian dish served as a side dish along with dal, rasam, or sambar during the winter season. This dish is made up of carrots, spices, and curry leaves. It is an easy-to-cook, a stir-fried dish with coconut chutney. It tastes terrific and is a must-try for someone who loves South Indian food.
12.Beetroot Thoran
It is a traditional dish from Kerala made with beetroot and adding little spice and coconut. It is a dry recipe and even is served in sadya, which is a grand fest where vegetarian dishes are served on a banana leaf. One can make Thoran using other vegetables too, but beetroot thoran is quite famous in winter because it is a seasonal vegetable.
13.Raab
It is a widespread immunity-boosting drink in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the winter season. It is warm in nature, and a perfect go-to drink in a cold climate. It is made up of pearl millet or bajra mixed along with ginger and ajwain. It is perfect for someone who is low on energy level or has become a new mother.
14.Khajoor Ka Doodh
Khajoor, also called dates in English, are well known for their warm nature and are highly recommended to consume during the winter season by Ayurveda. It is a straightforward and healthy traditional recipe of India. To prepare it, we boil the milk by adding 2-3 dates without seeds in them; addition of dates gives the sweetness to the milk and is a healthy alternative to the chemically refined sugar. You can even add some almonds to the milk.
15.Til Pitha
It is a traditional dish of Assam and is an essential part of their Bihu platter, which is sweet in taste as it includes jaggery. This dish contains rice flour sheets which are rolled with the filling of sesame seeds and jaggery. It might look simple because of fewer ingredients but making a perfect-looking pitha is an art in itself. It can be served with Assam tea or yogurt.
16.Til Gur Ki Roti
It is a very famous dish in the north and west regions of India. It is prepared by making a dough of wheat flour, ghee, jaggery, and sesame seeds and then just cooking it like a regular roti or paratha. It is a treat to the sweet tooth and filling simultaneously. All the ingredients used are warm in nature and winter-friendly.
17.Hot Kand Tikkis
It is a perfect snack option in the winter season, which is also loved by kids. These are given the shape of mini tikkis and fried in oil. They are an ideal snack for the winter season as we can easily digest heavy food during this season. It is made up of kand also called sweet potato instead of regular potatoes.
18.Methi
Methi, also called fenugreek, is a traditional winter crop in India. It has warm nature and is perfect for consuming in the winter season. It is a versatile vegetable combined in various ways to make different recipes like aloo methi, methi paratha, methi mathri, and many more. It is very nutritious and tasty simultaneously.
19.Panjiri
The preparation of the dish is quite similar to gond k laddu as both of them have almost the same ingredients like wheat flour, ghee, and dry fruits. The only difference is that panjiri lacks a gond and a round shape. It is tasty and warm in nature which makes it perfect for consuming in winters. It is a healthy dish as all ingredients used are nutritious.
20.Palak Paneer
Last but not the least comes the dish which is a favorite of almost every north Indian. It is prepared by boiling palak and then further cooking by adding spices and paneer to it. It is a nutritious dish and warm, just perfect to be consumed in winters.
