Gujarati new year is traditionally known as Varsha Pratipada or Bestu Varsh. On this day, people prepare new books to keep the accounts called Chopda. Not just that, people also worship Goddess Lakshmi to get the blessings of prosperity and peace. Besides this, people also serve various sweets to add more joy to their festival.
Following is the list of various snacks that you can make at your home to celebrate the Gujrati New Year-
1.) Basundi
Basundi is the most popular sweet in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. It is considered one of the most healthiest sweets as it contains calcium which is good for bones. So, it is recommended for both kids and adults. There is a recipe to prepare Basundi.
Ingredients
1 pinch nutmeg (jaiphal)
⅓ Cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon almond, sliced
1 tablespoon pistachio, sliced
1-liter full-fat milk
1 teaspoon green cardamom pods
1 teaspoon saffron (Kesar)
Recipe
- To prepare Basundi, transfer milk to a kadhai or saucepan. activate the heat to low – medium.
- Add nutmeg powder cardamom powder, and saffron strands to the milk. Stir it to combine.
- Heat milk on a low-medium flame and bring it to a gentle boil. Don't forget to stir it well at regular intervals. It should not get browned or burnt from the bottom. Scrape the milk solids from the sides, the cream layer formed on the highest, and add it back to the simmering milk.
- Once the milk reduces to almost half the original amount, add sugar and stir to mix and simmer over the heat to dissolve the sugar completely.
- Once Basundi reaches a thick yet pouring consistency. turn off the heat. Transfer to a large serving bowl. Garnish with sliced nuts and confine the refrigerator to chill for 2 – 3 hours.
- At the end, warm and cool down Basundi and garnished it with dry fruits and rose petals.
2.) Khandvi
Khandvi is the scrumptious and savory Maharashtrian and Gujarati cuisine of India. A yellowish, tightly rolled bite-sized piece, that is primarily made of gram flour and yogurt, is good for weight loss.
Ingredients
pinch of asafoetida / hing
4 tbsp fresh coconut (grated)
4 tbsp coriander leaves (finely chopped)
for tempering:
3 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
1 tsp sesame seeds / til
2 dried red chili / lal mirch (broken)
1 cup besan / chickpea flour / gram flour
1 tbsp ginger - chili paste
¼ ts turmeric / Haldi
salt to taste
2 cups buttermilk or 1 cup curd + 1 cup water
few curry leaves (chopped)
Recipe
- Firstly, during a small vessel take sieved besan. Also add ginger-chili paste, turmeric, and salt to taste.
- Blend it well. Add 2 cups of buttermilk
- Mixing the ingredients requires you to keep patience while stirring them well. A whisk that forms after mixing the ingredients forms a smooth-flowing consistency.
- Now place the vessel into the cooker.
- Cook it in the pressure cooker for 3 whistles on medium flame.
- once the pressure releases, take the vessel out and mix well.
- Don't forget to take a spatula of besan paste. Without spreading the paste on the plate, it will not be possible to cool it down for 10 minutes. So, don't forget to cool it down. Now, cut into 2-inch sizes.
- Tightening the rolls will make sure to not make any cracks on khandvi.
- Garnishing the khandvi with more coconut and coriander leaves is important. Also prepare the tempering, with fuel oil.
- Mix mustard seeds, hing, sesame seeds, dried red chili, and curry leaves.
- After spluttering once you've tempered it, don't forget to pour it over the khandvi. Finally, Gujarati khandvi is prepared to serve with hot chai.
3.) Thepla
Thepla is one of the traditional Gujarati food which is healthy and nutritional. It is Gujarati's staple food that is delicious for weight loss.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
2 teaspoons Oil + for shallow frying
1 cup + 1/2 cup Wheat Flour
1/2 cup finely chopped Fenugreek Leaves (Methi)
3 tablespoons finely chopped Coriander Leaves
1 tablespoon Curd (yogurt)
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
Salt
Water
Recipe
- Mix 1 cup flour, fenugreek leaves, coriander leaves, curd, red flavorer, coriander powder, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, 1-teaspoon oil, and salt in a bowl.
- Don't forget to add water as per the need in small incremental quantities. Kneading is important to get a smooth texture to make it a soft dough like roti dough.
- Grease its surface with 1 teaspoon of oil. It is important to cover the dough with a clean muslin cloth or a plate. Leave it aside for 15-20 minutes. Dividing it into 7 equal parts after 15-20 minutes. Give them a round shape.
- Take 1/2 cup dry flour on a plate for dusting. Take one dough ball, and press it in between your palms or against roti making board (rolling board) to flatten it and transform it into a patty shape. Don't forget to coat it with dry flour so that you can place it on the rolling board.
- Roll it out into a circle with an approx 6-7 inch diameter. The shape can be in the form of roti or paratha.
- Heat Tava/griddle over medium flame. When Tava is medium hot, place raw methi thepla thereon.
- After the appearance of tiny bubbles on the top surface, don't forget to flip it over. Spread 1/2-teaspoon oil accordingly on its surface. Don't forget to cook it for more than 30 seconds.
- Flip it again, spread 1/2 teaspoon oil evenly on its surface, and cook on the other side as well. Press it against Tawa/griddle with a spatula so that you can cook it well for 20-30 seconds. Repeat the flip-press-cook process (without spreading any more oil) until light golden brown spots appear on both sides. Switch between low to medium flame as needed while cooking it.
- Transfer it to a plate. Follow the same process for the remaining dough balls and similarly cook them. Gujarati theplas are ready. It is necessary to serve them hot with masala tea or curd.
4.) Handvo
A delightful savory vegetable cake that is a specialty of Gujarat. This is often prepared with a bottle of gourd filling. But according to your preferences, you can add other vegetables as well. Sometimes, crushed peanuts are also required.
Ingredients
For Handva batter
¼ tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp baking soda+ water
3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
2 tbsp green chili paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 cup grated lauki dudhi
2 tbsp crushed peanut
1 tsp sesame seeds
5-6 curry leaves
Pinch of hing
1 dry red chili
Garnish: sesame seeds and red chili powder
- Take a bowl. In it add rice, urad dal, chana dal, toor dal and methi dana. Don't forget to wash and soak it for 4-5 hrs.
- Don't forget to remove water. Please add rice and soaked dal into the mixture jar. Moreover, leaving the jar with incomplete ingredients is not allowed. So, add ½ cup curd with a little water. Grinding the batter is necessary so try to avoid adding more water.
- Grind it into a thick paste. Then do not grind it into a smooth paste.
- Hadva batter is ready. Cover the batter and ferment it for 4-5 hrs overnight in a warm place.
- The batter becomes fluffy and properly fermented.
- After getting the batter, add crushed peanuts, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, green chili paste, ginger paste, garlic paste, grated lauki, black pepper, and sugar. Mix it well.
- Now add baking soda and some water. mix well.
- Take a pan. Add curry leaves, a pinch of hing, oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, and dry red chili. Mix well.
- Don't forget to switch off the gas. Add the tempering to the batter. Mix it well.
- Take a Kadai and add some oil and grease it.
- Heat a Tawa on medium flame and place Kadai on it.
- Now in the center, place the glass and pour handle batter from the sides. (refer to video)
- After this add some red chili powder, tempering, and sesame seeds to it.
- Cover the batter. Cook the handva for 35-40 minutes on low-medium flame. A little bit of fluffiness is required to cook it properly. Then cook it from inside.
- Remove it from the frying pan. Cool it down until it is cooked properly.
- Don't forget to mold the handle. Cut it into the desired shape.
- Serve with crispy handvo with green chutney.
5.) Dhokla
Dhokla is the most popular delicacy in Gujarat. It is a fermented batter which is derived from legumes like chickpeas, pigeon peas, and urad and rice
Ingredients
2 cups rice small sort grain
1 cup chickpea lentils
1 tbsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp fruit salt(eno) or ½ tbsp citric acid or ½ tbsp baking soda
½ cup sour curd
4-5 green spicy chilies
4-5 cloves garlic minced (optional)
1-inch ginger
salt to taste
Method
- Take rice and chickpea lentils in a bowl. Then for a minimum of 12 hours, soak them.
- Keep it soaking for 12 hours. Grind the ingredients roughly in the grinder. Don't make a smooth paste of it. Add curd to the mixed ingredients. Cover the mixing bowl with a lid. Put the ingredients for fermentation in a warm place. This is required for at least 8-12 hours. This depends on the weather conditions. During the summer, for fermentation, you must complete the process in less time.
- Now the mixture is prepared to use. Make a ginger(, and garlic) smooth paste of chilies. Add that paste to the fermented mixture.
- Add turmeric powder and salt to taste.
- Meanwhile, take a steamer or pressure cooker and boil it for 2 to 3 cups of water. The amount of water depends on the size of the pressure cooker, and steamer pan.
- Grease a steamer pan with oil.
- For fermentation of the dhokla batter, fruit salt is required. An Indian brand of fruit salt s enough. Either you can use baking soda or soda bicarbonate. It depends on you. However, the bicarbonate of soda gives a soapy aroma if used in excess. It is necessary to add baking soda right before you're ready to steam it. Don't forget to 8) Add the mixture to the greased pan. Then put coriander leaves on top.
- Don't forget to steam it for 10-15 minutes. Then your dhokla is ready to eat and serve.
- Serve it warm with peanut (Groundnut) oil and garlic paste.
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