Traditional Indian Comfort Foods to Keep You Warm During the Winter

Gajar ka Halwa is a decadent carrot-flavored dessert pudding that melts in your mouth and is served warm with fresh cream. This luscious treat is a must-have on celebratory occasions and is cooked in big batches alongside other Indian sweets. To make it at home, add six tablespoons of clarified butter with nine cups of finely shredded carrots to a pan and sauté for 15-20 minutes over low heat. Fold in two cups of grated khoya (evaporated milk solids) and a cup of granulated sugar before mixing with two teaspoons of cardamom powder. Let it simmer until everything melts well and your pudding thickens.

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Sarson Ka Saag is a curry made using mustard greens. It is a very nutritious vegetarian dish, often served with Makki Ki Roti (maize flour flatbreads). Firstly, thoroughly wash one bunch of mustard greens, ½ a bunch of spinach, ½ a bunch of lamb’s quarters, one cup of fenugreek leaves, and one cup of chopped radish leaves and radish roots. Next, place all these greens into a pressure cooker and mix in three cups of water, one cup of chopped yellow onions, 1 ½ cups of diced tomatoes, three tablespoons of minced garlic, and some thinly sliced ginger. Season this with a few green chilies, half a teaspoon of red chili powder, and two to three pinches of salt and asafoetida. Simmer until well-combined and pour the mixture into a blender with two tablespoons of maize flour. Pour the greens purée back into the cooker and cook for an additional thirty minutes while seasoning to taste. Finally, make your tempering by frying together two chilies, an onion, and two tablespoons of tomato paste in three tablespoons of olive oil. Add two cups of the greens purée into the pan with the tempering and heat together.