My Lohri Childhood Memories: A Mom Shares Her Story + Fav Recipes

I have beautiful childhood memories of Lohri. My family and I would visit Delhi in the winter and Lohri was a big part of our holiday celebrations. We would all gather at my aunt’s house and there would be a huge bonfire and plates full of popcorn, rewri (sesame-encrusted sweets), gajak  (made with peanuts and gur) and moongphali (groundnuts) passed around. The kids would be running around the fire stuffing their mouths with popcorn instead of putting it in the fire and singing these two lines. The entire song was too long for us. My children do pretty much the same thing now!

Sunder mundriye ho! Tera kaun vicharaa ho!

Dullah Bhatti walla ho! Dullhe di dhee vyayae ho!

When And Why Do We Celebrate Lohri?

This community festival celebrated on 13th January each year marks the end of the cold winter and the beginning of spring. Lohri celebrated a day before Makar Sankranti is the longest night of the year. The entire Punjabi community across the world likes to celebrate the first festival of the year with great enthusiasm. Since this was traditionally a farmer’s festival, the popcorn, rewri and moongphali put in the fire symbolize a prayer to the Fire God for abundant crops and prosperity.

But there are some other stories that explain the lines w sing when we walk around the fire.

Dulla Bhatti was popular among the poor, akin to Robin Hood, at the time of Mughal king Akbar. He used to plunder the rich community and distribute the loot among the poor and needy. This made him famous and revered among the populace. As the legend goes, he once saved a girl from the hands of kidnappers and then took care of her like his own daughter.

Which one did you grow up listening to?

Traditions We Follow On Lohri

Lohri is today and you can normally see stacks of wood being piled up, all ready for the traditional bonfires that will burn at every corner in North India. The markets are abuzz with everyone thronging to pick up all the goodies. But with the cases spiralling the way they are, I don’t think the big community fires will happen this year. 

But we will still do our traditional Lohri bonfire with just the family members. I have just returned with bags full of popcorn, rewri, gajak and moongphali. The kids are already excited about the bonfire festival where they get to dress up, sing and dance and basically have a blast Punju style.

Lohri Songs To Listen To

A Special Lohri For the New Born Baby Or The New Bride in Your Family

And if there is a newborn baby or a new bride in the family, then the celebrations take on a bigger form. The newborn baby and the new mother are dressed in their finest and showered with blessings and gifts by everyone. This festival marks the beginning of the new year for everyone and is a symbol of fertility too. As per tradition, the baby’s maternal grandparents send clothes, rewri, gajak, til ke ladoo and popcorn to their daughter’s house. The dholwalas are called to add zing to the celebrations and the sound of the drums fill the air. The family and friends dance to the tunes of the ‘Bhangra or Gidda’ around the fire. It’s an evening full of merrymaking and good old Punjabi-style dancing.

Everyone knows how much Punjabis love their food – ma ki daal (kali dal), gobi alu ki sabzi , Makki ki roti and sarson ka saag are part of the elaborate traditional menu. No alcohol or non-vegetarian food is consumed on Lohri.

Lohri Special Recipes

Til Ladoo/ Sesame Balls

Murmure/Muri Ladoo

Image Source: https://www.pakwangali.in

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Murmure/Muri (rice puffs)
• 250g Gur (jaggery)
• 1 Tbsp Ghee

Method

• Melt the gur and ghee in a kadai
• In a separate pan dry roast the murmura till it becomes crisp.
• Once it has cooled, add the murmure to the gur and quickly combine well.
• Take it off the heat and allow it to cool a little.
• Moisten your hands with ghee and start rolling out the murmure ladoos.
• Leave it to cool completely and enjoy.

Gur Ki Roti

Image Source: http://www.steamingpot.com

Ingredients

• ½ Cup Gur Powder/Grated (jaggery)
• 2 Tbsp Water
• 1 -1 ¼ Cup Atta (whole wheat flour)
• 1 Tsp Saunf (fennel seeds)
• 1 Tbsp Ghee + more to roast the roti

Method

• In a bowl take the gur powder and water. Mix well and keep aside till the gur dissolves. It will take about 30 minutes.
• In another bowl, mix together the atta, ghee and saunf.
• Once the gur has dissolved, strain the liquid into the atta mixture.
• Mix and then knead to form a smooth dough.
• If the dough appears too wet, add some more atta. It will be a bit sticky due to the jaggery.
• Spread some ghee on the rolling platform and place a small dough ball on it and roll out. It shouldn’t be too thin.
• Heat the tawa and put the roti on it. Roast the roti on a low flame.
• Flip it over when it has browned on one side.
• Spread some ghee on the roti and flip again. The gur roti absorbs a lot of ghee so don’t go overboard with the ghee.
• Press down on the corners and flip the roti over a few times to ensure that the jaggery and the atta have cooked properly.
• This can be eaten plain, with curd or white butter.

Pinni (Gluten-free)

• 35 gm/ 3 Tbsp Amaranth Flour
• 35 gm/ 3 Tbsp Buckwheat Flour  
•  30 gm/ 2.5 Tbsp Water Chestnut Flour
• 3 Tbsp Milk
• 50 gm/ 1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
• 4 Tbsp Ghee
• 6 – 7 Cashews
• 6-7 Almonds
• 8-10 Raisins

Method:

• Heat ghee in a pan. Add all the flours & roast well on medium-low flame for 6-8 minutes or until you can smell the delicious aroma of ghee. Roasting the flour is very important. So make sure you roast them properly until the raw smell goes away.
• Add milk slowly & keep stirring, at no point leave the mixture unattended as it can burn.
• Take the mixture off the flame and let it cool down for a few minutes. Stir in sugar and mix until well incorporated.
• After dry nuts and sugar are added, the mixture will come together like a ball of dough.
• You can also add unsalted pistachio & unsalted pumpkin seed if you wish to make it more healthy.
• Now mix everything together &; shape it like a round ball/ladoo. Repeat the process with the rest of the mixture and form the pinnis. 

It’s a great way for the family and community to get together and celebrate the New Year.

Wishing everyone who is celebrating Lohri, health and happiness all across the world.   

Gur Ke Chawal