BASANT PANCHAMI 2023: Every year Basant Panchami, also called Saraswati Puja, is celebrated on the fifth day of shukla paksha of Magha month, the eleventh month in the Hindu calendar. The auspicious day is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, also known as the Goddess of knowledge, music, arts and science. People all around India celebrate this festival with much fervour, joy and happiness.
On this day, people usually wear clothes in hues of yellow and eat mouth-watering traditional delicacies like boondi ke laddoo, meethe chawal, khichdi, Kesari halwa and much more. Let’s take a look at some delectable cuisines and traditional recipes that you can try making on the occasion of Basant Panchami which falls on January 26 this year:
- Khichdi
One of the traditional dishes of Saraswati Puja includes khichdi. Blended with the basic ingredients of scented rice, moong dal and vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, potatoes and peas, the distinct taste is derived from the aromatic spices of garam masala, cumin seeds, green chillies and ginger-garlic powder. - Meetha chawal
Known as kesari bhaat, meetha chawal is prepared with ghee, nuts, saffron, jaggery and white rice. To add more flavour to the dish, garnish it with some chopped cashews, nuts, raisins and saffron. - Dhokla
Dhokla is a popular dish in Gujarati cuisine. Made by steaming a fermented batter of rice and chana dal, you can make this delicacy easily using a pressure cooker, microwave oven or a steamer. Using lots of water and adding some baking soda gives your dhoklas a fluffy texture and look, and don’t forget to add turmeric for the yellow colour. Serve the dish with a tempering tadka of mustard seeds and split green chillies. - Kesar halwa
Also known as rava kesari, it’s a mouth-watering sweet dish made using lots of ghee, jaggery, soaked saffron strands and semolina (suji). Once it is ready, garnish it with a handful of chopped nuts, raisins and a pinch of cardamom powder, to add extra flavour to the dish. - Kesari kheer
Sweet dishes make for the heartiest of Basant Panchami delicacies. To add a milky, sweet treat to the mix, whip up some saffron kheer. To make the dish, you will need to keep a constant eye on a pot of boiling milk, infused with plenty of sugar or jaggery, dry fruits and rice. Add cardamom for a rich, unique flavour and saffron for that bright hue. You can also enhance the kesari kheer by adding some mawa to it for a creamy texture. - Boondi ke laddoo
Boondi ke laddoo is one of the most popular sweets in any festival and Basant Panchami is no exception. While there’s a lot to garnish these laddoos with, a generous amount of ghee, milk, gram flour batter and cardamom-flavoured sugar syrup will do wonders to make boondi ke laddoos amazing.
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