Akha teej (Akshay Tritiya ) ka khana

Celebrate akshay tritiya with traditional marwari  food

      

Hindu Calender is full of festivals and celebration.The main part of all celebration is the food. Dishes prepared on these festivals are significant of the seasons and the crop  of these seasons.Akha Teej is celebrated in the month of Baisakh .This year akhateej falls on 6th of may.As the new wheat crop arrives during this time so most dishes are made out of wheat.Akha or akshay means whole or unbroken.Fresh gawar beans are just arrives at this time.Food prepared on that day is mostly with whole ingredients.like gawar beans,red chillies, badiye and kachari are all unbroken.

1 Kheech

The important dish is kheech of wheat.It is prepared by removing the husk from wheat and then by dry grinding of wheat.Thisi s the broken wheat minus husk.Earlier days it was prepared manually in a stone grinder.But now it can be prepared with  electric kitchen grinder.Ready to cook kheech  is available at all grocery shops in marwar on akhateej..Those who are living outside can make it at home or can do with lapsi or dalia that is broken wheat.

                                                   

Cooking of kheech

In a pressure cooker pour 6cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt.Water to kheech ratio is 1:6.Add 1 cup kheech and stir intermittently till it starts boiling.Now cover it and put the weight.After one whistle lower the flame and let it cook for 20 to25minutes.When it is cool then open and it is ready to serve .Serve it with 1 or 2 teaspoon of ghee.As it needs more water for cooking therefore either use bigger cooker or cook in   a thick bottomed vessel.the small cooker will try to spill water outside with every release of pressure and will make a mess out of it.

2 Gawar Badiyon ka saag

Ingredients required

                                                 

1/4 cup badiyen (Made out of moong dal)

Fresh gawar beans

4 whole red chillies

5 dried kachari

1/4 cup yogurt

1 teaspoon each of turmeric powder and dried coriander powder and salt

2 tablespoon ghee

a pinch of hing

Wash gawarfali.In a pan pour 2 cups of water switch on the burner and when water starts boiling add badiyen,gawar,chillies,kachari.Let it boil for 10 minutes.When badiyen are tender and starts floating on water remove from fire.

In another pan add ghee and hing and when it is hot enough then pour turmeric and coriander powder and yogurt.Add salt also.Stir it and add boiled ingredients from previous pan .Let it boil for 5 minutes till all the ingredients are cooked well .Remove from fire .It is ready to serve.

3 Bati


This is also a wheat preparation.Bati represents the marwari food.This is the baked  wheat dough dumplings .

Ingredients required

1 cup wheat flour

8 tablespoon ghee

1/2 teaspoon salt

In flour add 4 tablespoon ghee and salt and rub thoroughly.

Now knead the dough.Make small balls out of this dough.Flatten the ball and press from the centre.

Now bake .Baking can be done
either in

electric oven
or
gas tandoor
or
traditional oven made with charcoal.

Bake these batis till  golden brown.

Dip these batis in ghee and serve

4   Churma

For churma take these batis before dipping into ghee .Break into pieces .Grind in a grinder.
Mix sugar powder ,cardamom powder and nuts of one's choice

5  Gulab (galwani)

Ingredients

    

Wheat flour

jaggery

ghee.
Mix jaggery in water and boil it for 5 minutes.Strain it through a sieve to remove dirt of jaggery.Let it cool.
In a pan put ghee and add flour and stir till it turns golden brown.

Now add this roasted flour in jaggery water and mix well.now put this vessel on fire and stir it till it starts boiling.Stop stirring and let it cook for five minutes.Gulab is ready to serve.Add cardamom powder.


Tips :-

Although it is summer time but kheech tastes good when it is served hot.