Kavita Chhibber

Baisakhi: Festival of Harvest

My earliest memories of Baisakhi are flying kites non stop. Baisakhi is a festival of North India and a prominent one in Punjab. This festival showcases the farmers of Punjab and their harvest and is celebrated with passion and zest when the main crop, wheat, is ready for harvest.

As Baisakhi marks the end of the cold season and beginning of spring, people dress in bright colorful clothes. Homes are decorated with chains of marigold and mango leaves. The day begins with a ceremonial bath, followed by prayers. The first harvest of wheat is gathered and brought home to be offered to the deities to invoke their blessings. They visit the temples with sweets and offer their gratitude for their good fortune and pray for an even better crop the next year.

On this auspicious day every household teaches its children to give charity so that throughout the year the spirit of charity remains with them. Carnivals are organized on the village grounds and the energy and colors light up the whole atmosphere providing entertainment and joy for everyone.

A very important part of the festivities is the “Bhangra,” which is the national folk dance of Punjab. It captures the farmer’s joy, on seeing healthy and healthy crops ready for harvest. Dancers enact the entire process of cultivating the crop, from tilling the soil, to harvesting.

Baisakhi also has special significance for Sikhs all over the world as it was on this day in 1699 when their tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, abolished the Sikh caste system and pronounced everyone equal under Sikhism. Thus Khalsa Pant, the Sikh religious order, was established. At present there are more than 20 million Sikhs worldwide, most of whom live in the Punjab.

One of the most sacred pilgrimage centers for the Sikhs is the Golden Temple, situated in Amritsar. A huge body of water surrounds it and anyone bathing in it is believed to have been purified. On Baisakhi day water is brought from all the sacred rivers of India and poured into this pool.

On this day the golden temple in Amritsar offers free Langar(or community meal) to over 100,000 devotees and often my staff and I would go and volunteer there to help out. I used to wonder why they didn’t have tables for placing dishes and why we had to bend and serve people, and the Priest there explained one day that as you bend down to serve, you also make your ego submit itself to the worthy cause. I was quite touched at this explanation.

SPECIALTY DISHES FROM PUNJAB

Lemon-Flavored Grilled Chicken

Nimboo Wala Murg Tikka

Serves 6

Punjabi roadside restaurants called dhabas serve authentic cuisine of the region. Surjit Da Dhaba is an all-time favorite, located on the highway near Jalandhar. I visited this dhaba many times before I got the secret recipe of their chicken tikka from the owner Surjit Singh.

Yogurt not only imparts a sour taste to the chicken, but also works as a tenderizer.

1 cup plain yogurt, whisked until smooth

1 tablespoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon chilli powder

Salt to taste

Juice of 2 lemons

8 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts,

Cut into 2-inch cubes

Lemon wedges, for garnish

Mix the yogurt, cumin powder, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt, lemon juice and garlic in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken cubes. You can refrigerate this marinade up to 3 weeks.

Add the chicken and gently coat it with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat grill pan or an indoor electric grill to high.

Place chicken on hot grill and cook for 5 or 6 minutes on each side, until charred at edges and chicken meat is firm.

Garnish with lemon wedges and serve hot.

Ginger-Flavored Mustard Greens

Sarson Ka Saag

Serves 6

Punjab, a region covering Eastern Pakistan and Northern India, is bordered by five rivers, and has a long history and strong cultural heritage. A gifted land of agriculture and climate, it is the pride of the country.

The staple meal in this region, for generations has been Sarson Ka Saag and Makki De Roti. Even today, mere mention of this dish is enough to lure my relatives to come over for meals to my home.

10 ounces mustard greens, trimmed and finely chopped

10 ounces fresh spinach, stemmed and finely chopped

10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1 fresh hot green chili, cut crosswise into ½-inch rounds

Salt to taste

3 cups of water

4 tablespoons cornmeal flour

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 medium onion, finely chopped

Two 4-inch pieces of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

In a large, heavy-bottomed pan combine the mustard greens, spinach, garlic, chili, salt and 3 cups of water. Set over high heat and bring to boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer gently until the stems of the mustard green leaves have turned buttery soft, 1 to 1½ hours.

Add the cornmeal flour, beating with a whisk, until the mixture is fairly smooth. The cornmeal flour will thicken the mixture.

Heat the oil with cumin seeds in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until cumin turn light brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Add onions and ginger and cook, stirring often, until the onion is wilted and beginning to brown around the edges, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and stir until they have softened and begun to brown. Add the green mixture and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for another 5 minutes. Give it a stir and serve hot.

Flat Corn Bread

Makki Di Roti

Makes 12 rotis

The city of Beas, situated on the banks of the sacred river Beas, is home to the spiritual movements known as the Radhasoami Satsang which has a following of over two million people worldwide. One of the objectives of the movement is to run a Langar, which is an open kitchen which provides free meals. People eating in the Langar are served while seated on the floor, a tradition emphasizing the equality of all persons.

It was while volunteering at their kitchens during the grand Langar held during Baisakhi celebrations, that I learned to make Makki Di Roti the right way.

3 cups cornmeal flour, plus extra for dusting

1 teaspoon salt

1¾ cup warm water

2 tablespoons ghee or unsalted butter

Combine the cornmeal and salt in a large, shallow bowl. Gradually add warm water until it reaches the consistency of play dough. Mix water until it is completely incorporated in the flour. Cover and let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Now knead the dough vigorously on a clean, unfloured work surface until the dough is pliable.

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and form into balls. Slightly flour the work surface and roll out the balls into disks, 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Continue to roll all of the dough into disks and stack them on a plate with pieces of plastic wrap between each roti.

Heat a griddle or frying pan over high heat and then reduce the heat to medium. Place the roti on the griddle or frying pan and let it cook until you see bubbles begin to form underneath the surface, about 1 minute. Turn it over and let it cook for about a minute. Turn it over again and cook for 30 seconds. The bread should have brown spots and be cooked through. If not, turn one more time. Slide it off the griddle and rub with butter.

Make all the breads this way, keeping them covered in aluminum foil until ready to eat.

Saffron-Flavored Milk Pudding

Kesari Rabdi

Serves 6

Just the taste of this rich and creamy dessert is reminiscent of my childhood days spent with the family at festival fairs where it was one of the main attractions for all. My favorite way of serving Rabdi is in small clay bowls, which impart a wonderful earthen aroma to it. The length of time required to prepare this dessert is justified by its unforgettable flavor. You can also add a topping of fresh fruits of your choice.

4 cups whipping cream

4 cups half-and-half

1 cup sugar, or to taste

10-12 cardamoms pods, coarsely ground

¼ teaspoon saffron strands, soaked in 2 tablespoons hot milk

10 blanched almonds, chopped into thin slivers

10 pistachios, ground in a spice grinder to a powder

Combine the whipping cream and half-and-half in a heavy bottom saucepan and bring it to boil. Then turn the heat down to low and cook until the milk is reduced to half, about 2 hours. Stir often and scrape the bottom of the pan every 20 minutes to prevent the cream from burning.

Scrape the sides of the pan from time to time to get the milk solids into the mixture.

Stir in the sugar and cardamom and cook until the color changes to light beige, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool at room temperature and stir in the saffron and milk mixture to it.

Serve it chilled in individual bowls, garnished with pistachios and almonds.

A chef by profession, Vikas Khanna's food is a blend of his traditional Indian Culinary Background and the flavors and history of the highly diversified New York food culture. He is owner/executive chef and consultant to several restaurants and has won acclaim from the prestigious James Beard Foundation.
Vikas is the founder of New York Chef Chefs 'Cooking for Life', a non profit organization that brings together celebrated chefs of New York City, for tasting events to raise funds for relief efforts around the world. The proceeds of the events benefit organizations such as Save the Children, Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross, and many more.
Based on his research on the power of the palate, he has created, Vision of Palate, a series of food tasting workshops, designed to educate people with visual disabilities about the complex flavors and aromas of spices and herbs
Through SAKIV (South Asian Kids Infinite Vision), Vikas reaches out to different EYE foundations around South Asia. 'SAKIV- world' was established in 2005 to host vision expos all around the world. Vikas is an honorary member on the Board of the World Peace Society, New York.
He is the compiler and illustrator of the book,'The Cuisine of Gandhi: Based on the Beliefs of the Legend', a selection of Gandhi's writings on food. His forthcoming book 'The Spice Story of India', is his journal of recipes that are a result of his experiences while working with culinary masters.
Vikas is a graduate of the WelcomGroup School of Hotel and Hospitality Administration, India. He has also studied restaurant management at Cornell University, Food writing at Culinary Institute of America and Food Styling at The New School. He has taught at The New School Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales, New York University, and Harvard Extension School.

To know more about Vikas Khanna and his work, please visit www.vkhanna.com.

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