Baisakhi: 5 Easy Recipes That You Must Try

Baisakhi is a festival celebrated widely in northern India and holds special importance for the Sikh and Punjabi communities. It is celebrated with special Baisakhi recipes. This year, the Baisakhi festival falls on 14 April 2022.

Read on for the top five dishes that are made during Baisakhi.

Top 5 Baisakhi Dishes That Are Easy to Make

1. Kadha Prasad

This Punjabi sweet is commonly served in Gurdwaras and is made with whole wheat flour. It is also prepared during Baisakhi.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ghee

4 cups water

Preparation
a. Add the whole wheat flour to melted ghee and stir fry over high flame.

b. Then in another pan, add the water and the sugar. Simmer until required.

c. At first, the mixture will appear a little pastey. But it tends to collect together in patches after a while.

d. Once the whole wheat flour has been fried enough, the flour does not tend to stick together as much as it did in the beginning. The pan base also looks glossy.

e. Now add the sugar solution while continuously stirring and bring to a boil. Let it simmer until the liquid is absorbed.

2. Sarson Ka Saag

This traditional winter recipe from North India has sarson (mustard leaves) as its main ingredient which is also known as mustard. You can also add spinach leaves and bathua depending on the availability. All the leaves must be thoroughly washed before cooking. 

Ingredients

500 grams roughly chopped mustard greens 

250 grams roughly chopped spinach leaves

250 grams roughly chopped Bathua leaves 

1 teaspoon makki ka atta 

2 inch finely chopped ginger 

4 cloves finely chopped garlic 

1 thinly sliced onion 

3 half slit green chillies 

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder 

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon Garam masala powder

Salt to taste

4 tablespoons ghee

Preparation

a. Steam all the leaves together by adding a little salt until they turn soft. Add 3 tablespoons of water and cover the pressure cooker until it gives out one whistle. Then turn off the flame.

b. Release the pressure immediately off the pressure cooker by placing it under running water. Then add the makki ka atta to it. 

c. Allow the leaves to cool. Then use a masher to mish mash the greens until they turn soft and mushy. You can mash as per the consistency you prefer. 

d. In a pan, heat a teaspoon of ghee and add the ginger, garlic, green chillies and onions. Saute them on low flame to cook until the onions turn soft and light brown.

e. Then add the steamed Sarson ka saag, garam masala powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder. 

f. Make the flame high and bring the mixture to a quick boil for a couple of minutes. Then turn off the heat.

g. Serve Sarson Ka Saag hot along with Makki Ki Roti and Masala Chaas.

3. Mango Lassi

The signature drink of Punjab is Lassi. While it can be made in either either salty or sweet form, during Baisakhi, lassi is sweetened and made with mango.

Ingredients
200 ml iced water

1 tablespoon sugar

125 ml curd

8 ice cubes

1 chopped mango

A pinch of dried mint

Preparation

a. Add all the ingredients to a blender jar and blend it.

b. Serve chilled.

4. Meethe Chawal

This is one of the popular Baisakhi special recipes made with boiled rice, yellow food colouring, sugar and dry fruits and is also known as zarda. 

Ingredients 

1 cup blanched sela chawal (parboiled rice)

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 cups water

4 green cardamoms

5 shredded almonds

1 tsp yellow colouring 

2-3 cloves

10-12 raisins

1/4 cup ghee

Dough

Preparation

a. Add the drained out rice, yellow colour, clove and cardamom to water. Once the water starts to boil, simmer it on low heat until the rice is cooked. This will take about 12 minutes.

b. Drain the water from the rice and rinse twice in cold water. Let it sit on the colander.

c. Heat the ghee in a pan and saute the dry fruits till they slightly change in colour. Remove them from the pan and set them aside. Now add the rice in the same pan with the ghee.

d. Take little oil to grease the edge of the lid and roll a string of dough along with the lid. Lightly grease the dough as well.

e. Lower the flame and remove half the rice from the pan. Then sprinkle half the sugar and layer the rest of the rice. Top off the rice layer with the remaining sugar. Place the lid on with the dough seal and over a griddle and cook it over low heat for about 1/2 an hour.

f. After that break the seal and add garnish with dry fruits before serving.

5. Kesar Phirni

When it comes to Baisakhi recipes, the Punjabi festival is not complete without desserts. Hence, Kesar Phirni is a must. 

Ingredients 

50 gram basmati rice

10 tablespoon sugar

1000 ml milk

50 gram green pistachio

1/2 teaspoon green cardamom powder

0.5 gram saffron

Preparation

a. In a bowl, soak rice by adding water for 1 hour.

b. Then using a blender, make a paste of the rice.

c. In a pan, add milk and once it gets heated, add the rice paste and sugar to it.

d. Then add the saffron strands and green cardamom powder.

e. Keep stirring and cooking until the mixture turns even.

f. Lower the flame till the mixture gets proper consistency.

g. Once everything looks well-mixed turn off the flame.

h. Serve chilled by garnishing with sliced pistachios.

Do try these Baisakhi recipes at home and celebrate the festival with your loved ones. We wish you a very Happy Baisakhi.