Tyohaar Ki Thaali - E21 Pongal

Sakshi looks for her mother's prized recipe diary, the invaluable gift she was was given when she left home to come and work in Mumbai. She decides that she will celebrate one festival a week based on the recipes in her mother's book. She decides to begin this journey by celebrating 'Ganesh Chaturthi'. She makes Modak and Pappaya ka halwa.

Sakshi reminisces about living in a joint family and the quirks it comes with. She remembers the chaos in just deciding the day's menu. She talks about their neighbour Gayatri auntie and her Onasadhya, she decided to celebrate Onam. She makes pineapple pachadi, pulinji, kalan and rice.

Anant Chaturdashi is the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi and also a time to eat Khoba Roti in Rajasthan. The day after, Jains celebrate a special day, kshamavani, where they apologise to each other. She makes Khoba Roti and Alvathi.

Sakshi finds interesting recipes related to Eid in her mother's diary and decides to celebrate Eid, her friend Ali Asgar comes to celebrate Eid with her. She makes Shahi tukda, date and tamarind chutney and veg hare bhare kebab.

Sakshi reminisces about the beauty of Delhi around the time of Durga Puja. To share this festive feeling, she invites her dear friend Kavita Kaushik to celebrate Navratri. She makes a mixed vegetable dish Shukto with Panch Foran, a pick of whole spices and incorporates the crunchy Badi that Kavita brings along with her. The friends also make Bhoger Khichuri, a Bengali specialty of the Durga Puja Bhog. As Kavita insists on the sheer necessity of having sweet on a Bengali menu, she prepares the Narkel Ladoo. The close friends have a great time sharing festive memories as they prepare the delicacies.

The festival of Dussehra is bound in folklore right from Kolkata to Kanyakumari. Sakshi narrates her own stories, one of them being her first encounter with acting during the Dusshera festival. Talking about Karnataka and Mahishasur, Sakshi decides to make a South Indian sweet dish Hayagreeva, made from chana dal, jaggery and a meetha tadka. As Sakshi reminisces about the beautiful Dussehra celebration in Kullu, she resolves to make a Himachali dish Siddu, a peas and paneer based steamed dumpling. To her pleasant surprise, Chef Ranveer Brar drops in. With useful tips on cooking from the Chef himself, the two create a beautiful plate of Siddu. Sakshi reminds us that no matter where you go in the world, there's two things always present: food and stories.

Sakshi reminisces about Karwa Chauth celebrations at her home and what the day used to be like. She tries her hand at Dal Baati Churma, an important Karwa Chauth recipe and also a traditional meal of Rajasthan. The Churma made from wheat, suji and ghee, along with the Dal made from pulses and spices and baked Baati make for a delicious, wholesome meal.

Festive rituals are a great way to indulge in the best nutrition the seasons have to offer. Fourteen different leafy greens all in one recipe is one such example. Sakshi decides to make the Choddo Shaakh, a Bengali winter specialty prepared on Narak Chaturdashi or Chhoti Diwali. It's served with a mound of steamed rice and just a dash of ghee... Sakshi also prepares Kakrat Nu Vada, a symbolic Gujarati dish of Narak Chaturdashi. It's a fritter made from makka, gehu, bajra, suji and besan... and enhanced with the bitterness of fenugreek.

The festival of lights is here! And Sakshi makes her mom's super hit Makhane Ki Barfi. Ram Kapoor joins Sakshi to celebrate Diwali and is caught off guard when she asks him to help her cook! Amidst amusing Diwali memories, Sakshi and Ram prepare her favourite Aloo Mutter ki Sabzi and Puri. They savour the sabzi and puri along with dishes that Ram's wife Gautami Kapoor has sent for Diwali.

Sakshi talks about how festivals give us a reason to pause and soak in nature. One such festival that worships the Sun is Chatt Pooja. Sakshi prepares Thekua, the first bhog of Chatt Pooja. Actor and friend Rajesh Kumar joins her in the kitchen and willingly helps her prepare Kaddu Bhaat. He shares several interesting bits about Chatt Pooja from his own home.

It's Kartik Purnima and Sakshi shares many great stories connected to this festival. Different communities celebrate this day for different reasons. Along with the unbelievable edible diyas and the tradition of paper boats, there are simple but delicious recipes for this special day. Sakshi makes Habisa Dalma, a special recipe from Odisha, made with vegetables and dal. To accompany it, she makes savoury and sweet versions of Adai, a type of dosa.

Sakshi says that the three things she loves the most about Gurudwaras are kar seva, gurbani and kada prasad. She tries to emulate Kohli aunty's recipe of the kada prasad or aatey ka halwa because she is celebrating Gurpurb. It's only fitting that she has to host Gurpal Singh in her home. To her joy, he has a cache of stories of Guru Nanakji and Sikhism. Sakshi also decides to make Kadhi and Khichdi, thus creating a langar-like atmosphere. Mahabharata meaning 'The Great India', is said to be written by a Brahmin Veda Vyasa. It is divided into verses interspersed with passages of prose. A story incorporated into the Mahabharata came to be known as the Bhagvad Gita.

Amidst some amusing stories of Satyanarayan Vrat, Sakshi makes Panjiri, a special of the vrat, but with a twist in the recipe. She also explains the reason behind the Satyanarayan Puja. Speaking fondly of how the Brihaspativar vrat is her mom's favourite vrat, Sakshi cooks a Chana dal and jaggery kheer and tells us a Sri Krishna-related payasam tale.

To celebrate Ekadashi, Sakshi makes a Khatta Meetha Kaddu, a simple pumpkin recipe with sour-sweet flavours. She also narrates an interesting Ekadashi story of why the moon waxes and wanes. To go with the kaddu, she makes a plain Rajgeere ke aate ka paratha and one with a paneer stuffing.

Sakshi makes Hanumanji's favourite urad dal fritters also known as Hanuman Vada or Milagu Vada. She hosts mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik for lunch who gifts her his new book on Hanumanji and tells us lesser known facets of the monkey-god's personality. Banana and coconut are also foods that are associated with Hanumanji and so Sakshi makes Bharleli Keli, a Konkani recipe and a dark berry compote to go with it.

Sakshi is celebrating Sankashti Chaturthi for which she prepares Valachi Bhaji. While preparing this Maharashtrian speciality made with fava beans, dry coconut, onion paste and Malvani masala, she narrates the significance of the name Sankashti and also the reason behind Lord Ganesh’s name. Sakshi then makes Alu Wadi by layering colocasia leaves with a tamarind and jaggery paste. It’s prepared on Angarki Chaturthi and Sakshi tells us the story behind this auspicious day.

Delighted to receive Matthri and pudina chutney from her doting neighbour Kohli aunty, Sakshi resolves to make vrat ka khaana for her. She speaks about the multiple navaratris in a year and looks for her mom’s Navaratri recipe in the diary. She makes tikki with the fibrous Singhade ka atta along with some ararot powder and soaked chironjee seeds. As she describes the pleasure of eating hot fritters on a cold day, Sakshi prepares colocasia root fritters or Arbi ke pakode with buckwheat flour.

Sakshi makes a delicious Moong Dal ka Halwa as she speaks of the amazing luni-solar workings of the Hindu calendar. She narrates fascinating legends of Shakhambari Devi, worshipped on Gupt Navaratri of the Paush month. She also makes Paush Bada from the chilka moong dal and serves it with a garlic-tomato-chili chutney and coriander chutney.

To celebrate Christmas, Sakshi and her friend Maria Goretti bake a chocolate cake layered with a buttery mistletoe-like icing. Maria shares memories from childhood and tells Sakshi what it means to be an East Indian. She also reminisces about the women who would sing songs and grind the Bottle Masala in big mortar and pestles. They also make pancakes with a fresh coconut filling. Sakshi and Maria realize that despite coming from different communities their celebrations and delicacies share many similarities.

As the New Year approaches, Sakshi resolves to revive her old love of writing. To celebrate a new beginning, she makes something unique. A change from her Indian recipes, Sakshi prepares savory English muffins. She also makes a vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with whole lentils and vegetables, a dish once innovated by Indian cooks for the British colonizers. The pie is scrumptious with a base of shallow-fried potatoes and topped with mashed potatoes. She also talks about fascinating New Year traditions from around the world in this episode, Sakshi Tanwar explains the reason why the new year begins on 1st of January as she prepares a delectable combination of English Muffins and Shepherd's Pie.

On this festive occasion of Makar Sankranti and Lohri, Sakshi hosts a super special guest, cricketer - Virender Sehwag! Sehwag shares amusing anecdotes from his cricket days and also discusses his favourite Kishore Kumar songs while relishing the Lohri specials prepared by Sakshi. The winter harvest festival of Makar Sankranti denotes the transition of the sun into the zodiac sign of Capricorn. Being a perfect winter seed,Sakshi uses Sesame seeds (til) to make Til ke ladoo to celebrate Makar Sankranti or Lohri - as it is called in Northern India. She also prepares another winter delicacy, Muli ke patton ka saag with stuffed Makke ki roti..

Sakshi enjoys the Bundi ke Laddoo that have been sent to her by her Mamaji. As she speaks about the blooming spring season, she decides to make something yellow and hence she begins with the Khaman Dhokla. Sakshi narrates an interesting story of Kamdev and Shiv-Parvati related to Vasant Panchami. This day also marks the birth of Goddess Saraswati. Sakshi shares stories about this powerful goddess, featuring Kumbhkaran and Kalidas. She then prepares Mawe ki Kachori, a fried, flaky dough ball soaked in sugar syrup.

Narayan Narayan…! Narad Muni always has a cache of stories about everyone that he swaps around playfully. Sakshi tries to unearth this fascinating personality from mythology by sharing his various tales. On the menu today is Khaja – a sweet dispensed as prasad at the Jagannath Puri temple which has a special connection to Naradji. Sakshi also makes Murukku Chakli from rice flour.

Khandoba, a local deity of Maharashtra is one of the many regional gods of our country. Sakshi speaks about the beauty of regional deities in a country as diverse as India – that such figures are worshipped by a varied populace irrespective of religion. She also speaks of the Khandoba mela and narrates a folk tale. Sakshi prepares the bhog that’s a favourite of this God– Puran poli, a sweet jaggery flatbread along with Vanngyacha Bharit – a mashed eggplant preparation.

A Kashmiri Shivratri menu is on the cards. Sakshi invites her friend Supriya who is known to whip up tasty Kashmiri fare. Amidst tales of Shiv and Parvati and their wedding day, Sakshi prepares a lesser known curry of India, the Nadru Yakhni or lotus stems with yoghurt. Supriya joins her and brings Dum Aloo for her host and friend - Sakshi. They also make Singhade Ke Aate Ki Katli and Muli Ki Chutney. Sakshi and Supriya enjoy this delicious meal together. Hairat Mubarak!

It's the occasion of Holi and Sakshi can't stop singing! She prepares Thandai from soaked almonds, melon seeds, pistachios, poppy seeds and milk. Sakshi is joined by her friend Kanu who gets impressed by Sakshi's cooking. They make Gujiya and recall the joy of preparing festive delicacies in a group. Sakshi also shares a few mythological stories about the festival. More college friends join them and also make Aloo Tikki ki chaat. Later, Sakshi has a surprise planned for the friends, as she initiates the playful holi celebration with colourful gulaal before the girls sit to enjoy the sweet and savoury Holi fare.

Festivals call for freshly made, hot, tasty food. But among these is one which forbids the eating of just that, and instead asks for a day-old food. Dedicated to Sheetla Devi, Basoda is one such festival, on which you eat 'Basi' dishes. But it's only those recipes which don't spoil easily and are still delicious. Sakshi tells us the origin of this seemingly odd festival mostly celebrated in Rajasthan. She prepares a Basoda special sabzi known as ker sangri. To go with the ker sangria is the multigrain roti with spices - misi roti. She also makes a savory bajre ki raab that she would have as a child on this day.

The presence of so many communities in India doesn't just mean numerous festivals, but also several New Year celebrations! Sakshi starts her New Year celebration by making Ugadi Pachadi. It's a preparation from Andhra Pradesh and also part of a ritual bhog. To celebrate the Maharashtrian new year Gudi Padwa, she makes the very local Kothimbir Vadi. Sakshi is excited to host her friend Renuka Shahane and welcomes her with a Marathi greeting. Renuka describes the Gudi Padwa day as is spent in her Marathi home. They make Shrikhand together and also recreate a mini version of the traditional Gudi.

Gangaur is a special festival of Rajasthan which calls for the worship of Shiv - Parvati and has fun, childlike customs associated with it. Sakshi creates miniature mud figures of Shiv and Parvati and breaks into a Gangaur song sung by young girls. Having celebrated such festivals in her childhood, she expresses thanks to her mother. After preparing Gune, a sweet fritter, it's time to accept her mom's challenge and make a smashing preparation of the intricate Ghevar.

To celebrate the birthday of Bhagwan Mahavir, Sakshi cooks a Jain dish often made in households in Gujarat: Tamatar sev nu shaakh. Diced tomatoes sautéed in spices, chillies, curry leaves and a pinch of sugar as well! And of course, a generous helping of sev added on top. Sakshi explains the different types of daan in Jainism and shares the story of Mahavir and his preachings. She enjoys the shaakh with a bhakri. She then makes a Kuttu Pulao from buckwheat and talks about how Kuttu is eaten on festivals and fasts across India.

On the occasion of Easter, Sakshi invites some children home to celebrate it with her. She makes an Easter special Simnel cake wirth marzipan, dry fruits and tutti-frutti. She also makes a quinoa salad and some tasty hasselback potatoes.

Sakshi shares a story narratingthe ingenuity of Akbar and Birbal. She celebrates Pohila boishakhby making Bhapa puli pittha, steamed rice dumplings. Ranveer Brar joins her and makes a delicious Aate ka Halwa with jaggery. They also prepare Dhokar Dalna, fried lentil cakes in a potato gravy.

Sakshi celebrates Akshaya Tritiya by doing what she does best, telling stories and cooking delicious food. She narrates the story of Hrishabhdev and that of Krishna and Sudama. The celebration is complete once Kangni Kheer made in sugarcane juice and besan ke gatte are on the table.

Sakshi shares her memory of the beautiful Arunachal Pradesh during the harvest festival of Mopin. She makes Bamboo shoot stir fry and also recreates Zan, a recipe that she had in a small, simple restaurant in Arunachal Pradesh.

Sakshi celebrates the wisdom of Gautam Buddha on Buddha Purnima. She makes ‘Khaapse’ or sweet dough fritters. Sakshi’s school mate and actor Anup Soni comes by the surprise her. While they try to nail the braided detailing of the Tibetan Buddhist snack, a bunch of fun school memories come up. They also share stories from Buddha’s life. While Anup leaves for his shoot, Sakshi makes another dish for the occasion; Conjee, a rice porridge with celery. Inspired by the teachings of Gautam Buddha, Sakshi resolves to be more compassionate to one and all.

Mulling over the perception of Sita’s life, Sakshi decides to celebrate Sita's perseverance. She also shares an interesting story that precedes Sita’s Swayamvar. As the lotus stem is relevant to a Vanvaas story in the Ramayan saga, Sakshi prepares Kamal kakdi ke kofte. She then makes an elephant foot yam and jackfruit pulao. The celebration of Sita Diwas is complete as Sakshi supports her friend’s decision to name her baby Sia, a version of Sita.

Sakshi misses her Jewish neighbour Leela Auntie and decides to celebrate the Jewish festival of Shavuot. She challenges herself by baking her own Challah bread! She also cooks a traditional Jewish stew with pumpkin, potatoes and carrot, a recipe she learnt from Leela Auntie.

One of the many questions that intrigued Sakshi as a little child was the greatness of the river Ganga. She thinks of her aunt who unravelled some of Ganga’s secrets and instinctively cooks Chainsoo, a traditional daal from Uttarakhand. Speaking of the dramatic advent of Ganga on earth, she also makes a Ganga Dussehra special - Sattu Paratha.

Sakshi has bought home some fresh flowers when a sudden remark from Kohli aunty makes her think of the beloved Sai Baba. She decides to make Chatpate Amrud (grilled spiced guava) and Angur ki chutney, which resembles a grape compote, to celebrate the revered spiritual master. Also on the menu is Palak Khichdi which Sakshi prepares while remembering Sai Baba's practice of cooking khichdi for his devotees.

As Sakshi reminisces about an old college friend, she introduces us to the unique Odisha festival of Raja Sankranti which celebrates women’s menstruation and fertility. Preparing the Odisha delicacies like Poda Pitha, a traditional cake and Kanika, a sweet rice, Sakshi laughs over funny Indian euphemism for a woman’s menstrual cycle and expresses her pride in Odisha.

What’s better... Pulao or Kabuli? After a heated debate among friends, Sakshi resolves to find out for herself by cooking this Eid special rice dish - Kabuli. She invites her friend Ayaz Khan to relish the Qubooli and celebrate Eid-ul-fitr with her, which is sweetened further with Sakshi's mouth watering preparation of Sheer Khurma.

The wedding day of Goddess Meenakshi & God Sundereshwarar is celebrated with a colossal feast for her devotees. Sakshi also celebrates their wedding at home by cooking Tindli Thoran, Curd rice and Rasam, and of course, by enthralling us with tales of the heroic goddess.

On a beautiful, poetic afternoon Sakshi invites her poet-friend Piyush Mishra to celebrate the great mystic Kabir. Piyush speaks about the influence of Kabir while sharing his famous couplets as well as giving us a sneak peak of his own writing. They have a lovely time as Sakshi makes her Dadi's recipe of Chuni ki Roti and Kheere ki Sabzi.

Sheikh Tahir, Uderolal or Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, many names but one unifying force for the Sindhi community- Jhulelal is the center of Sindhi culture and tradition. Sakshi celebrates all things Sindhi with her friend Shweta Keswani by making a delicious preparation of Vaishnav Bhaji. Together, they also make Thoom ware Chawar and Arbi Tuk ending with the joyous Jhulelal song.

They say that the Mahabharata has a story in it about virtually every theme in the world and Sakshi plans to make recipes related to this epic saga. She first cooks Avial, a mix vegetable preparation with grated coconut - a dish believed to be innovated by the mighty Bheem. She also makes Mungphali ki Kheer as a tribute to the slain warriors of Mahabharata while sharing an interesting story around it.

Sakshi talks about her desire for discovering customs of a place along with its food and people. On arriving in Maharashtra, she had heard about Vitthoba and Vari and she expresses her wish to celebrate them. She makes Pitthla, bhakri and thecha in Asal maraath mol (true marathi spirit)! She speaks of the Bhakti Parampara of Pandharpur and narrates an amusing story about the name 'Vitthoba'.

Looking for a traditional Guru Purnima dish, Sakshi comes across her favourite recipe of Badam ka Halwa in her mother's diary. Her gym friend and popular radio jockey RJ Anmol comes over and tries his hand at cooking. They bond over their excitement over little joys that come along with cooking - the sounds and aromas in the kitchen. They share Guru Purnima folk tales and make Matar ki Puriyan and Kadu ka raita.

The auspicious month of Shravan is about meditation and spirituality. Sakshi celebrates the monsoon month by narrating tales of Shivji and making Sabudana khichdi - a favourite Maharashtrian fasting staple. Savoury done, also on the menu is something sweet - a sweet potato or Shakarkandi ka halwa.

To celebrate Nag Panchami, Sakshi cooks some Konkani delicacies for the day while narrating stories, busting myths, and sharing intriguing facts about snakes. The first dish she cooks is Dind - steamed dough parcels with jaggery and chana dal filling, followed by Adsare Undi – coconut rice dumplings, and Dalithoy – a tur dal curry. Many communities do not use knives for the entire day of the festival, and Sakshi also follows this practice in the episode.

Actress Tanaaz Irani joins Sakshi to celebrate the Parsi new year, Navroz. Tanaaz is in for a big surprise as Sakshi decides to make a vegetarian Dhansak, which is traditionally a meat-based preparation. The two friends discuss the history of the Parsi community and make Dhansak masala from scratch. The duo also make brown rice with fried potatoes along with Ravo, a traditional sweet dish.

It’s time for siblings to bond as Sakshi’s sister Seema Didi is home for Raksha Bandhan. To surprise her sister, Sakshi makes Gulab Jamun, which is traditionally made in her family home. They then fry dough parcels with a paneer and bell pepper stuffing. Sakshi talks about the Koli custom of offering coconut to the ocean on Narali Purnima. The sisters recall childhood memories and make a video call to their beloved brother, complete with a Rakhi thaali in hand.

To celebrate Janmashtami, Lord Krishna's birthday, Sakshi prepares Gopalkala and sings Krishna bhajans. She makes Mohanthal and also some Dahi ke Kebab. We learn about the various avatars of Krishna in different Indian states and in the Mahabharata. Sakshi is overwhelmed with emotion as she speaks to her parents on a video call. They even sing a Krishna Bhajan together.