Makar Sankranti & Pongal
Pan-India · Gujarat to Tamil Nadu · Mid-January · the sun turns north
“Eat sweet, speak sweet” The mid-winter harvest is marked with sesame-and-jaggery sweets, the season’s new sugarcane, and slow-cooked winter vegetables — warming food for the turning of the sun.
- The tradition
- The first great festival of the year celebrates the sun’s journey north and the gathered harvest — known as Pongal in the south, Uttarayan in Gujarat, Lohri in Punjab, and Bihu in Assam.
- Customs & rituals
- Gujarat’s skies fill with kites from dawn; Tamil families boil the new rice until it joyfully spills over for abundance; Punjab lights Lohri bonfires; cattle are honoured for the year’s work.
- What people wear
- Bright harvest colours and, in the kite-flying north and west, comfortable cottons for a full day spent on the rooftop.
On the table
5 recipes to cook for Makar Sankranti & Pongal.
Plan a Makar Sankranti & Pongal party →
Tamil Nadu · Indian
Ven Pongal (South Indian Rice-and-Dal Breakfast)
The creamy, peppery Tamil breakfast of rice and moong dal cooked soft and finished with a ghee tempering of cashews, cumin, black pepper and curry leaves. Temple comfort food you can make in one pot.
Gujarat / West India · Indian
Undhiyu (Gujarati Mixed Winter Vegetable Casserole)
Gujarat's grand winter dish: a slow-cooked medley of seasonal vegetables and fried fenugreek dumplings (muthia) in a fragrant green masala of coriander, coconut, and green garlic. Festive, layered, and the pride of Uttarayan.
Pan-Indian street drink · Indian
Sugarcane Juice (Ganne Ka Ras)
Fresh-pressed sugarcane brightened with lime, ginger and black salt and poured over ice — India's roadside summer revival in a glass. Grassy-sweet, mineral and instantly energizing, the way every street cart serves it.
Punjab / North India · Indian
Gajar ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa)
North India's beloved winter dessert: grated carrots slow-cooked in milk and ghee until jammy and rich, studded with nuts and scented with cardamom.
Punjab / North India · Indian
Sarson ka Saag (Punjabi Mustard Greens)
The Punjabi winter classic: mustard greens slow-cooked with spinach and bathua, thickened with cornmeal and finished with a ghee-and-garlic tadka. Earthy, mellow and made for makki di roti.