Lohri is a celebration rooted in warmth, harvest, and togetherness, and food lies at the heart of its traditions. From jaggery-sweetened desserts to nutty winter snacks and comforting savoury bites, Lohri recipes
are designed to nourish and bring people together around shared tables.
Curated by Executive Chef Swapnadeep Mukherjee, The Metropolitan Hotel & Spa, this festive selection blends traditional flavours with refined techniques, making them perfect for home celebrations. Whether it’s a creamy makhane ki kheer, a wholesome peanut tikki, or a flavourful paneer roll, these recipes capture the essence of Lohri, simple, seasonal, and deeply comforting.
Makhane Ki Kheer
Ingredients
Makhana (fox nuts): 1 cup
Desi ghee: 10 g
Full cream milk: 400 ml
Almonds (chopped): 10 g
Cashew nuts (chopped): 20 g
Sugar: 50 g
Green cardamom (crushed): 5 g
Method
Heat ghee in a pan over medium flame. Add makhana and roast until light brown and crisp. Remove and cool.
Coarsely grind half the roasted makhana; keep the rest whole.
Boil milk and simmer until slightly thickened. Add whole makhana and cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add sugar and ground makhana; cook for another 5 minutes until creamy.
Separately roast almonds and cashews until golden.
Serve the kheer hot or chilled, garnished with nuts and crushed cardamom.
Nawabi Paneer Bhujia Roll
Ingredients
Filling
Paneer cubes: 60 g
Tomato (deseeded, chopped): 30 g
Capsicum (chopped): 30 g
Olive oil: 15 ml
Beaten curd: 20 ml
Ginger (chopped): 10 g
Garlic (chopped): 10 g
Red chilli powder: 8 g
Turmeric powder: 5 g
Chaat masala: 5 g
Kasuri methi: 5 g
Garam masala: 3 g
Salt: to taste
Fresh coriander (chopped): 10 g
Leftover chapatti: 1
Method
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and sauté cumin seeds until aromatic.
Add ginger and garlic; sauté briefly.
Add capsicum and tomato, followed by spices and beaten curd.
Mix in paneer cubes and cook gently until well coated and moist. Adjust seasoning.
Spread the filling over a chapatti, roll tightly, and cut into halves.
Serve hot with mint chutney, pickled onions, or a fresh salad.
Kashmiri Halwa
Ingredients
Oats: 1 cup
Granulated sugar: ½ cup
Milk: 2 cups
Desi ghee: 4 tsp
Green cardamom powder: 1 tsp
Saffron strands: a few
Cashews, almonds, raisins: a handful
Method
Heat 2–3 tsp ghee in a pan and roast oats on low heat until lightly coloured.
In another pan, heat milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely.
Add roasted oats and cook, stirring continuously.
Mix cardamom powder and saffron into the remaining ghee and add to the halwa. Cook until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
Fry nuts and raisins separately in ghee.
Garnish the halwa and serve warm.
Mungfali Ki Tikki
Ingredients
Roasted peanuts (mungfali), finely chopped: 300 g
Boiled potato (mashed): 95 g
Ginger (chopped): 15 g
Green chilli (chopped): 10 g
Olive oil: 5 ml
Salt: to taste
Coriander leaves (chopped): 20 g
Yellow chilli powder: 5 g
Black cumin (shahi jeera): 5 g
Method
Combine peanuts and mashed potato in a bowl.
Add ginger, green chilli, spices, coriander, and salt; mix into a soft dough.
Divide into 8–10 portions and shape into tikkis.
Shallow-fry on medium heat until golden and crisp on both sides.
Serve hot with green or red chutney and a side salad.
