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Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
5 min
01/12/2025
During the winters of India, there is a whole series of foods that feel like a hug. These foods were not just made to taste good; they were designed to keep the body warm, energised, and nourished during the cold months. And generations later, they still do just that.
For decades, possibly even centuries, the winter kitchens of Indian homes have employed a range of food ingredients known for their natural warming properties, including jaggery, ghee, sesame, bajra, gond, nuts, spices, and leafy greens. These foods were not simply "traditional;" they were selected to provide stamina, immunity, digestion, and warmth in cold weather. All of this knowledge was passed down via storytelling, technique, and family practices into a body of culinary knowledge that continues to anchor Indian winters. The preparations may look simple, but they possess layers of knowledge, practicality, and comfort that current trends can't duplicate.
Every Indian winter has two constants: the cold mornings and your grandma's insistence that you eat something "warming". You might roll your eyes, but you know she's right. Because these dishes aren't random—they're literally made for the season and have centuries of winter survival techniques wrapped in delicious-gooey goodness.
Bajra khichdi was a winter evening favourite all the way from the northern plains to western India: simple, smoky, and filling. High in iron and fibre, pearl millet is inherently warming and, especially in rural areas, helps combat winter lethargy and anaemia. Traditionally served with ghee, curd, or kadhi, it brought oodles of warmth and energy to farming families whose lives can sometimes be dictated by the elements.
Now that the conversation about resurrecting millet is gaining traction in India, bajra khichdi, our forefathers’ way of knowing what was in the best interest of the environment and themselves, offers support.
In Gujarat, winter came with a pot of undhiyu that simmered gently over a low flame - a dish that represented seasonality as few do. Purple yams, surti papdi, raw bananas, peas, methi dumplings, fresh turmeric, and sesame combined with ghee provided a meal that was simultaneously nourishing and celebratory. Rich in fibre, antioxidants, and natural fat, undhiyu brings winter produce to a reminder of earth, time and patient waiting. It acknowledged the possibility of nutrition, joy and community.
In North and Central India, gond ke laddoo emerged with the onset of cold weather. Made with edible gum, whole wheat flour, ghee, dry fruits, and ginger, these laddoos were not just sweets for celebration – they were also medicinal. They were provided to women after childbirth as a way to promote strength, immunity and bone health during the winter months. Their slow, earthy sweetness was a form of nutrition, promoting wellbeing.
Panjiri, of course, was the ultimate comfort for winter in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. This crumbly mixture of whole wheat toasted in ghee with nuts, gond, and sometimes herbs like methi, was thought to lubricate joints, stimulate the bones and keep cold away.
Panjiri was a rustic immunity booster before it even entered the vernacular, whether served warm with milk or consumed directly.
While the North finds comfort in shawls, Rajasthan finds warmth in its dishes. Raab is a thick porridge-like drink made of bajra (pearl millet), ghee, jaggery, and ajwain (carom seeds). First, the millet flour is toasted in ghee until fragrant, and the ground ajwain is added and boiled in water until it thickens. All ajwain, spicy seeds that infuse a rise, need a little jaggery for sweetness. This warm combination is beneficial, soothing, and surprisingly effective.
Both grandmothers from Rajasthan and Gujarat vouch for its restorative powers to enhance immunity and vitality. The winter months were, the winter months are; there are generations of indigenous knowledge attached to the food- the body; food for the season.
There is a quality to traditional Indian winter food that our modern onwards just cannot replicate. There may be something around the preparation time, or perhaps ghee is the reason, or maybe there are just childhood memories attached to each bite. Or possibly they just know, grandmothers! Some of these foods are primarily there for Instagram, while others are essential for survival, physical nourishment, comfort, and family. And above all, these winter foods are still loved, in fact, more loved.