Seven days of hot drinks, warm dal and khichdi, and winter sweets, all from recipes already in Siddhi’s kitchen. Each day pairs one hot drink, one main dish and one sweet, so you can cook a single dish a day and still have something comforting to end the meal.
Siddhi calls hot chocolate the best winter recipe and gajar halwa a winter sweet, and her rice kheer can be served hot in winter. The rest of the week leans on dals, khichdis and curries that are served hot, plus the jaggery sweets made for Makar Sankranti in January.
Every recipe in this plan is cooked in Siddhi’s own kitchen before it goes live.
The plan at a glance
Day by day
Monday: dal and spinach
Hot drink
Adrak Masala Chai
Serves 2
Spicy Indian ginger tea: tea leaves brewed with cardamom, chai masala and sugar, boiled with milk and freshly grated ginger.
Main
Dal Palak
Dhaba style dal palak: boiled moong dal simmered with spinach, onion, tomato and spices. Siddhi serves it with rice or roti.
Tuesday: khichdi night
Hot drink
Tandoori Chai
Serves 2
Masala chai brewed with tea masala and cardamom, then poured into a kulhad heated on the flame so it bubbles up with a smoky flavour.
Main
Moong Dal Tadka Khichdi
Serves 3 · 35–40 min
Rice and moong dal pressure cooked, then mixed into a vegetable tadka. Siddhi tops it with a dollop of ghee and serves it with yogurt and pickle.
Sweet
Til Chikki
Serves 4 · 15 min
Roasted sesame seeds set in jaggery melted in ghee, made for Makar Sankranti.
Wednesday: a rich curry
Hot drink
Hot Chocolate
Serves 2
Siddhi calls hot chocolate the best winter recipe: full-fat milk with cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa and chopped chocolate.
Main
Paneer Butter Masala
40–45 min
Paneer in a buttery onion and strained tomato gravy. Siddhi serves it sizzling hot.
Sweet
Khajur Burfi
Serves 6 · 20 min prep, 10 min cook
Sugar free khajur burfi: coarsely ground dates cooked with roasted almonds, cashews, pistachios, coconut and poppy seeds, rolled in poppy seeds and pistachios, set and sliced.
Thursday: kadhi and khichdi
Hot drink
Tandoori Coffee
Serves 2
A smoky, frothy milk coffee: milk, sugar and coffee powder simmered together, then poured into a kulhad heated on the flame so it bubbles up.
Main
Gujarati Khichdi
Serves 2–3 · 5 min + soaking prep, 10 min cook
Plain Gujarati khichdi, the pairing Siddhi recommends for her Gujarati kadhi.
Sweet
Peanut Ladoo
Serves 4 · Under 15 min
Three-ingredient peanut ladoo, which Siddhi serves for Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti.
Friday: Rajasthani dinner
Hot drink
Adrak Masala Chai
Serves 2
Spicy Indian ginger tea: tea leaves brewed with cardamom, chai masala and sugar, boiled with milk and freshly grated ginger.
Main
Rajasthani Besan Gatta Curry
Serves 4
Besan gatte simmered in an onion, tomato and curd gravy. Siddhi serves it hot with chapati and parathas.
Sweet
Dry Fruits Ladoo
Serves 4
Sugar free dry fruits ladoo: mixed dry fruits roasted in ghee, cooked with dates and figs, and rolled into smooth ladoos while warm.
Saturday: spinach khichdi and hot kheer
Hot drink
Hot Chocolate
Serves 2
Classic hot chocolate: full-fat milk simmered with cinnamon and vanilla, thickened with cocoa powder, sugar and chopped chocolate.
Main
Palak Khichdi
Serves 2–3 · 40–50 min
Rice and dal pressure cooked with potato and mixed into a spinach tempering. Siddhi serves it hot.
Sweet
Rice Kheer
Serves 3–4 · 50–55 min
Siddhi’s rice kheer can be served chilled in summer or hot in winter.
Sunday: dal tadka
Hot drink
Tandoori Chai
Serves 2
Masala chai brewed with tea masala and cardamom, then poured into a kulhad heated on the flame so it bubbles up with a smoky flavour.
Main
Dal Tadka
Toor and chana dal finished with a ghee, garlic and red chilli tadka, poured over just before serving.
Sweet
Sukhdi
Serves 4
Wheat flour, ghee and jaggery, cooked on festivals and auspicious days in Gujarat.
Planning the sweets
Most of the sweets this week are set, rolled or cut, so they take a little planning:
- Khajur burfi: the rolls set in the refrigerator for 2 to 2.5 hours before slicing.
- Til chikki and sukhdi are spread on a greased plate, cut and left to set.
- Peanut ladoo is rolled from the mixture on a greased plate, and dry fruits ladoo is rolled once the mixture has cooled from hot to warm.
- Gujarati khichdi: the rice and moong dal soak for half an hour before cooking.
Shopping list, recipe by recipe
Each list below is the ingredient list from Siddhi’s recipe card, at the serving size the recipe makes. Open a recipe to scale it for your family.
Adrak Masala Chai (serves 2)
- 1 cup milk, full-fat or low-fat
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp tea leaves
- 1 inch ginger, peeled and washed
- 2 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp chai masala
Dal Palak
- 250 g spinach, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup split moong dal, boiled
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 1 big tomato, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
- 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- Asafoetida
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- Salt to taste
Gajar Halwa (serves 3)
- 1 kg carrots, grated
- 1 cup full fat milk, boiled
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup mixed dry fruits
- 1/4 cup clarified butter (ghee)
- 1/2 tsp cardamom, coarsely crushed
- 1/3 cup water
Tandoori Chai (serves 2)
- 1¾ cups milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp tea leaves
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp tea masala
- 1 green cardamom
- 1 clay pot or earthen cup (kulhad)
Moong Dal Tadka Khichdi (serves 3)
- 1/2 cup rice
- 1/4 cup split green gram (split moong dal)
- 1 small potato, finely chopped
- 2–3 tbsp peas
- 1/2 cup mixed vegetables of your choice, like French beans, capsicum, onion and carrot
- 1 big tomato, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tbsp clarified butter
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1 tbsp ginger and garlic, finely chopped
- 2–3 green chillies, sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 3–4 cloves
- 2 dry red chillies
- A small piece of cinnamon stick
- 2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
- A few curry leaves
- Salt to taste
Til Chikki (serves 4)
- 1 cup sesame seeds
- 3/4 cup jaggery, grated
- 1 tbsp ghee
Hot Chocolate (serves 2)
- 500 ml full-fat milk
- 1/2 cup chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- A few drops of vanilla essence
Paneer Butter Masala
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 200 g paneer (cottage cheese), cut into cubes
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 8–10 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger, chopped into small pieces
- 4 tbsp butter
- 15–20 cashew nuts
- 8–10 almonds
- 1½ tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp Kitchen King masala
- Salt to taste
Khajur Burfi (serves 6)
- 500 g seedless dates (khajur)
- 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
- 1/2 cup cashews, chopped
- 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
- 1/2 cup grated coconut (optional)
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds (khas khas)
Tandoori Coffee (serves 2)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tbsp coffee powder
- 1 clay or earthen cup (kulhad)
Gujarati Kadhi (serves 4)
- 500 ml buttermilk
- 1/2 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
- 1 dry red chilli
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1/4 tsp ginger paste
- 2 green chillies, crushed
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 8–10 curry leaves
- 1½ tbsp gram flour (besan)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- Salt to taste
Gujarati Khichdi (serves 2–3)
- 1/2 cup rice
- 1/2 cup split green gram (green moong dal)
- 1 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
- 3–4 cloves and a piece of cinnamon stick
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp curd
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
Peanut Ladoo (serves 4)
- 300 g peanuts, roasted and coarsely crushed
- 300 g jaggery, chopped, or jaggery powder
- 1 tbsp clarified butter (ghee), plus a little for greasing
Rajasthani Besan Gatta Curry (serves 4)
- 1 cup gram flour (besan), for the gatte
- 2 tbsp cooking oil, for the gatte
- 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain), for the gatte
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, for the gatte
- 1/2 tsp cumin and coriander powder (dhaniya jeera powder), for the gatte
- 1/4 tsp garam masala, for the gatte
- 1/4 tsp turmeric, for the gatte
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing), for the gatte
- Salt to taste, for the gatte
- 3 medium onions, made into a paste, for the curry
- 2 large tomatoes, made into a paste, for the curry
- 1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped, for the curry
- 1/2 cup curd or buttermilk, for the curry
- 4 tbsp cooking oil, for the curry
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, for the curry
- 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder, for the curry
- 1/2 tbsp cumin and coriander powder, for the curry
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida, for the curry
- 1/2 tsp garam masala, for the curry
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, for the curry
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds, for the curry
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, for the curry
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped, for the curry
- Salt to taste, for the curry
Dry Fruits Ladoo (serves 4)
- 500 g dates
- 1 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
- 4–5 figs, finely chopped
- 200 g mixed dry fruits, finely chopped
Palak Khichdi (serves 2–3)
- 300 g spinach (palak), finely chopped
- 1/2 cup rice, washed and soaked in water for 15–20 minutes
- 1/4 cup yellow split gram, washed and soaked in water for 15–20 minutes
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 1 potato, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 green chillies, sliced
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1 dry red chilli
- 3–4 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
Rice Kheer (serves 3–4)
- 1/2 cup small rice
- 2 litres full fat milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup mixed nuts, chopped
- 1/4 tsp cardamom, coarsely crushed
- A pinch saffron
Dal Tadka
- 1/2 cup split red gram (toor dal)
- 1/3 cup split Bengal gram (chana dal)
- 1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 large tomato, finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 3–4 tbsp cooking oil
- 3–4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2–3 tbsp ghee
- 2–3 cloves
- Cinnamon stick
- 2 dry red chillies
- Salt to taste
Sukhdi (serves 4)
- 1 cup wheat flour
- 3/4 cup clarified butter (ghee)
- 3/4 cup jaggery
FAQs
Which recipes in this plan are made for winter?
Siddhi calls hot chocolate the best winter recipe and gajar halwa a winter sweet, and her rice kheer can be served hot in winter. Til chikki and peanut ladoo are made for Makar Sankranti, which falls in January.
Do I need to cook a new sweet every day?
No. You can serve the same sweet on more than one day. Siddhi’s recipes for these sweets do not give storage times, so make a batch your family will finish.
What goes with the dal and curry days?
Siddhi serves dal palak with rice or roti, and Rajasthani gatta curry hot with chapati and parathas. Gujarati kadhi goes with Gujarati khichdi.
Is there a sugar free sweet in the plan?
Yes. Siddhi’s khajur burfi and dry fruits ladoo have no sugar in the recipe.