Chhath Puja 2024: Pumpkin rice is definitely made on the day of Nahai-Khai, know what is the traditional way to make it

The Chhath Puja that comes after Diwali is seen in Bihar as well as many other states. Chhath Puja is not just a festival, but the faith of millions of people is associated with it. This fast is kept for the long life of children, their good health and bright future. If we talk about this year, this year Chhath Puja will start on November 5 and will end on November 8.

November 5 will be the first day of Chhath Puja, which is called Nahai Khaai. Prasad is always prepared in a satvik way in Nahai Khaai. It is necessary to make pumpkin rice mainly in the prasad. If you are also doing Chhath Puja, then you must know the traditional method of making pumpkin rice.

Here pumpkin means gourd because in many places gourd is called pumpkin. In such a situation, people eat gram dal, arwa rice, and pumpkin vegetables with great gusto on the day of Nahai Khay.

Ingredients to make pumpkin

For this, first of all, you will need half a kilo of gourd, half a cup of gram dal, rock salt, half a teaspoon of turmeric powder, about a cup of water, and two chopped green chilies.

Ingredients for tempering

Half a teaspoon of cumin, a quarter teaspoon of asafoetida, one to two teaspoons of ghee, one to two dry red chilies, two to three bay leaves

Method

Now let us tell you the method of making pumpkin. For this, first mix gourd and gram dal with one cup of water in a cooker. After adding water, add turmeric and salt according to taste. Now close the cooker and let it whistle twice. The gourd and lentils will be cooked in two whistles.

After the lentils are cooked, start tempering them. For this, heat the oil in a pan. After this, add cumin seeds and crackle them, then add bay leaves, chopped green chilies, dry chilies, and then asafoetida. When all the things are fried well, add lentils and gourd to it. Let it cook like this for some time. After 5-8 minutes, take it out and keep it aside.

Make rice like this

There is a tradition of making Arwa rice with pumpkin vegetables. To prepare it, first, soak a bowl of rice in water for half an hour. After this, put twice the amount of water of rice in a pressure cooker and keep it for cooking. It will require only one whistle to cook. After one whistle, keep the cooker aside. When its pressure is released, offer pumpkin rice.

(PC: Instagram)