Raksha Bandhan recipes 2023: 5 mouthwatering Indian lunch recipes to include in your Rakhi spread

From puri bhaji to masala pulao, here are some enticing lunch recipes that will add an extra layer of delight to your Raksha Bandhan celebration.

Raksha Bandhan, an auspicious occasion that celebrates the unique bond of sibling love, is just around the corner. This year, the festival will be celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm on August 30 and 31st. On this day, sisters wrap their brother's wrist with an ornate thread or bracelet known as a 'rakhi', and in return, brothers offer their sisters gifts and promises of eternal protection and support. In modern times, however, sisters also celebrate the festival by tying rakhi on each other's wrists. When it comes to Indian festivals, the grand feast and traditional delicacies are an integral part and no occasion is complete without savouring mouth-watering meals.

Whether it's crispy puri with alu sabzi or a delicious suji ka halwa, festivals provide an opportunity to indulge in these traditional Indian foods without any guilt. To make this Raksha Bandhan extra special, here's a list of some mouth-watering lunch recipes. So put on your chef's hat and get ready to treat your sibling to a hearty lunch.

Delicious lunch recipes for Raksha Bandhan

1. Poori bhaji

(Recipe by Chef Kunal Kapoor)

Poori bhaji (Chef Kunal Kapoor)

Ingredients:

For Poori Dough

Whole Wheat Flour – 2 cups

Semolina – 2tbsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Water – as required

Oil – a dash

For Aloo Bhaji

Ghee – 3tbsp

Asafoetida – ¼ tsp

Cumin – 2tsp

Coriander seeds (cracked) – 2tbsp

Green chillies – 1no

Ginger chopped – 1 tbsp

Turmeric – 1tsp

Chilli powder – 1tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Tomatoes Chopped – 1cup

Potatoes (medium, boiled) – 5-6nos

Water – 4cups

Garam masala – a pinch

Coriander chopped – handful

Method:

1. In a deep vessel, heat some ghee over a medium flame. Add some asafoetida in the hot ghee, followed by cumin and coriander seeds. Wait for the masalas to splutter.

2. Now, add in slit green chillies and ginger and cook for about a minute. Next, add in the powdered masalas and salt and give it a quick stir.

3. Add in the chopped tomatoes to stop the masalas from burning. Turn up the heat to high and roast the tomatoes for about 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes are well cooked.

4. Mash the potatoes in with your hands into the masala and stir well to cook. Reduce the heat to medium and roast the potatoes well for about 2-3 minutes, before adding in the water.

5. Add in the water and bring it to a boil. Once the sabzi boils, add in the garam masala and lower the heat to simmer it for about 5 to 10 minutes until it thickens. Once the the sabzi thickens, add the coriander to finish.

6. Begin by mixing whole wheat flour with semolina and salt in a big bowl. Slowly, mix in the water to make a stiff dough. Once the dough is formed, drizzle with a dash of oil and use your fingers to cover the dough with it.

7. Keep aside for resting for about 30 min. Cut even-sized pedas of the dough according to your preferred size and shape them into balls. Tap all of them with oil using your fingers. Dredge the working surface and the began with a splash of oil.

8. Begin rolling the pooris into a circle, meanwhile keep the oil in the kadhai ready at a high temperature. Put the poori in the oil and flip it as it puffs up. Baste the top of the poori with hot oil using your perforated spoon. Fry until a nice golden colour is developed.

9. Always make the poori dough a little stiff for best results.

10. Use oil instead of atta to roll out the pooris as the dry atta will make the frying oil dirty.

11. Do not over-mash the potatoes and only crush lightly with your hands for the best consistency of the sabzi.

12. Fry the pooris on a high temperature in extra oil for best, airy pooris that don’t absorb any extra oil.

13. Serve hot pooris with aloo sabzi.

2. Lachha Paneer Paratha

(Recipe by Chef Tarla Dalal)

Lachha Paneer Paratha recipe (Chef Tarla Dalal)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup crumbled paneer (cottage cheese)

1 cup whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)

2 tsp finely chopped green chillies

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)

1/2 tsp roasted cumin seeds (jeera) powder

salt to taste

To Be Mixed Into A Paste

2 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)

Other Ingredients

Whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta) for rolling

oil for cooking

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients together in a deep bowl and knead into a soft dough using enough water.

2. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.

3. Roll out each portion into a 200 mm. (8") diameter circle using a little whole wheat flour for rolling.

4. Place a rolled portion on a flat, dry surface, spread a little prepared paste evenly over it and place another rolled portion over it

5. Repeat step 4 to make 2 more layers.

6. Roll it up tightly from one end to the other and cut it into 6 equal portions.

7. Flatten one portion in between your palms and again roll into a 150 mm. (6”) diameter circle using a little whole wheat flour for rolling.

8. Heat a non-stick tava (griddle) and cook the paratha, using a little oil, till it turns golden brown from both the sides.

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 to make 5 more parathas. Serve immediately.

3. Vegetable Pulav

(Recipe by Chef Kunal Kapoor)

Vegetable Pulav (Chef Kunal Kapoor)

Ingredients:

Oil – 5tbsp

Black cardamom – 1no

Peppercorn – 7-8nos

Cumin – 2tsp

Green chilli slit – 3-4nos

Onion sliced – 1cup

Potato diced – 1cup

Carrot diced – ½ cup

Beans diced – ½ cup

Salt – to taste

Water – 4cups

Basmati rice – 2cups

Peas – ½ cup

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice for 30 mins. Heat a deep pan and add oil, black cardamom, peppercorn, cumin, and let them splutter. Stir and add green chilli, onion and cook them for 2 minutes.

2. Add potato, carrot, beans and salt. Continue cooking for another 3mins.

3. Pour water and bring it to a boil. Drain the water from the rice and add it to the pan. Cook on high heat without stirring much.

4. Once the water level comes to the same as the rice, lower the heat, add green peas, cover and cook till all the water is absorbed.

5. Once all the water is soaked by the rice turn off the heat and let it sit for 10min.

6. Over the cover, carefully fluff up the rice and serve it hot.

7. The general thumb rule to cook basmati rice is 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. But use the rice: water ratio as per your brand of rice.

8. Always add the veggies late into the pulao to preserve their colour and nutrition

9. Once the rice is ready let it sit in the vessel for 5-10 mins before opening and serving. This helps the rice to absorb flavours and become more tender.

10. Always carefully slice the rice with a thin spatula and never scoop out rice as it will break/mash the rice.

4. Chole Bhature

(Recipe by Chef Ranveer Brar)

Chole Bhature (Pinterest)

Ingredients:

For Chole

1 cup regular chickpeas- soaked overnight, drained, rinsed.

1 tbsp coriander powder/dhania powder

1tsp red chilli powder/Lal mirch powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi

1 tspchole masala powder or garam masala powder

1 tsp dry mango powder/amchur powder

a pinch of asafoetida/hing (optional)

black salt or rock salt as required

2 cups water to be added later

wholegaram masala/spices

1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera

1 large Indian bay leaf/tej patta

2-inch cinnamon/dal chini

2­-3 cloves/lavang

2 green cardamom/choti elaichi

2 black peppercorn

Ground paste ingredients

1 medium size onion, chopped

2 medium size tomatoes, chopped

½ inch ginger/adrak, chopped

3­4 garlic cloves/lahsun, chopped

For Bhatura

2 cups, Refined flour/ Maida

1 tbsp Semolina/ sooji

4 tbsp Curd/ yogurt

1 tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

½ tsp Sugar

¼ tsp Baking powder

Water to knead into a dough

Oil – for deep frying

Method:

For Chole

1. Pressure cook, the soaked chole for 4-5 whistles, cool and strain.

2. Heat oil in a pan or kadai fry the whole garam masala/spices mentioned above till the oil becomes fragrant. Add the ground paste and saute till the oil starts to leave the sides of the paste.

3. Keep on stirring, so that the paste does not stick to the pan.

4. Add all the dry spice powders ­ turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander and dry mango powder stir and saute for a minute. Add the cooked chole, water, salt and stir.

5. Simmer on a low or medium flame for 12-­15 minutes till the curry thickens. Stir occasionally.

6. Add slit green chillies and garam masala powder or chole masala. stir and simmer for a minute or two.

7. Serve chole hot with onion slices, and lemon wedges along with bhatura.

For Bhature

8. Mix all the mentioned ingredients to make a soft dough. The dough should not be too hard or too soft on the touch.

9. Cover with a wet cloth and keep aside for at least 3 to 4 hours.

10. Portion the dough into small balls and roll into thick round-shaped rotis. It should not be too thick or too thin.

11. Heat enough oil for deep frying in a heavy-bottomed vessel. Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame to medium-high.

12. Now slide the natural into the hot oil. Using the back of the ladle, immerse it completely in oil you will find it will puff. Flip over and fry the other side till light golden brown. Remove onto absorbent paper.

13. Serve hot with chole.

5. Kadai Paneer

(Recipe by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor)

Kadai Paneer (Pinterest)

Ingredients:

Cottage cheese (paneer), cut into ½ inch cubes 300 grams

Kadai masala 1/2 teaspoon

Oil 3 tablespoons

Cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon

Onions, finely chopped 2 medium

Ginger-garlic paste 1 tablespoon

Tomatoes, finely chopped 2 medium

Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon

Red chilli powder 2 teaspoons

Coriander powder 2 teaspoons

Salt to taste

Yoghurt 3-4 tablespoons

Dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) powder 1/2 teaspoon

Tomato, cut into ½ inch pieces and layers separated 1 medium

Onion, cut into ½ inch pieces 1 medium

Green capsicum, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1/2 medium

Lemon 1/2

Fresh coriander sprigs for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add cumin seeds and when their colour changes, add onions, mix and sauté till golden brown.

2. Add ginger-garlic paste, mix and sauté for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, mix and sauté till soft and pulpy.

3. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt, mix and sauté for 1 minute. Add 1 cup water, mix and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes.

4. Reduce heat, add yogurt, mix and cook for 1 minute. Adjust salt and mix. Add dried fenugreek powder and mix well.

5. Add tomato pieces, onion pieces and green capsicum pieces, mix and cook for 2 minutes.

6. Add cottage cheese cubes and mix lightly. Add kadai masala and squeeze the juice of ½ lemon, mix and cook for 1-2 minutes.

7. Transfer into a serving bowl, garnish with coriander sprigs and serve hot.