A festival that falls on a fixed date, January 13 and is celebrated with the typical winter delicacies which include popcorn, rewari, peanuts and gajak is Lohri.
Gajak is one goodie that is a must-have during any Lohri celebration. The crisp textured sweet in a biscuit like shape is made of jaggery and sugar. The Gali Batasha in Farash Khana, Chandni Chowk is evident of the history of gajak since the City came into existence.
The shop established in 1960 by Bhondumalji makes and sells fresh mungfali patti and gajak in this narrow lane. The gur is melted in one big kadai on one side while two workers beat the batter of the gajak with huge hammers till it flattens into a smooth texture. Manish Gupta, the grandson of the founder says, “The jaggery or sugar, glucose and sesame seeds are boiled and then allowed to cool down. The batter after cooling is first beaten then folded and beaten again till it acquires a thin and smooth texture.”
The tedious work to make gajak starts from Diwali and as Lohri approaches, the workers get too busy getting the best of gajak on your platter. This sweet is especially known for its ability to provide immunity against winter cough and cold. While gajak from Meerut and Agra are famous for its taste, Delhi-made gajak poses a strong competition to both.
The jaggery that is required to make gajak comes from Agra and Muradabad which enables the processing of approximately 15-kilogram of gud patti in half-an-hour. The handwork that is required to make the piece takes the maximum time in the procedure.
After gajak, it is rewari that is loved for its taste in winters. The saffron-flavoured rewari is the best among the jaggery and sugar rewari available in markets. Lal Chand Rewari Wale in Kucha Shiv Mandir, is well-known for its desi ghee ki chikki. Narendra Kumar, shop owner says, “The desi ghee ki gajak and rewari along with dry fruit gajak is quite popular this season.”
An expert Jaynarayan Gupta holds his beautiful creation of a huge round of mungfali ki patti. Jaynarayan says, “My uncle made jaggery mungfali patti all through his life and now I have learnt how to make it from him!”