Tyohaar Ki Thaali

Sakshi looks for her mother's prized recipe diary, the invaluable gift she was given when she left home to come and work in Mumbai. She decides that she will celebrate one festival a week based on the recipes in her mother's book...She decides to begin this journey by celebrating 'Ganesh Chaturthi'. She makes Modak and Pappaya ka halwa.

Sakshi reminisces about living in a joint family and the quirks it comes with. She remembers the chaos in just deciding the day's menu. She talks about their neighbour Gayatri auntie and her Onasadhya, she decided to celebrate Onam. She makes pineapple pachdi, pulinji, kalan and rice.

Anant Chaturdashi is the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi and also a time to eat Khoba Roti in Rajasthan. The day after, Jains celebrate a special day, kshamavani, where they apologise to each other... She makes Khoba Roti and Alvathi

Sakshi finds interesting recipes related to Eid in her mother's diary and decides to celebrate Eid, her friend Ali Asgar comes to celebrate Eid with her. She makes Shahi tukda, date and tamarind chutney and veg hare-bhare kebab.

Sakshi reminisces about the beauty of Delhi around the time of Durga Puja. To share this festive feeling, she invites her dear friend Kavita Kaushik to celebrate Navratri. The duo make a mixed vegetable dish - Shukto, the Bengali specialty of the Durga Puja Bhog - Bhoger Khichuri, and the Narkel Ladoo. The close friends have a great time sharing festive memories as they prepare the delicacies.

The festival of Dussehra is bound in folklore. Talking about Karnataka and Mahishasur, Sakshi decides to make a South Indian sweet dish - Hayagreeva. As Sakshi reminisces about the beautiful Dussehra celebration in Kullu, she resolves to make a Himachali dish - Siddu. To her pleasant surprise, Chef Ranveer Brar drops in, and the two create a beautiful plate of Siddu.

Sakshi reminisces about Karwa Chauth celebrations at her home and what the day used to be like. She tries her hand at Dal Baati Churma, an important Karwa Chauth recipe and also a traditional meal of Rajasthan. The Churma made from wheat, suji and ghee, along with the Dal made from pulses and spices and baked Baati make for a delicious, wholesome meal.

Festive rituals are a great way to indulge in the best nutrition the seasons have to offer. Fourteen different leafy greens in one recipe is one such example. Sakshi decides to make the Choddo Shaakh, a Bengali winter specialty prepared on Narak Chaturdashi or Chhoti Diwali. She also prepares Kakrat Nu Vada, a fritter made from makka, gehu, bajra, suji, besan, and fenugreek.

The festival of lights is here! And Sakshi makes her mom's super hit Makhane Ki Barfi. Ram Kapoor joins Sakshi to celebrate Diwali and is caught off guard when she asks him to help her cook! Amidst amusing Diwali memories, Sakshi and Ram prepare her favourite Aloo Mutter ki Sabzi and Puri. They savour the sabzi and puri along with dishes that Ram's wife Gautami Kapoor has sent for Diwali.

Sakshi talks about how festivals give us a reason to pause and soak in nature. One such festival that worships the Sun is Chatt Pooja. Sakshi prepares Thekua, the first bhog of Chatt Pooja. Actor and friend Rajesh Kumar joins her in the kitchen and willingly helps her prepare Kaddu Bhaat. He shares several interesting bits about Chatt Pooja from his own home.

It's Kartik Purnima and Sakshi shares many great stories connected to the festival. Different communities celebrate this day for different reasons. Along with the edible diyas and the tradition of paper boats, there are delicious recipes for this special day. Sakshi makes Habisa Dalma, a special recipe from Odisha. To accompany it, she prepares savoury and sweet versions of Adai, a type of dosa.

The 3 three things Sakshi loves the most about Gurudwaras are kar seva, gurbani and kada prasad. She tries to emulate Kohli aunty's recipe of the kada prasad or aatey ka halwa as she's celebrating Gurpurb. It's only fitting that she has to host Gurpal Singh in her home. To her joy, he has a cache of stories on Sikhism. Sakshi also makes Kadhi and Khichdi, thus creating a langar-like experience

Amidst some amusing stories of Satyanarayan Vrat, Sakshi makes Panjiri, a special of the vrat, but with a twist in the recipe.She also explains the reason behind the Satyanarayan Puja. Speaking fondly of how the Brihaspativar vrat is her mom's favourite vrat, Sakshi cooks a Chana dal and jaggery kheer and tells us a Sri Krishna-related payasam tale.

To celebrate Ekadashi, Sakshi makes a Khatta Meetha Kaddu, a simple pumpkin recipe with sour-sweet flavours. She also narrates an interesting Ekadashi story of why the moon waxes and wanes. To go with the kaddu, she makes a plain Rajgeere ke aate ka paratha and one with a paneer stuffing.

Sakshi makes Hanumanji's favourite urad dal fritters also known as Hanuman Vada or Milagu Vada. She hosts mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik for lunch and he shares lesser-known facets of the Monkey God. Banana and coconut are also foods that are associated with Hanumanji, hence Sakshi makes Bharleli Keli, a Konkani recipe, and a dark berry compote to go with it.

Sakshi is celebrating Sankashti Chaturthi for which she prepares Valachi Bhaji. While preparing this Maharashtrian speciality made with fava beans, dry coconut, onion paste and Malvani masala, she narrates the significance of the name Sankashti and also the reason behind Lord Ganesh's name.

Delighted to receive Matthri and pudina chutney from her doting neighbour Kohli aunty, Sakshi resolves to make vrat ka khaana for her. She speaks about the multiple navaratris in a year and looks for her mom's Navaratri recipe in the diary. She makes tikki with the fibrous Singhade ka atta along with some ararot powder and soaked chironjee seeds.

Sakshi makes a delicious Moong Dal ka Halwa as she speaks of the amazing luni-solar workings of the Hindu calendar. She narrates fascinating legends of Shakhambari Devi, worshipped on Gupt Navaratri of the Paush month. She also makes Paush Bada from the chilka moong dal and serves it with a garlic-tomato-chili chutney and coriander chutney.

To celebrate Christmas, Sakshi and Maria Goretti bake a chocolate cake layered with a mistletoe-like icing and make coconut-filled pancakes. Maria tells Sakshi what it means to be an East Indian. She also reminisces about the women who would grind the Bottle Masala. Sakshi and Maria realize that despite coming from different communities their celebrations and delicacies share many similarities.

As the new year approaches, Sakshi resolves to write more. To celebrate a new beginning, she makes something unique. A change from her Indian recipes, Sakshi prepares English muffins and a vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with lentils and vegetables. The pie was innovated by Indian cooks for the British colonizers. Sakshi explains why the new year begins on January 1 as she prepares these delicacies.

To celebrate Pongal, Sakshi prepares Sakkarai Pongal, a kind of sweet halwa. She regales us with various Pongal stories from her mom's postcards, including a Shiv and Nandi story. She then makes Pulihora or tamarind rice which is common to the four states of South India. There's also Chola Paniyaram, a dish that's considered royal. Sakshi serves it with a special coconut chutney.

On this festive occasion of Makar Sankranti and Lohri, Sakshi hosts cricketer, Virender Sehwag! Sehwag shares amusing anecdotes from his cricket days and also discusses his favourite Kishore Kumar songs. Sakshi uses Sesame seeds to make Til Ke Ladoo and also prepares another winter delicacy - Muli Ke Patton Ka Saag with stuffed Makke ki roti.

Sakshi enjoys the Bundi Ke Laddoo sent by her Mamaji. As she speaks about the blooming spring season, she decides to make something yellow, and begins with the Khaman Dhokla. Sakshi narrates an interesting story of Kamdev and Shiv-Parvati related to Vasant Panchami. This day also marks the birth of Goddess Saraswati. She then prepares Mawe Ki Kachori, a dough ball soaked in sugar syrup.

Narayan Narayan...! Narad Muni always has a cache of stories about everyone that he swaps around playfully. Sakshi tries to unearth this fascinating personality from mythology by sharing his various tales. On the menu today is Khaja -a sweet dispensed as prasad at the Jagannath Puri temple which has a special connection to Naradji. Sakshi also makes Murukku Chakli from rice flour.

Khandoba, a local deity of Maharashtra is one of the many regional gods of our country. Sakshi speaks about the regional deities in a country as diverse as India - that such figures are worshipped by a varied populace irrespective of religion. Sakshi prepares the bhog that's a favourite of this God - Puran Poli, a sweet flatbread along with Vanngyacha Bharit - a mashed eggplant preparation