Eat Your Way Through the Festival Season
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| Food is a very important part of any Indian events, including annual festivals. By Taniya Talukdar |
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| India is a land of varied cultures that include festivals celebrated the year round and food is a big part of any such celebration. In fact, any festival remains incomplete without food and each of them have one particular item that is typical of that feast. While these days most of the items can be sourced from the stores back in India if one is not in a mood to make them at home, being in the US that might be a challenge.Learn more about the foods associated with different Indian festivals so that you can be prepared ahead of this year’s festival season. | |
| Kaju katli and motichur laddoo | |
 Diwali, the festival of lights, can be referred to as the festival of sweets as well since people like to serve and gift sweet during Diwali. Sweets in fact are a very important part of Diwali, the most common being kaju katli and motichur laddoos. Both can be prepared at home if you are unable to find the items at the Indian stores in your neighbourhood. To prepare kaju katli, powder the cashew nuts in a dry grinder for a minute. Place a pan over medium flame, add water and sugar to prepare a sugar syrup and add the powdered cashew to it. Add kewra essence to the mixture and cook on a low flame till it becomes a dough. Put ghee or butter in a plate and spread the dough and cut it into rectangular shapes after it cools. Motichur laddoos are made of miniature boondi that is made out of besan/chickpea flour batter fried in ghee, then simmered in sugar syrup. |
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| Khichudi, labra and payesh |
Puran poli |
 Bengalis are known foodies and they have a big sweet tooth too, as such sweets are a must for every celebration. While mishti doi and rosogolla are a given for any occasion, special events like Durga puja call for payesh. It is a preparation made of rice, milk and jaggery. But, the puja remains incomplete without the customary khichudi and labra. While khichudi is rice prepared mixed with dal, labra is a mixed vegetable recipe made along with curry in light spices, making very nutritious and filling. |
 This preparation is interestingly popular in different states of India like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala though referred to differently in each state. It is called puran poli in Maharashtra an and Kerala and obbattu in Kannada. It is usually made from chana dal or split yellow gram, plain flour, jaggery or sugar, cardamom powder and/or nutmeg powder, ghee and water. It is made during different festivals in each community and is even served with the Onam Sadya in Kerala. If you have all the ingredients, you can make it at home easily. |
| Modak | Payasam |
 Modak is prepared for Ganesh Chaturthi and is a sweet rice flour dumpling filled with a paste of coconut, condensed milk, sugar and cardamon and can be prepared easily at home since these are hard to source here. |
 Onam, the main festival of the Malayalis remains incomplete without payasam. It is a must for the Sadya and people make different versions of it which are equally delicious. This can also be prepared easily at home. You’ll need boiled chana dal, jaggery, grated coconut, ghee, raisins and cashews, and milk. |
| With so many delicious choices from which to choose, this festival season is sure to be tasty! | |
