Food
Fit For The Gods
By
Aarti Hundalani
Hey!
its Diwali...OH YUMMY mithai, ladoos and more mithai ..and yum
yum prasad... the crowning glory of all festivals----the
finger licking prasad.
Every
festival has a certain special food linked with it...It is not
that we do not eat it on other days....but that particular day
has a certain added flavour to it that adds to the charm and
the taste of the prasad.
The
cross argument here is that, do the Gods actually come down
and partake of this Bhog or is it man feeding his own need and
greed....
The
very fact that these special prasads are made...makes one
clean ones kitchen pray with the family have a little more
discipline invite family and friends share with family,
friends and neighbors learn new foods Best of all you get to
eat those goodies yourself.
Here
are certain recipes for some of our more important festivals.
CHETTI
CHAND (Sindhi new year).
The
prasad that is generally offered here is 'KANAO'
KANAO
I
CUP FLOUR (wheat or maida) 1 CUP SUGAR 2 CUPS WATER 1 CUP GHEE
Roast the flour with ghee (the mixture should have pouring
consistency) on low flame.
Cook
till you get a light brown colour. Dissolve the sugar in the
water and pour into the browned mix. Keep stirring. The
mixture will thicken and begin to leave the sides of the
vessel and VOILA! ready in a jiffy.
This
prasad is fabulous when eaten hot, cold and even without
teeth.... it should be swallowed
Degh
for Bairaano
This
is generally an offering to Jhulelal and the creatures of the
sea. In today's world this could be a public offence.
But
that should not stop us from taking a boat ride a little
further down the sea.
So
have a WHALE of a time and offer: to the fishes: Cooked or raw
Rice, Sugar, elaichi, cloves, ghee, haldi, wheat flour…
SATAI
This
festival is a favourite among the card players .The foods
generally made are nankhatais, lolas and khatto bhatt. Food is
generally made a day earlier.
"THADO"
is generally observed, that is eating cold food cooked the
evening before…maybe they wanted to play cards from dawn to
dusk and not be bothered about the kitchen for a day.... or
maybe cold food once in a while, is good for health..
NANKHATTAI
2
cups of maida 1/2 cup sugar(measured and then ground) melted
dalda a little cardamom powder. Sieve the maida ,sugar and
cardamom powder together. Add melted dalda (dalda should be at
room temp). Add enough dalda so as to get a flaky dough. Shape
into small balls and flatten and bake in a pre-heated oven at
medium temp. for 30 mins.
KRISHNA-JANAM
Makhan
chor’s sweet tooth...loved milk based sweets pedas, milk
barfi and khirni...
KHIRNI
1
litre milk a little cardamom powder a pinch of saffron sago
seeds 1/2 cup 1/2 cup sugar Boil milk with sugar, cardamom
powder and saffron.
Soak
the sago in water for 30 mins.
Drain
and add to the boiling milk.
Cook
until the sago is boiled add cut pistas and almonds.
DIWALI
The
day of sweets, sweets and only sweets. The Goddess of
Abundance is offered sweets very abundantly....The khaju
mithai , pista varas , chana vara all made at home
PISTA
VARA
1
cup finely sliced pistas and almonds 3/4 cup sugar few drops
of lime juice little ghee khus-khus little cardamom powder
Caramelize the sugar add 1/4 tsp. ghee when the sugar is brown
Add
the sliced nuts, cardamom powder and khus-khus
Remove
from gas and spread on a greased surface
and
roll as thin as possible.
UTRAAN
Bhorinda
and thiran ji chikki( Drive up to Kailash Parbat)
HOLI
Colors and gheeyar (Best Recipe in town)...Kailash Parbat
Zindabad !!!
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