Festivals bring people together and a major festival like Diwali brings families together all across the country. What is the one other thing that brings people together on festivals? Food!
In every part of the country, there are specific dishes that are cooked to celebrate the festival of lights. Mithai and dry fruits aside the feasts of Diwali are sumptuous and would make everyone’s mouth water! Let’s see what the speciality is in some parts of the country.
1. Kheel Batasha
Diwali without KheelBatashais not the same. The puffed rice and the crystalline sugar sweet is a staple in Delhi and is even offered during the prayer. Apart from the regular drop shaped batasha, there’s also the khilone which are animal shaped sugar confections.
2. Mawa Kachori
This is a Rajasthani delicacy which is the sweet version of a Kachori. The MawaKachoriis stuffed with Khoya and rich dry fruits and golden fried usually in pure ghee. The soft and smooth texture of the filling beautifully compliments the crunchy golden texture of the exterior to create this mouth-watering dessert.
3. Teepi Gavvalu
This is a delicacy that the people of Andhra Pradesh enjoy. It translates to ‘sweet shells’ and made by rolling a dough with jaggery into pretty curls that look like little shells and deep fried and dipped in a sweet sugary syrup.
4. Chiraunjiki Barfi
This is a sweet made with almond flavoured seeds that are normally used as a spice in Indian cooking. It originated in Madhya Pradesh and is enjoyed by the entire state during the festival of lights.
5. Anarsa
This is a dish that is prevalent in Maharashtra. These are rice flour and jaggery fritters studded with poppy seeds. Anarsa is a part of the Diwali Faralwhich is the breakfast that is consumed by the Maharashtrians.
6. Gujia
This is another Maharashtrian delicacy and the Diwali Faral would be absolutely incomplete without it. These crescent shaped, golden fried bites of heaven are simply delectable. They are stuffed with khoya and dry fruits to give it a rich flavour. Gujias are also popular in other parts of the country and are known as Kusli in Madhya Pradesh, ghughraor karanji in Gujarat and neuri in Goa.
7. Thenkuzhal
Diwali snacks are incomplete without some delicious crunchy savoury snacks. This is why the Thenkuzhal is so popular in Tamil Nadu. The deep snacks are a must in every household during the Diwali festival.
8. Pinni
The winters in the North part of the country can be tough but the winter sweet, Pinni is what makes it worth it. They’re like laddoos but made with whole wheat, lots of ghee and loaded with dry fruits and khoya. This sinfully delicious dessert is difficult to avoid, especially in Punjab.
9. Ukkarkai
Ukkarkai is a popular Chettinad dessert and is made with chana dal, jaggery and roasted nuts. It is crunchy and simply delicious and a must during the festivities of Diwali.
The country comes together on the occasion of this beautiful festival and the food brings us even closer.
Which of these delectable dishes will you try this festive season?