Paal Payasam

© Priya Lakshminarayan (cookilicious.com)

Diwali delights

Celebrate the festival of lights with food, fireworks and fun

by Priya Lakshminarayan

Diwali, also known as Deepavali, means “festival of lights.” The name comes from the clay lamps lit to symbolize the victory of light over dark and good over evil. It is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, as well as members of other religions, with great pomp and show.

The festival has several origins in Indian mythology. Northern India celebrates it to honour the return of Lord Rama after 14 years of exile. Southern India celebrates the occasion as the day Lord Krishna slew the demon Naraka.

Diwali happens in October or November, with celebrations typically lasting five days. This year, it occurs on November 12. While everyone has their own special way of celebrating the festival, here are a few themes:

• Temples, homes and offices are cleaned, sometimes renovated, decorated and brightly lit.
• New clothes and jewellery are purchased.
• On the first day, participants oil their hair and body, and take a bath, called an abhyanga snanam, before sunrise.
• Entryways to homes are decorated with rangoli (a design made out of coloured powder and sand) on the floor.
• Diyas (earthen lamps) are lit all around the house and lanterns are hung on balconies or porches.
• Fireworks add to the celebration.

The days leading to Diwali are usually spent preparing a variety of sweet and savoury treats to exchange with friends and family. The savoury treats, called farsan or namkeen, are usually fried and made in bulk to last a couple of months. They include chivda (snack mix with puffed rice and nuts), mathri (crackers), chakli (crunchy fried spiral-shaped snacks) and kachori (stuffed deep-fried snacks). Popular Diwali desserts, or mithai, mostly made with milks, sugar, nuts and ghee, include gulab jamun (similar to a doughnut hole dunked in syrup), halwa or barfi (fudge), kheer (pudding), karanji (fried filled flaky pastries) and ladoos (small flour-based balls).

Entire families get together to celebrate Diwali with joy, cheer, festivities and a lot of good food. Try these two recipes that my family and I prepare in our household every Diwali.

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