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The season of festivities is here, and it’s time for my most favourite festival – Diwali. The celebration of lights has been my most loved since childhood. No, I’m not a fan of ‘patakhe’ but an ardent lover of new ways to décor, lights, cleaning up, and all that is associated with the festival. But most of all, food. From the kebabs and biryanis, which is a staple at my home at Diwali get-togethers, to the platter of sweets packed with kaju katlis, dodha barfi, tiny gulab jamuns, laddoos and more, I have my eye on everything. Being a Kayastha family, food has been an integral part of every celebration, however big or small the occasion is. And I guess now it is the same for every Indian family.
But now I wonder, with so many fusion treats and ways to celebrate Diwali if anyone remembers what traditional Diwali foods used to be? With the shopping and catering business scoring the charts as soon as the ‘Diwali party’ season begins, many age-old traditions seem to have taken a back seat. Kheel and Batashe belong to the very same section, which we do not see anymore.
For the unversed, kheel is a form of puffed rice that is an integral part of a typical Diwali celebration during Lakshmi Pujan on the day of Diwali. Along with Batashe, small flattened bites of sugar are put at the altar and sides of the home besides lit diyas to promote food security and the growth of the house in the future. Diwali is also marked by the Kharif harvest season, at the end of the Monsoon season around October-November. This brings rice and sugar to us, which is also why they are deemed so necessary in the Diwali festivities. Rice kheer is one of the best examples of Diwali treats that give an ode to the two most popular ingredients in Indian cuisine. This is also why kheel-batashe are kept in the Lakshmi Puja.
Diwali also marks the onset of the winter season, and traditional foods like besan ladoo or besan ke sev are also a part of festivities. When cooked with ghee, Besan tends to give warmth to the body and is thus made into many warming, winter foods. With a bountiful of traditions, stories and foods, Diwali is a week-long festivity. Besides all your barfis and chocolates, one can enjoy one traditional food after another to mark the occasion. And while at it, do not forget to share your conventional delicacies with us.
