DIWALI SPEACIAL

Hey guys , how are you today ? Tbilisi as you know is the place where I reside now. As the World says India is a country which Stands For Unity In Diversity, I guess Tbilisi will soon be on that list. Every year the population of foreigners is doubled , you know if you would take a survey You can see Indians, Sri lankans, Turkish, Azerbaijani's , Dutch, Germans,Trinad and Tobago, Malaysians, American Populations are even growing higher these days comparing to natives. I am studying here with approximately with 600 Indian and foreign students.

It would be really great being in another country which has an entirely different tradition cultural, linguistic and ethinic base compared to your own Despite the fact of Missing your  own kith and kins , festivals and celebration (ofcourse you cannot imagine a celebration without  special food). Deepavali or Diwali is an auspicious day celebrated in all parts of India.The Word diwali means "Festival of Lights". 

There is a mythical story behind this celebration , which has its start in the "Dwapara yuga" (a period of the hindu time chart) . There lived a king named Narakasura who is assumed to be the son of Maha vishnu and Bhumadevi (the godess of earth) ruled the kingdom of Pragjyotisha later called Assam. Narakasura prayed and got a boon from Bhramma to be the most powerful and undestructable man in the whole universe and he shall be killed only by his mother. He was blessed that his wishes will come true in appreciation of his (Thapas) meditation.Being unbeatable by anyone on earth  addicted to power of thrones made him arrogant, and the Bad company of another Asura named Banasura he became a demon and conquered the earth. His eyes then turned into the side of Swarkaloga (heaven). Even the Most Mighty Indra (the god of nature) was not able to stop him because of his Boon. so the Dhevas had to flee the swargaloga and had to seek Vishnu's help. Vishnu promised to help them so he incarnated himself as Lord Krishna Born to Devaki and Vasudevan and raised by Yashodha and Nandagopalan along with whom was Bhudevi incarnated as Krishna's wife Sathya Bama. Narakasura became absolutely cruel and started ill treating women, and insulted Aditi by snatching her earings. Sathybama heard about her son's cruel behaviour she got angry and she approached Lord Krishna to start a war against him. The battle started, 11 divisions of army fought the war on Narakasura's side who where all defeated and finally Narakasura uesd his Sataghini weapon (thunder bolt) which made no diffrence to Krishna. So he decided to attack him from behind which made Krishna Faint.On seeing her husband hurt Sathyabama Immediately used all her power and killed the demon king . The divine prophecy came true and a Demon was destroyed. Before dying Narakasura asked his mother to promise him his last wish which was that his dealth should be celebrated by the people by lighting colourful lamps. Thus we Hindus even today celebrate this festival with colourful lamps.

Deepavali is a 5 days festival, begins in Late Iyppasi (between september-october) and ends in Early Karthigai (between october- November) . The festival Commences in days Sukhla Paksha (a fort-night which brightens the moon) in Karthigai where as in Iyppasi it is on Krishna Paksha ( a fort night where the moon fades). This 5 days usually revolves around 6 principles by which the celebrations and worship is made.

DAY 1 - "Kovatsa Duadesi" (ko means cow and duadesi means 12th day).On the 12th day of krishna paksha (27th day of iyppasi) we worship Cow and Calf . India is still an agricultural country and we rely Rain and Cow for our food. On this day we assume that gods and godesses come to earth as cows and this method was started by Vena Maharaja due to whose ill rule there was famine and then he realised his fault and he worshipped cow and calf on this auspicious day and earth then restored her prosperity.

DAY 2 - "Dhana Thryodesi" (Dhana-wealth, Thyrodesi-13th day of krishna paksha). This is considered to be an auspicious day for buying of gold, silver, utensils and other precious things , it is believed that whatever we buy on that day will be doubled. On this day Dhanvanthri (god of health) is born so on this day we pray and worship for the well being of the our family members.

DAY 3 - "Narakasura Chathurdesi" (Chathurdesi-14th day). This is tha day of the main festival. This was the day Narakasura was destroyed. On this day Hindus wake up before sunrise and take an oil bath. Heated Sesame oil used will be scented with rice , betel leaves garlic and turmeric and should be applied on the middle of the head. Bathing before sun rise will give the complete blessing of bathing in the holy ganges.We wear new clothes and we draw a big kolam or rangoli with a lots of colours. We then worship  Lord Krishna or Vishnu with sweets (sweets made exclusively for offering to god will be made without tasting and offered with a basil leaf). After puja we will all burst crackers and celebrate the festival.At sunset we light lamps (deepam or diya) made from hardend clay starting from the puja room and keep lighted diyas in all the places of the home. In some parts of the country paper lanterns are made in which diya's are lighted and they will look colorful. A feast with a long menu is prepared and we often visit our relatives with Indian homemade or store bought sweets.

DAY 4 - "Lakshmi pooja" (15th day of krishna paksha).  This is most prominent festival only in Northern part of India. On this day Godess Lakshmi is decorated in silk and Kalash - the most auspicious thing of hindu worship (a meatal Pot with water above which will have a coconut in its rim )  which will be decorated as a girl with Mangal har and will be worshipped. Ganesh pooja also will be made.

DAY 5 - "Govardhan Pooja" (1st karthikai or 1st sukhala paksha). This day is celebrated as a tribute to lord krishna praying for food and water to be inexhaustible for the well being of family. On this day Men Presents their wife with gifts.

Day 6 - "Yama Dwuthiyai" (2nd sukhala paksha) This is the day when Brothers and Sisters expesses their love to each other.Mythically it is this day when Yama (God of dealth) visited his sister Yami's house where they had feast together and Yama gifted Yami As Token of his love. The same way Brothers will visit their Sisters house where they welcome them with Aarthi and they will  have feast together and then the brother will gift the sister.

I  Wanted to share the recipies which I Made Here In Georgia On Diwali On Nov 13, 2012. I Invited all my Friends to my home and I followed the exact pooja rules. The menu I prepared are as follows. 

1. COCONUT BURFI (Sweet)

Its a very easy to make dish for beginners in cooking.

# Ingredients

Coconut ( dry) - 500 gms (you can also use natural coconut if available)

Milk - 250 ml

Ghee / butter / Clarified butter - 3 tbs

Sugar - 450 gms

Cardomom powder - 1 spoon

Dry Fruits - (As per wish) For garnishing.

# Method

First add a table spoon of ghee in a Skillet (heavy bottom ' non-stick is preferable) and add the dry fruits (anything like almonds, dry grapes, cashews) and fry till they get golden brown , incase if you use natural coconut fry the coconut in ghee to make it dry and evaporate its moisture and keep it aside. Now add milk in the same skillet and bring it to boil , once when the milk gets boiled now add the coconut followed by sugar and cardamom powder and  leave it to simmer for 10 mins but keep stirring often and once when all the ingredients mix well together you will get a sticky mixture. Apply Ghee on a plate and pour the mixture in the plate. Allow it to cool for 30mins in air or 15mins refridgerate it. Now take a knife and cut it in to pieces of your desired size. Easy tasty Burfi is ready to eat. And store in a dry container. It will  be good to consume for 2 days.(Note: do not remove the pieces from your plate until the burfi is completely solid and not molten).

2.BESAN KI LADDOO (sweet)

This is another simple sweet taught to me by my grandma 

# Ingredients

Besan(Gram Flour) - 200 gms

Ghee / butter / Clarified butter- 350 gms

sugar (prefarably powdered) - 200gms

Dry Fruits - (As per wish) For garnishing.

# Method

In a Skillet Fry the besan in simmer for 3-5 minutes  until the raw flavour of besan is replace by the start of good aroma and keep it aside. Now melt the butter or ghee and slowly add besan and sugar in small amounts while the gas in simmer and wait for the contents to get thicken a bit and they should come to a point where you can easily make a ball with it at this point turn the heat off and wait till the mixture is little cool to handle and make balls of you desired size. Laddoo is ready to eat now.

3. NAAN ( Indian Bread)

Its One of a variety of Indian bread usually eaten with side-dish llike gravy or curry.

# Ingredients

Maida (All pourpose flower) 250gms

Baking powder - 1/2 spoon

Yeast ( In case of vegetarians you can use 1 table spoon of acescent yoghurt)

Milk or Buttermilk (Optional) to make dough

Butter/oil to toast

Sugar 1 spoon

Salt to taste

# Method

Add the dry ingredients flour, Baking powder, salt , sugar And yeast in a bowl and mix well , now add water or butter milk or milk and make a smooth dough. Cover it tightly with a food wrap or wet cloth and leave it for minimum 4 hours ( you can leave it over night also) untill the dough doubles up in size.Make small dough balls and keep them covered to prevent them from drying by air. Now heat a Tawa ( a flat metal griddle) .To roll up, Dust your working surface with flour and with your rolling pin roll it in to a thin circular sheet. Now to make your Naan soft and two layered, apply 1 spoon oil/ butter fully on the dough sheet and make two fold to form a triangle and again roll it up. Once when your tawa gets heated toast the naan both sides with butter or oil and serve hot with any curry of your choice. It can be served even with Raitha or Mint Chutney.

3.Raitha

Its a kind of Indian salad made from yoghurt.

# Ingredients

onion 1 medium sized finely chopped

Tomato 1 small finely chopped

Chilli 1no finely chopped

Lemon juice 2 tb spoon

Grated carrot 1 tb spoon

Mint leaves - 4-5 leaves finely chopped

Corriander leaves 4-5 twigs finely chopped 

Yoghurt 1 cup

Salt to taste

# Method

 Mix all the vegetables together add salt , yoghurt and dress it up with lemon juice.

4. Mint Chutney

Mint leaves (Phudina) - hand full

Lemon juice - 1 tb spoon

Curd - 1/4 cup

GInger juice 1/2 spoon

Green chillies 6 nos

Salt to taste

# Method

Grind Mint Leaves , green chilles in to a fine paste, to  it add ginger juice, lemon juice and curd with salt and mix well. To make it More flavor full you can add Sauted Mustard seeds and Red chillies with a pinch of hing to it.

5.Panneer Butter Masala

Its another curry or gravy for naan.

# Ingredients

For Paneer

1 litre of milk

2 tb spoon of lemon juice or Normal vinegar

4-5 Ice cubes

Muslin cloth or cheese cloth

For Gravy

Paneer - 250gms (  Indian cheese usually home made)

Onions 2 nos (pureed) before pureeing blanch the onion i.e put the onion in boiling water.

2 tb spoon of butter

Tomato puree 3 tbs

1 tb spoon of Ginger garlic paste

3 Green chillies

2 tb spoon of chilli powder

2 tb of cashewnut paste

1 tb spoon of coriander

1 tb spoon of garam masala

1 tb spoon of turmeric powder

1 cup fresh cream

50 gm of unsalted butter

Salt to taste

# Method

To Make Paneer

Boil 1 liter of milk in a pan and allow it to boil for 15 mins, Once when the milk starts to thicken add lemon juice or vinegar to it. Then simmer and keep stirring until the milk solids and water seperate out (milk cuddling) . Now add 4-5 ice cubes to immediately stop cuddling by cooling the milk. Now take the cheese cloth and filter out the milk solids and very very carefully rinse the paneer in running tap water to remove the sour flavour of lemon. Now keep a weight on the cloth with paneer or hang it somewhere and let it dehydrate fully to get a hard paneer.After two hours u will get hard paneer easy to be cubed.

To Make Gravy

Heat oil in a pan and fry paneer cubes in to golden brown color and soak them in warm water to keep it soft and keep it aside. Now add butter in a skillet and add the onion puree and saute them till golden brown and add ginger garlic paste and saute for some more time till they lose their pungent smell. Now add chilli powder, turmeric powder, corriander powder,garam masala, cashewnut paste, tomato puree and salt and saute for few minutes. Now add the soaked paneer and water and wait until they boil and become a semi solid, now add fresh cream and turn off the heat. Spicy Paneer   Butter masala is ready. serve it with a whole 50g of butter.

6.Payasam/Kheer (Indian Dessert)

# Ingredients

Milk 1 litre

Semolina 1 cup

3 tb spoon of coconut milk powder

2 tb spoon of ghee/ clarified butter

1 cup of sugar

Dry fruits for garnishing

1 spoon of cardomom powder

3-4 strands of saffron

# Method

Add 1 spoon of ghee in a pan and add water then bring it to boil. Now add the semolina to the boiling water and wait until the semolina is fully cooked. Adding of butter or ghee is a must then only you will get semolina seperately with out clumping together. You can see the semolina will double in size when it is fully boiled. Now drain it and keep it aside. Boil Milk and wait until it reduces to three forth from the original level, add sugar , coconut milk powder, cardamom powder, saffron and boiled semolina and simmer for 5mins.Saute the dry fruits in ghee and add it to the mixture. Payasam or kheer is ready to serve. Can be served Hot Or Cold as desired.

All my friends prayed and we bursted some crackers and we were happy about having a feeling like at home. This year deepavali was Great and everyone including my international friends loved the menu and complemented about its taste. May the Light Of Happiness Shine In Your Homes Too!! 

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