PRE & POST DIWALI..........

I'm sorry for not posting anything.... after Diwali.... I was actually relaxing with my hubby.

Looking forward to Diwali.... is the best of all awaiting 's. The excitement it involves in shopping, in preparing for the festival by preparing delicacies, the hope to see your near & dear ones visiting you, the cleaning of every nook & corner of home.... I simply love all this.... And all our talks revolve around the festival of lights....

DIWALI!!!! DIWALI!!!!! DIWALI!!!!! & it's gone past now. Now look forward to the next year. Time flies like .............. I don't know what.........

Our Diwali celebrations were really a joyous occasion. I almost met mt parents & folks everyday for a week... for shopping, for preparing Diwali delicacies, & celebrating the 'D' day. I enjoyed every moment of those. The only sadness was I could not visit my in-laws.... Maa & Papa..... I miss them a lot... Yesterday was the first day of the ARAG (अरग ) of the Chatt festival at my in-laws... & tomorrow the final Arag for the God of the Sun. I love to be there with my family, as it feels good to help around...to be there to see it all.... to visit my sis in-laws... & their cute, naughty kids... I hope & keep my fingers crossed...to be able to make it to Ranchi, for the festival, next year... May God bless me....

The first day of Diwali was the festival at my hubby's place, so it is the festival for us to celebrate... But that day since I had to visit my parents for dinner.... We just performed a quick pooja, where I sang 2-3 bhajans..... lit those diyas & decorated them around my home.... And my maid Jaya & her mom, helped me with decorating the diyas outside... that is on our compound wall & terrace...

That morning my maid applied a simple & neat rangoli, if not an outstanding one, & in the evening she lit the diyas. As it involves all the mess with oil dripping, she helps me out every year with lighting those diyas outside. After that we just burst a few crackers which included sparklers & flower pots... some 3-4 & we left to visit my parents.. We burst a few crackers there, dined together & came back.... tired & just crashed...

Next day was supposed to be a small Diwali for us & bigger one for my parents. But then they were to visit us that day... Since we missed the first day we thought of really making it a celebration at home... We prepared for the pooja in the evening... & even for the dinner.....
My parents came home...I did the cleaning around & decorating & preparing for the pooja...I made small rangoli in a small area & decorated it with a wide mouthed pot, which was in turn decorated with flowers & floating candles & of course my Daadi's (Avva (ಅವ್ವ ) - as I called her) DIYA...an old antique piece....

Evening at about 6:00 pm, we sang full fledged bhajans, with so many in the chorus, it sounded good. Then we lit the diyas around & burst crackers for solid 2 hours..... We were all dead tired of exercising around in the process of bursting crackers... I do not burst any, other than sparklers & flower pots, but I'm tired because of my running around from the sound & crackers... that my brother bursts... Then it was time for dinner... My hubby helped me around in the kitchen... We prepared Pooris, Aloo Gobi Subzi & Rice Kheer. My brother was full on feasting on pooris & alu gobi.... My Maami, Kusum, visited us & she was so happy to be with us during the festival. After that yum dinner, we craved to drink a cup of tea & I offered to prepare tea for them...

After that tiring day, they left to their place & me & Kuku, were totally exhausted & crashed again.... Since my Maami was to leave to Mangalore, the next day, mom prepared chicken at home & we were invited for lunch.... We visited them again for lunch & returned back home, late evening. After we came back, I just lit few diyas around & just sat back to relax & called my Badimaa at Puttur, wished her & had a hearty chat with her.......

Hence we spent this Diwali, visiting, revisiting, calling, friends & family.... I would treasure these moments for the rest of my life.... My only sadness being not able to visit my in-laws.

THUS ENDED THE JOYOUS CELEBRATIONS OF DIWALI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Diwali Dhamaka goes to Purva's event (Indian Festive Food-Diwali Dhamaka)

CELEBRATE DIWALI WITH DIWALI DELICACIES...

It's Diwali Time "FINALLY"..... The most, 'sought & looked forward to' festival is the festival of lights.... Everybody from young to old, from the poor to the wealthy, men or women... one & all, await this festival of lights... with much hope... to literally see some change....of the light overcoming the darkness in their life & around them. Many seek the light, that they hoped for after the darkness in their life & for many others it is again total darkness after the gleaming lights are off.

Once again hopes are weaved for the next year, of lights & joy. Some may not like it for their own reasons... but none can ignore this festival....

It is DIWALI again.... let us all celebrate joy & laughter around us, memories to last for your lifetime & even the satisfaction of making someone happy....

"MAKE IT A POINT TO GIVE... ONE CANNOT FATHOM THE 'JOY' IT BRINGS, EVEN AFTER EXPERIENCING IT"

One need not be a millionaire to "GIVE".... Give anything you are capable of with a smile :-)
... MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY.....In my case.... I am quite addicted to it now.... I love experiencing the joy & satisfaction it brings along with some pride. It brings pain sometimes, when I'm not able to. And believe me, "I HATE THAT FEELING".

This Diwali I made an old lady selling Diyas at Bashyam Circle Grounds, happy. Who did u make happy??????????

And when we speak of DIWALI, no Diwali without sweet delicacies.........

When I joined my mom & dad 2 days back, we prepared several delicacies of which other favorites are Akki Unde (ಅಕ್ಕಿ ಉಂಡೆ, Rice Ball) & Karajjikai (ಕರಜ್ಜಿಕೈ, Gujiya).

Karajjikai is a favorite in Karnataka, prepared with dessicated coconut filling. In the Northern parts of India it is prepared with Khova filling & called as Gujiya, which is popularly prepared at times of the festival of Teej in Bihar.

KARAJJIKAI (Gujiya, Arch shaped Crunchy Snack):

Ingredients:

Dough:

All Purpose Flour (maida) - 1/2 kg
Sugar Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to Taste
Hot Oil - 2 tsp
Water as Required

Filling:

White Sesame Seeds (Bili Ellu, Til)
Dessicated Coconut - 1/4 kg
Powdered Sugar - 2 cups
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Mix maida, hot oil, salt & one tsp powdered sugar with enough water to knead the flour into a soft dough of roti consistency & keep aside.

Meanwhile prepare a mix of the filling ingredients in another bowl & keep aside.

Now prepare lemon sized balls of the dough & roll it to the size of a poori, with the help of a rolling pin.

Place a tsp full of the filling mix & seal the dough by pasting the sides, by mere pressing.Seal it thoroughly & take care to see that it does not have any loose ends opened.

Once done, shape the sealed dough with the help of a designed cutter, by cutting the edge giving it an arch shape.

PS: One can also use the Karajjikai moulds available in the market for this purpose.

Keep it aside & continue the process till all the dough is consumed. Now deep fry these gujiyas till lighter shade of golden brown.

Remove them on an absorbent paper & allow them to cool. Once done store them in an air tight container.

Another my personal favorite is Akki Unde, because of its texture. It is very hard & crunchy. I always loved it, since childhood. I used these to fool peeps who were not aware of the texture of this snack. Peeps were like " Oh! these are going to break my teeth". But I must say, & all those peeps who tasted this are a witness to this that, once tasted you get addicted to the yummy taste of these balls. You would only stop, once your jaws ache.

We often offer people around to taste these & judge their teeth based on how confident they are chewing these crunchy balls. Very popular among Mangalorean Christians as these are their Christmas Favorites.



AKKI UNDE ( Crunchy Munchy's):

Ingredients:

Raw White Rice - 3 cups
Jaggery - 1/4 kg
Salt to Taste
Coconut Milk - 2 cup

Method:

Wash & soak rice overnight. Grind the rice with milk to the consistency of dosa batter. Meanwhile mash the jaggery & keep aside. Once the batter is half done add the jaggery & grind till you get a finely smooth batter. Now add salt & mix well.

Empty the batter into a wok or a thick bottomed vessel & place it on low flame, sirring contiuously, till you get a thick dough of roti consistency.

Turn off the flame & remove this dough into an airtight container or box.

PS: It is kept aside in an airtight box, to avoid it from cooling down.

Now remove only a small portion of the dough & mix it well to get a lumps free, smooth texture. Make small marble sized balls & keep aside.

Repeat the process to consume the entire dough.

Now deep fry these balls till chocolate brown.

Remove it onto an absorbent paper & allow it to cool. Store in an airtight container & munch...munch...munch.....

ENJOY THIS DIWALI MUNCHING THIS DELICIOUS DELICACY....HAPPY DIWALI to one & all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Karajjikai & Akki Unde goes to Priya's Feast (Announcing Diwali 2009 Contest)

SWEET TUKDI (Thukkudi, Diamond Cuts)

'Tukdi' is one of my family's favorites during Diwali. Of all the eatables & delicacies that we prepare for Diwali, this is the mostly sought delicacy. When we prepare it looks like it would at least last a month, but in vain. It would get emptied within a week or two. Peeps may also call it SHAKKAR PAALA, but I think that is the one, which is dropped into the sugar solution after frying. At Mangalore, the stalls or sweet meat shops offer the spicy variety of this. But my mom prepares the sweet one as we all like it, including my hubby, Kuku.

Very simple & easy. The only difficult part is the rolling & cutting involved. We get exhausted totally by the time we complete the 'production'. In between we tend to eat fruits & keep ourselves charged up, by discussing our love stories (me, my mom & my newly wedded sis in-law, Jyoti) or 'my' past acquaintances.

It is fun..... when my mom learns, where was I meandering when she went looking out for me, at my college.... I was a "PAIN IN THE WRONG PART" then.... of course, as I was busy "nain matkifying" (नैन लड़ना) with Kuku, my then Love & now Soulmate. I know I have got my parents worried, a lot.... then.... but I'm sorry...really sorry, for then, that was all my goal in life.... Kuku was all I wanted..... And now he is mine forever.......................................................... for all births......

Ok.... coming back to where I started.... It always happens... I start off with my love story & keep continuing with pride.........

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour (maida) - 1 kg
Salt to Taste
Hot Oil - 2 tbsp
Sugar (powdered) - 1 cup
Water as Required
Cooking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a wide mouthed vessel & knead into a soft dough.

Make lemon sized balls & roll it flat, (preferably thin) with the help of a rolling pin. Now cut the flat rolled dough into shapes of diamonds, with the help of a designed cutter.

Now store these cut diamonds on a plate & keep aside, till you are done with 3, rolled dough.

Heat oil in a kadai or wok. When the oil is smoking hot, drop these cut pieces, of the 3 rolled breads & deep fry them till lighter shade of golden brown. And repeat the process till you are completely done with the kneaded dough.

Remove from oil & transfer the pieces on to an absorbent paper, to let the excess oil get absorbed.

When cool, store in an air tight container & savor, whenever you please.

HAPPY DIWALI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Diwali Dhamaka goes to Purva's event (Indian Festive Food-Diwali Dhamaka)