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by: Jitu Patel
India is a land of diverse culture and has many festive occasions that its people celebrate, almost on a monthly basis. Good food is a major part of almost all celebrations. Diwali is a very important festival of the year which marks the end of the harvest season. Every Indian festival has a religious, seasonal and social element associated with it. Celebrations include the planned preparation of traditional food and sweets. It is also the time when people get dressed in their best, usually colorful clothes and assemble in groups with friends and family to celebrate. Dancing, singing with unwavering enthusiasm and decorating the home with colorful lights are part of the big festive occasion. Diwali is also known as the “festival of lights” for this reason. The tradition and the culture passed on from generation are followed and it is also a way to enhance the mental and spiritual dimension.
‘Sweets’ or ‘mithai’ are very special and generally made from the pure ghee. The sweet shops and other retailers are busy preparing the special Diwali sweets which are very high in demand. But these sweets you can also make at home.
Let us take a look at 3 most popular Diwali sweets.
Jalebi:
Jalebi is a popular festival sweet in which the main ingredient is flour (maida). It is a coil shaped sweet which is dipped in sugar syrup. We can find the reference of Jalebi in the old 13th century cookbooks. But originally the sweet comes from Iran where it was known as Zlebia. Through trade and culture diffusion, in India it become popular by the name of Jalebi as Z is replaced by J in most Indian languages. In Iran during the Ramadan, Zlebia was distributed among the poors. Jalebi is served both warm and cold and in some parts of India it is served along with a glass of milk.
Besan Ka Ladoo:
These are round balls and the main ingredient is gram flour. As popularly known as ladoos these are all time favorite Indian sweet which is made in almost all regions of India with local variations. This is a sweet which is prepared for almost all the Indian festivals. It is very easy to make and a person with very little kitchen expertise can also make it. You do not have to even look for any special ingredients and the preparation time is also very less.
Gajar Ka Halwa:
It is a sweet which is made from carrot. You grate the carrot and cook it in ghee and add sugar to it along with other dry fruits. It is a sweet which is liked by people of all age group. Generally women in India prefer cooking Gajar ka halwa in their own kitchen rather than buying it from the sweet shop.
Food and sweets are a very important part of the diwali celebration. A festive season without sweet is just incomplete in India. During Diwali festivals all the ladies distribute special sweets made by them to their friends and neighbors. It is considered that Diwali is a festival when the Goddess of Money –Laxmi gives blessing of prosperity. The traditional values are still followed in India and Diwali time is both for snacks and sweets.
About The Author
Jitu Patel owns and operates http://www.indiaovenlasvegas.com, the leading Indian Restaurant in Las Vegas. Visit http://www.indiaovenlasvegas.com/articles/ for more spicy articles and recipes.
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