March is a great month to be in India, and I'm really glad that we have been able to see all the exciting facets of March. Be it the weather which is changing slowly from Spring to Summer, the beautiful parks and gardens in full bloom with the heady fragrance of brightly coloured flowers or the wide ranging cuisine, many of it which we have been able to try out at great little restaurants, its been a month of re-discovering our hometown Delhi and we intend to carry this through to various parts of India over the course of the next few months.
The last few days have seen the advent of Navaratri, (a nine day and night festival that honors the Mother Goddess in all her manifestations, including Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati) and with it, I have had the opportunity of trying out a whole new range of cuisine. Also called 'Vrat Ka Khana' or food during fasting, the most popular food preparations include Kuttu Ki Puri,(buckwheat flour), Singhade Ka Halwa, Singhare Ke Pakore, Khuskhus Aloo,( potatoes Sabudana Vada and Sabudana Khichdi.
Some of the typical food ingredients to prepare these include Kuttu atta or Singhara atta, Sabudana, or tapioca and foxnuts. During Navratri, markets are flooded with 'vrat' packaged snacks. For devotees observing Navratri fast, special Navratri 'thalis' offering an assortment of preparations are available in many restaurants.A couple of days ago, we stopped for lunch at Sagar Ratna at the JMD Galleria, Gurgaon and tried out their special Navaratri Thali.
When it came, it looked like this and tasted even better!
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| 'Navaratri Thali'at Sagar Ratna - great looking and even better tasting According to the 'Art Of Living Foundation', "Fasting is a Feast for Body, Mind, and Soul." It has frequently been observed that when it comes to eating and drinking, we often forget that we ought to be eating to live and not the other way around. The body needs only so much for sustenance and the stomach can hold only so much, but the senses continue to crave, and we continue to feed those cravings. So, fasting is a gift to an over-burdened body and an over-indulged mind. It gives a chance to the body and mind to break out of a pattern and give it a new direction." Must confess, I haven't tried it that way so far, but must equally confess, I'm getting highly inspired to do so... |
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| Spring colours and moods make the atmosphere more conduciveFor devotees who observe partial Navratri 'vrat', the ritual involves breaking the fast after evening puja. The devotees abstain from consuming meat, fish, eggs, alcohol, onions, garlic, dishes made with common salt or any kind of spice. Some people live only on milk, fruits and fruit juices for the entire length of fasting. Apart from tea, coffee and milk, sago and potato cooked with rock salt are extremely popular dishes among devotees observing partial fast. Milk products and dry fruits can also be consumed. Navratri rules also imply watching one's temperament, actions and behavior. This is particularly aided by following a strict vegetarian diet. |
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| My Navratri Tandoori Platter at Haldiram's last week-Mouthwatering With a few more days to go for Navaratri, I've seen, observed and learnt a fair bit. Its been a great journey both in the culinary as well as knowledge front and one which I'm bent on continuing in many more and innovative ways. Watch this space for more folks and you will see exactly what I mean. In the meantime, here' wishing all of you a very Happy Navaratri. <a href="http://www.blogadda.com" title="Visit BlogAdda.com to discover Indian blogs"> <img src="http://www.blogadda.com/images/blogadda.png" width="80" height="15" border="0" alt="Visit BlogAdda.com to discover Indian blogs" /></a> |
That is a good spread.
ReplyDelete:)