Call it Diwali, Deepavali or Festival of lights : it is a time for pampering oneself with delectable sweet delicacies. The flavor of the season is definitely sweet. Sweets not of just one kind, but many. Hundreds of them in different forms, shapes, sizes, packed, readymade, neighbor-made or homemade in all their sugary glory. There is a saying in Malayalam “Chakkara kootiya Kambaliyum Thinnaam!” – Add sugar and you can even eat a blanket!
Tasty laddoos, syrupy Gulab Jamun and Rasagollas, diamond shaped Burfees and Mysorepaks, jelly like Halwas, powdered sugar & nuts stuffed karanjis and oozy orange jalebis in attractive piles adorn the glass-shelves of sweet shops to woe customers. In kilograms they get sold, like hot jalebis, and then get distributed among friends, family and business associates. Diwali is thus a celebration not only with lights and firecrackers but also with mouthwatering sweets.
Bite carefully since not all sweets appeal to everyone. How a sweet is rated lies in the taste of the teeth-holder. Sometimes literally – in case you bit into a rock-hard Mysorepak (experiment gone-awry!)
Legends have different versions of the story of how sweets took the center stage on Diwali. In South-India people believe that after the destruction of the demon, Narakasura, the victory of good over evil had to be celebrated with the tasting of sweets. Sweets became a way of expressing joy. In North India, the return of Rama after his exile to the forest was celebrated with a welcome platter of sweets. The tradition of sharing sweets on Diwali is followed to this day.
Many homemakers and cooks spend hours at the stove (during my days of growing up, it was the kerosene stove; these days some of the households I hear, can boast of induction-ready, granite polished stove-tops). Whatever the social or economic status, rich, poor, young and old, all rejoice in the sweet aroma emanating from their kitchens.
Those with sugar intolerance can substitute sugar with Splenda or Agave Nectar in their Jamoons. Those doing math with calories can substitute Rasogollas with low-calorie versions of the recipe. To those who are saying ‘no’ to a Laddoo for no reason whatsoever – ‘a little bit of laddoo never hurt anybody’!
Here’s wishing everyone a Happy and Delicious Diwali!
