KOCHI: Well, indeed, Diwali is not that big in Kerala. However, every year, various communities in Kochi deck up for the festival of lights. And the sweets hit the market. Gifting sweet boxes to relatives and friends has become an annual affair here. From savoury sweets to yummy confectioneries, this is the perfect festival for sweet-lovers.
Kochi is home to many communities such as Gujaratis, Marathis, Bengalis, Tamilians etc. And that’s why one can find all sorts of authentic sweets prepared in each community here. “There were very few north Indian sweets shops in Kochi earlier. But things have changed now. We have Bikash Babu Sweets, Misthana, Annapurna, Sri Krishna, etc,” says Sharanya K S, a Kochiite who works in Mumbai.
In India, there are hundreds of varieties of sweets several varieties of laddu, different flavours of barfi, gulab jamun, rasgulla, peda, halwa, and the list goes on. And in Kochi, kaju katli always wins the spot for the most popular dessert, without fail during Diwali. The festival is incomplete without a few pieces of kaju katli, says Disha Lodaya, who belongs to the Gujarathi Jain community in Mattancherry. The delicacy is prepared with cashew nuts, sugar, cardamom powder and ghee, and it is defined by the quintessential diamond shape.
Along with the sweets, some communities in India prefer namkeen savouries as well. And they say the preparations for Diwali sweets and namkeen begin a few days ago. Apart from sweets, sending boxes of dry fruits is also a tradition during Diwali. People have become more health-conscious after Covid, says Bunty Singh, a restaurant owner in Kochi. “I prefer gifting dry fruits to my friends and family,” adds Bunty, who is originally from Patiala in Punjab.
Among Tamils, there is a tradition of having ‘marundu’ a medicinal sweet, as their first dish. “Since my childhood, my mother has made sure that I start my day with the marundu. It is a laddu made of medical ingredients available in our Indian spices that helps in the digestion of food,” said Kaushik Iyer, a student. Some of the Diwali favourites in Tamil Nadu are ukkarai, velli appam, omapudi, boondhi, jangri, pathir peni, and a special kind of poli. All or almost all of these dishes are prepared in almost every Tamil family.
The festival of lights has different significance in each community. In north India, it’s about Ram, Lakshman and Sita returning to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. In West Bengal, it’s Kali Puja and in Punjab, it’s Bandi Chhor Divas. However, sweets are a must for all. And each community has one unique dish that is prepared, especially on Diwali.
Ghughra, with love from Gujarat
Among the Gujarati community, ghughra (a sweet) and chevda (a snack) are the most popular items prepared during Diwali,” says Sushma Lalith Lodaya, who prepares special Gujarati savouries in Kochi. On festive days, the tradition is to visit the temple in the morning and reach home to have delicious Farsan the salty snack.
“The major excitement of the festival apart from bursting crackers is to eat delicious food and, of course, ghugara, a deep-fried sweet prepared with rava, coconut, and dry fruits,” she adds.
Sushma also sells Gujarati sweets such as gughara, laddu and mohanthal, and savouries such as ghatiya, theeki sev and mathri.
No celebration without Sondesh
The brain behind Bikash Babu Sweets, Amit Sarkar says Bengalis prefer sondesh and mawa-based sweets during Diwali. Amit is the owner of one of the first Bengali sweet shops in Kochi. Now, Bikash Babu Sweets sells a mix of Bengali and north Indian delicacies. He adds that the shop has also introduced sweet boxes with calorie information on it. “We have also launched a ‘no sugar’ sweets box this year. The sweets are made using honey, dates and figs,” says Amit.
Mohanthal
by Nanda H Shah
Ingredients
Method
In a small bowl, take 8 to 10 strands of saffron and add some warm water. Keep it aside. In a large bowl take 3 cups of besan, 1/4th cup of ghee and 1/4th cup of warm milk. ︎Mix all these. Crumble the mix and make sure the besan is moist. Add ghee if required. ︎Keep mixing for a grainy texture. Set it aside for half an hour. Now sieve the crumbled besan and keep it aside. To roast the besan, pour 1 cup of ghee into a thick bottom pan and add the grainy besan on a low flame. ︎Roast it until golden brown. Ghee will leave the sides once the besan is roasted perfectly. ︎At this point add 1/2 cup of milk. Keep stirring till the milk gets absorbed. Once done, transfer the mix to a bowl. Take 2¼ cups of sugar in a kadai. Add water just enough to sink the sugar. ︎Cook the syrup till one string consistency. Add the saffron and cardamom powder to this syrup. Add the roasted besan to this syrup. Keep stirring until it leaves the sides of the pan and thickens ︎Now transfer this mixture to a tray. Spread it using a flat spatula. ︎Sprinkle pistachios and almond slivers and then tap the tray. Keep it aside to cool completely for 3 to 4 hours. ︎Once it is set, cut it into equal-sized pieces and store it.
Ghugara
by Sushma Lalith Lodaya
Ingredients
For stuffing
For outer layer
Method
Stuffing
Roast dry fruits in ghee. When cool, crush them and addto the mixing bowl.
Then in the same pan, add Sooji and cook for about 5-6 min on low heat. Add roasted suji into the mixing bowl.
Roast desiccated coconut for a minute. Add into a mixing bowl.
Add powder sugar and cardamom powder. Mix everything.
For outer layer
In a bowl mix Maida, a pinch of salt, and melted ghee and mix well.
Add water gradually and knead a tight and smooth dough. Cover it and allow it to rest for 15 mins.
Preparing ghughra
Knead the dough for about 1 min.
Take small portions and make smooth round balls.
Roll them into small Puri shapes. Cut it into a round shape with a small size lid.
Place about 1tsp of stuffing in the middle.
Using a little water, line the edges of the Puri and cover the mixture by joining one side with the other.
Now take the Ghughra in your hand and lightly press the edges between your fingers & make pleats to give Ghughra design. You can also make designs on Ghughra using a fork.
Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame to low and fry 9-10 Ghuhghra till they become golden brown.