Diwali – The Festival of Lights compiled by Sakthi
Apart from being the most widely celebrated, Diwali is perhaps one the of the prettiest of all Indian festivals. The word Diwali comes from the word ‘Dipawali’ and falls on the last day of the last month of lunar calendar. Diwali is celebrated for five days (this year it falls on November 5 – 9). The uniqueness of this festival is its harmony of five varied philosophies, with each day to a special thought or ideal. Diwali is a time when every establishment is illuminated with “Deeps”- oil lamps and every heart is filled with joy. Delighted children set off fireworks in the spirit of festival.
If you are thinking of buying any of your friends some Diwali gifts, here is a site that I have found. I will be using it for the first time this year and will post feedback once I get my order. It does seem to be very organized and very well presented with a large range of traditional gifts.
Diwali (Deepavali) Gifts at http://www.diwalimela.com/index.html
Here is a recipe from part of their site and you can find more here
Mitha Khaja Recipe
For serving 3 to 4 people
Ingredients:
Flour 1� cup
Jaggery � cup
1 cup of water
Cardamom powder 1/4 tablespoon
Ghee 1 tablespoon
Method
First, heat the water and jaggery until it dissolves in the water. Strain and cool it and add cardamom powder and ghee in the flour and knead the flour with jaggery water till the dough becomes stiff. Breaking it into 24-25 parts, knead and roll it into 4” rounds. And keep it aside so as to make it a bit dry and fry it in hot ghee until its colour becomes golden. Then drain and cool it till the khajas becomes crisper. Serve it or keep it in an airtight container.
