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Maharashtrian chefs revisit memories of Dussehra celebrations with family
Updated On: 24 October, 2023 09:47 AM IST | Mumbai | Pooja Patel
On the auspicious occasion of Dussehra, two Maharashtrian chefs revisit warm, comforting memories of celebrating the festival in their homes
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Shrikhand and puran poli; (right) Reshma Mane
After the colourful festival of nine Navratri days, we celebrate Dussehra today; an occasion to remember the triumph of good over evil. In the spirit of the season, we invite two Maharashtrian chefs to give us a sense of festivities in our home state. For chef Akash Deshpande, chef de cuisine at Nava, Dussehra is all about getting together with the family and having a good time. “It’s an all-vegetarian affair with puri, potato sabzi and shrikhand, which is cooked with a lot of love by my mother,” he shares. The chef reminisces how, as a kid, he would be woken up at the crack of the dawn like most Maharashtrian children, for a special bath with ubtan powder that’s made from turmeric, gram flour, sandalwood, rose water, and milk. “I never liked waking up early in the morning, so my mom [Sarita] used to carry me straight to the shower,” the chef laughs.
The main element of the festival is the puja. “Apart from decorating the home, and the main door with beautiful floral torans made of leaves from Ashoka tree and orange genda flowers, the puja is sacrosanct. We worship all sorts of tools and equipment that are believed to bring prosperity, or are considered auspicious or we think need blessings. This even includes cars,” says home chef Reshma Mane of Every Aroma. Echoing the thought is Deshpande, who says, “We worship tools, including utensils like kitchen knives. The idea is to pray to the tools, to bring us prosperity or provide for us.”
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