All you need to know about Naraka Chaturdashi

With its spooky jackolanterns fancy costume parties and of course trickortreat Halloween might be all the rage now but Indians have their own rituals to honour the dead and celebrate the triumph of good over evil Naraka chaturdashi also known as kali chaudas or bhoot chaturdashi which is the 14th day of Krishna paksha lunar phase is celebrated by several communities during the festival of lights and like Diwali comes with its own culinary traditionsAn effigy of Narakasur in Goa Pic courtesyWarsha VimadalalA poha festHome chef Warsha Vimadalal who hails from Goa recalls the legend of the demon Narakasur ldquoIn ancient times the beautiful land of Goa or Gomantak was ruled by Narakasur He began to spread terror cause destruction and torture people The people prayed and the gods asked lord Krishna for help A battle ensued between Narakasur and Krishna in which the latter cut off Narakasurrsquos head and slit his tongue Thus the demon who ruled Goa met his end in the wee hours of the morning and Krishna smeared the demonrsquos blood on his forehead as a symbol of victoryrdquo she reveals Before sunrise on Naraka chaturdashi colourful effigies of Narakasur filled with paper grass and crackers are thus burnt in GoaHome chef Warsha VimadalalLike Krishna who was bathed with scented oils after the battle at dawn people take a bath with utna a natural scrub ldquoThen we start preparing for brunch Krishna loved poha so different variations are made such as rosatle fov made with coconut milk and jaggery and kanda batata pohardquo she says Therersquos also vatana usal made with green matar and coconut kokum kadhi hog plum chutney kelyacho halwo with Myndoli or Moira bananas and different kinds of faral among other itemsKelyacho halwoIngredients3 MyndoliNendran bananas very ripe almost blackened skin14 cup sugar4 cloves2inch stick cinnamonfrac12 tsp nutmeg and cardamom powder1 cup water2 tsp ghee3 to 4 strands saffronMethodPeel and slice the bananas into quarterinch pieces Heat ghee Pop in cloves and cinnamon sauteacute for a few seconds Add the sliced bananas and sauteacute for two to three minutes Tip in water and boil for five minutes Stir in sugar Once it starts boiling again after five minutes sprinkle cardamom and nutmeg powder and saffron strands Mix and switch off the flame Let it sit for 10 minutes The halwa is ready to be served you can also have it with puribreadBittersweet beginningsHome chef Rashmi Patkar who runs The Dabbawali tells us that among Maharashtrians Naraka chaturdashi is a big day during the Diwali festivities ldquoWe wake up early and decorate the house Then we do abhyanga snan mdash a special bath with utna and oil We do puja and only then is the Diwali faral eatenrdquo she shares Two dishes that are the star attractions of the ritual are kala vatana chi usal and dudh poha ldquoThe men stamp on the bitter karit fruit mdash it symbolises killing the demon Yoursquore supposed to pick up a bit and put on your tonguerdquo she says adding that the family then sits together and enjoys the feastA thali prepared by PatkarOde to ancestorsLooking east among Bengalis bhoot or Naraka chaturdashi is a slightly spooky affair usually celebrated a day before Kali Puja and Diwali This writer remembers being told that 14 generations of onersquos forefathers pay a visit on this day Home chefs Nandini Deb and Nirban Goswami who run Bangali Babu tell us that choddo shaak or 14 kinds of leafy greens are stirfriedChoddo shaak Pic courtesyRukmini debThis includes palak amaranth water spinach bottle gourd greens and tender pumpkin greens ldquoIt has a scientific reason as this is the onset of winter and the greens help boost immunity My grandmother would add a pinch of hing to ensure good digestion In the evening we also put out 14 diyas in the house to guide the ancestorsrdquo Deb adds