Faraal fiesta

A week prior to Diwali deep cleaning is a mandatory exercise in every Indian home Mothers and grandmothers stand in the kitchen for hours and painstakingly prepare traditional sweets and faraal savoury snacks Every community has a different way of making these though For this writer growing up in a Kutchi community home meant enjoying mathiya and chorafadi during the Festival of Lights And after speaking to a few women in Mumbai who continue to make Diwali goodies by hand at home it sent us on a trip down memory laneClockwise from right Mathiya puri poha chivda chorafadi nachni laddoo and chaklildquoFrom childhood Diwali was an occasion where I could gorge on my favourite sweets and savouries These dishes were not made during the rest of the year So every year I used to wait to eat these laddoos made lovingly by momrdquo recalls Akshata Prabhu Rathod 33 an HR professional who started Mithai Bliss during the pandemic after she lost her job As a Konkani Mangalorean Rathod says their sweets are unique and not easily available to buy in the cityFiftyyearold Gujarati homemaker Priti Mehta recalls how she grew up watching her mother make faraal and sweets every year for DiwaliJust before Diwali she makes phenori which is a rolled up maida sweet dipped in sugar syrup The mando or mandighe is a Konkani sweet made up of maida roasted coconut sesame seeds and cardamom powder Churmundo are wheat atta and rawa laddoos and saat is like a flaky balushahi Khadi is made of besan and is similar to a mohanthal Rathod learnt to prepare all of this from her mumChurmundoBut she is not the only one who is keeping the traditional recipes alive Fiftyyearold Gujrati homemaker Priti Mehta recalls how she grew up watching her mother make faraal and sweets for Diwali Even today Mehta takes out time to make mathiya a sweet and spicy crispy papad poha chivda fafda chorafadi chakli and puri Some of the sweets she makes include mohanthal kharjur pakmdasha mawa mithai made of dates and dry fruitsmdashghugra a sweet deepfried dumpling and magaj melon seeds laddooPhenoriCosmetologist Supriya Gokhalersquos mother Shubhangi Gokhale who is 66 not only makes faraal every year but also runs a small homerun business offering traditional Maharashtrian sweets all year round She along with her daughterrsquos help makes chakli sev poha chivda different types of laddoos and karanji which is a Maharashtrian variant of ghugra with coconut ldquoMy mother is very passionate and enthusiastic when it comes to cookingrdquo says Gokhale While Gokhale helps her mother making the faraal items she admits that if she had her way shersquod buy them ready made ldquoAs a working professional I donrsquot get the time to make these at home However my daughter who has grown up watching me and her grandmother make these delicacies is naturally drawn and helps us in the kitchenrdquoRawa besan wadiThe pandemic however has turned the tide towards home chefs who customers seek out instead of picking up packets from stores ldquoThose who run homerun businesses know the authentic taste of dishes and the ingredients used are of good quality Hygiene is another important reason to choose themrdquo shares RathodThere is no doubt that making faraal is timeconsuming and tedious But for Gokhale ldquoit gives the homemaker a sense of empowerment and happiness My mother cannot eat these foods since she is diabetic but she feels happy that so many people are enjoying the foods she has preparedrdquoChakliMehta also shares a similar reason for making this year after year ldquoThe feeling of happiness and fulfilment after working hard and making something for your family is irreplaceablerdquo For those who want to experience this but canrsquot due to lack of time she suggests making them in smaller quantities on weekendsGarden cress laddooThe younger generation is more drawn to desserts from the West Besides another reason why this tradition is dying is because people are becoming more diet conscious and want to stay away from fried and sweet delicacies To overcome this Mehta has already adapted a few techniques like making fusion mithai ldquoI add chocolate to khajur pak so that my children can try itrdquoAkshata Prabhu RathodAnd she also tries to make healthy variants ldquoReplacing sugar with jaggery is a good way to make it sweets healthier I also bake mathiya instead of fryingrdquo adds Mehta Gokhale has also introduced healthy options such as methi laddoo dink laddoo and makhana foxnuts The modern generation of revellers may be health conscious but Gokhale is still optimistic ldquoI donrsquot see these traditions dying out Indians are very emotional peoplerdquo