Deepavali always found my grandmother on a low moda making her speciality, rice halwa, on a traditional firewood stove. Powdered rice was cooked in copious amounts of coconut milk with jaggery and poured on to a large, greased plate to cool. It was then cut into pieces, garnished with freshly grated coconut and polished off in a minute. Every year, this was a much-awaited treat for the festival. Similarly, each family has its own list of must-eats for the festival.
“For the Tamil Brahmin community, Deepavali is incomplete without okkara, a sweet dish with split Bengal gram (kadalaparippu), jaggery, coconut and ghee as the main ingredients. Another Deepavali special is Inji lehyam, a medicinal mix which every one consumes after the traditional oil bath in the morning,” says Vidya K, a homemaker.
Inji lehyam is prepared by Tamil Brahmin community for Deepavali
Lakshmi Ashok says it was the fragrance of sweets and savouries made by a mami who used to come home to cook a few days before Deepavali that comes to mind. “All the food was made and stored for the big day. We were not allowed to taste any till we had had our oil bath and a big gola of lehyam early in the morning. Then it was feasting all the way. Lehyam, ghee-soaked wheat halwa and mixture were mandatory along with other sweets,” she recalls. In addition, there were savouries such as thenkuzhal or mixture and fried snacks such as vada and bajji. However, for Krishna Veni S, it has always been different kinds of bajji that completed the menu for the festival.
Mutton on the menu
No Deepavali celebration is complete without mutton in the Tamil-speaking community in the city. “The binging begins on the previous day of Deepavali with idli and mutton for dinner and it spills over to the day of Deepavali. On the morning of Deepavali, we did not really go for a heavy breakfast. After an oil bath, all of us would be busy with visits to the temples, bursting crackers and so on. By lunch, we were all set for a sumptuous meal, with mutton being the highlight. Till a few years ago, we had a cook coming home to make jalebi and boli in large quantities for our joint family,” recalls entrepreneur Geeta Sunu.
Mutton curry
Deepavali is a non-vegetarian affair for the Telugu Chettiar community as well. Mutton or chicken dish is definitely prepared in their households for lunch. And a must on the sweets list is munthirikothu, says Ramani Ammal, a resident of Telugu Chettiar Street in Karamana.
The Udupi Madhwa Brahmin community cooks kadubu on all festive occasions, including Deepavali. Idli batter is steamed in screw pine leaves shaped like cylindrical moulds. It is had for breakfast with coconut oil, pumpkin chutney and mango pickle.
An integral part of Deepavali for Konkani Brahmins is aval nanachathu or sweetened beaten rice flakes, with roasted split Bengal gram and green gram added to it, says Vanaja Venkiteswara Shenoy.
