Festive Feast

Dussehra, also called Vijaya Dashami, is one of the most joyous festivals in India, celebrating Shri Ram's victory over the demon king Ravana. Another narrative associates the festivities with commemorating Goddess Chandi's killing of an oppressive demon. It is celebrated enthusiastically and marks the advent of the season of festive feasting that continues till the New Year. The menu comprises traditional sweets and savouries as well as specialities that are treated as culinary heirlooms.

Banaras, a city famous for its Ramlila, is also known for its malai (clotted cream) based sweets, such as malaiyyo, a lighter soufflé confection, and malai ka pooda, made from a paper-thin sheet of clotted cream packed with dried fruits and nuts and just a few crystals of mishri.

The halwais of Lucknow, who once catered to finicky nawabs, trace their roots to Banaras. Ram Asrey's family takes pride in refining the malai sweets to a sublime level, claiming the creation of the balai ki gilory (balai is the term used for malai in Lucknow). Almost impossible to prepare at home, they are only bought from the legendary halwai shops.

Parwal ki mithai is another unusual sweet. The wax gourd is lightly scraped and blanched carefully, then packed with sweetened, crumbled chhena (curdcheese). Nowadays, most halwais use a filling of mawa, rendering the sweets heavier.

Banaras has always had a sizeable Bengali population, so it is not surprising that the city's residents have strong acquired tastes for chhena. Nor should we forget that Bengal and Bihar (along with Odisha) were parts of a sprawling province for years, and there are many shared tastes, particularly in sweets. Raj bhog and kamla bhog are relished during Dussehra. Some sweets are grain-based and may be combined with thickened unsweetened milk like malpua or imarti. Balu shahi, its close cousin chandra kala, and lavang latika are all bestsellers across the sweet shops.

However, it does not mean that Dussehra sweets are not prepared at home. Tradition prescribes that pakwan (deep-fried rich delicacies) and mishtanna (sweets) should be cooked at home. Myriad laddoos and halwas are invariably homemade. Among the more unusual halwas are shakarkand ka halwa (sweet potato halwa) and kele ka halwa (banana halwa). These used to be the staples in the countryside, particularly in households that were not affluent. Boiled and grated sweet potato requires very little sugar and few additives to make a delicious sweet.

In the Awadh region, the sweet badi/bada is also very popular and is served soaked in mildly sweetened, thickened milk or sugarcane juice. Laddoos of besan, sooji, and nariyal are also commonly prepared at home. In the villages, til ke laddoo, using both black and white sesame seeds and ramdana (Amaranth), provides is an affordable delight. After Dussehra, when the weather begins to change and a nip in the air can be felt, ingredients considered seasonally appropriate appear in laddoos—like methi ka laddoo and gond ka laddoo.

A common thread runs through the special delicacies prepared for Dusshera from Braj Bhoomi. The playground of the frolicking Lord Krishna is known for sweets made with milk, and the skilled craftsman is the backbone of the halwai karkhana. Mathura, the city where Krishna was born, is famous for its peda (fudge-like sweet made with milk and sugar and flavoured with cardamom). They find their way in the prasad ki thali during poojas in Dussehra. Agra does not have milk-based sweets of its own but is renowned for its petha—a preserve made with ash gourd, available in dry and moist form. In Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, peele chawal—rice coloured with turmeric and sweetened with gur—is popular. In Himachal, this rustic version of zarda (traditional sweet rice dessert) is prominent on the saatvik thali laid out for dhaam, the ritual community meal. In Uttarakhand, villagers snack sumptuously on jalebis while watching the Ramlila performance. Pua, arguably the oldest sweet in India (Apoopani are mentioned in the Vedas), is deep-fried in small batches at home. In Punjab, the all-time favourites are the calorie-bomb pinni, panjeeri and the fudge-like doda barfi. In Alwar, where the borders of Rajasthan and Haryana meet, milk cake cannot be missed.

The Savoury Fix

With a surfeit of sweets, the palate begins to pine for something salty. Agra is the city that created the original dal moth that blends fragile tiny fragments of thread-like sev with fried moth (lentils). Legend has it that a visiting ruler from Bikaner loved the creation so much that he commanded a halwai in his realm to create a dish known as Agra ki dal moth. And that is how the Bikaneri bhujiya came into being. Banaras has its version of dal moth, prepared with emerald-tinted sev, coloured naturally with spinach, a generous measure of melon seeds and cashew nuts, and pure ghee. Serving bada is considered auspicious, and Dussehra is no exception. Plain urad dal bada is almost extinct today, and dahi bada have become the norm. Some traditional Baniya families continue treating their guests to phulkiyan—a variation of mangodis soaked in dahi. There was a time when families planned elaborate expeditions to witness the burning of effigies of ten-headed Ravana in the mela-maidan, and splurged on snacks. Then, the television brought the spectacle home, and many were reluctant to stir out. However, the celebration of Dussehra with edible sparklers continues unabated.

Pushpesh Pant is an Indian academic, food critic and historian