Gourmand's feast

food 'n' festivity

Have you ever wondered which sweet defines Deepavali? For Holi, there is karanji; for Lohri, there is revedi; for Pongal, there is sweet pongal; and for Ganesha Chaturthi, there is modak. Hard to fathom but true, when it comes to the grandest of festivals on the Hindu calendar, there is no particular sweet/savory that represents it.

And that, says culinary legend Jiggs Kalra, “is the beauty of the festival of lights. The entire gamut of sweets, savouries and other dishes make the platter of this festival. You can pick any sweet from any part of the country, and there is a potential of it being a Deepavali special.” It is this variety in sweets and savouries that has made Deepavali a gourmand’s festival.

Interestingly, culinary historian Ashish Chopra says, “Deepavali wasn’t always so grand. Back in time when Hindus ruled the land, it was a subdued celebration that involved more temple rituals and in-home celebrations than fireworks and a bowl of sweet temptations.”

So, where and how did the concept of Deepavali as a grand festival germinate? Deepavali, as we know today, began to take shape under Mughal Emperor Akbar, who decided to use the festival of lights as a ruse to build bridges between various communities.

Give and take

Legend has it he began the tradition of sending sweet thalis to the Hindu nobles (inside his palace fort) and relatives, and receiving gifts in return during the evening get-together that was often marked with a lavish vegetarian spread and fireworks. The first thali that Akbar sent out was to Birbal, which, according to a folklore, had 20 different kinds of sweets, including seviyan kheer and shahi tukda, made of fluffy cream of the milk, which was then garnished with slivers of dry fruits and saffron.

During the first few years, notes Abul Fazal (the author of Akbarnama) in his diary, the event was sponsored by the emperor, with most sweets coming from Jodha Bai’s kitchen. By the following year, preparations for Deepavali had become more elaborate as the neighbouring kings joined the celebration.

The Mughal kitchen, reputed for its innovative dishes, had visiting royal khansamas (male cooks) from other kingdoms of Kolkata to prepare the Deepavali spread. This was how chum chum, sandesh, rosogulla and mishti doi reached the royal courts, and also the Meerut-famous gajak. It was during this time that the kaju katli burfi was developed.

According to Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari, Deepavali was a bigger celebration than Nou Roz (and later Eid) in the court, where people got a glimpse of Peacock Throne, and when the palace distributed a white-coloured creamy sorbet garnished with nuts and saffron to the public in kulads (small earthen pots), along with sweet and savoury puffs. These, anthropologists believe, could be the earlier iteration of tandai/namak pare.

The Rang Mahal at Red Fort played host to many Deepavalis under different Mughal kings till the reign of Mohammad Shah, who is said to have spent a fortune to make the festival grander and richer. It is said that even the otherwise miser Shah Jahan would release generous grants to light up the palace, its courtyards and the fabled akash diya that washed the city of Shahjahanabad in a halo-like glow.

By the time Jahangir came to the throne, the region of Sindh and Punjab had also begun celebrating Deepavali as Bandi Chhor Divas. Though it was dedicated to the release of Guru Hargobind, the festival added its own sweetness to the festival of lights by way of food in the form of laddus, gur ka halwa, chaklis, kachori, soan papdi, moti pak, Agra ke angoori petha and Mathura ke pede.

Across borders

Thanks to the ritual of gifting, the Mughal court, by the time of Shah Jahan, saw a sea of newer sweets debuting on the thali, and it was on the banks of Yamuna an annual mela was hosted for the public, where samosas, chaats, khaja and other delicacies gained popularity.

The traders across borders would arrive here during the two-day-long festival to sell their fare, and the streets of Chandni Chowk would be weaving and wafting with the aromas of deep-fried delicacies –— like the Rajasthani raj kachori, South Indian murukku, the Mathura-style doodh jalebi, Gujarati fafda & chivda feni, and malpua with rabri. A customary meal on the streets was the phalhari chaat and bedmi aloo.

Given the large population of people in Akabr’s court, there was a generous inclusion of meat in the main meal. For a long time, sacrificing buffaloes was part of the ritual as a sign of victory, and non-vegetarian fare like akoori and kaliya was also integral to the celebratory meal.

However, with the decline of Mughals — Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last to organise Deepavali at Red Fort — grandness of the festival took a backseat, but the lavishness of the meal and sweets remained. Perhaps the meals became more vegetarian as time passed, thanks to the Gujarati community that introduced rangoli into the celebration and of course, an array of snacks like gujia, dhokla and gathia, along with the delicious masala chai.

In places where Deepavali coincides with Kali Puja — like in Bengal and North East — non-vegetarian fare features in the main festival.

Happily, most of the grand Deepavali thali that the Mughal emperors helped curate is a part of the celebration even today, though chocolates and dry fruits have become a gifting option.