Food on special occasions

Madugundu Krishna February 27, 2011

Food forms an important part of every special occasion. No celebration is complete without food. Be it a wedding, a festival, a birthday or a house warming celebration; food adds to the festivity and merry making.

Last month was Id. Al my family members got together at my grandparents place. Ammi had made mutton biryani, roghan josh and sewain. We wished each other Mubarak and enjoyed the delicious meal. We had also invited our neighbors and close friends to partake in the enjoyment.

Last month was sister’s wedding. It was celebrated in Kolkata in the typical Bengali style. All my relations from India and abroad had come for the wedding. The food was served on banana leaves and water in clay tumblers. People sat in bathes to eat. The menu had a special dish of fish cooked in curd. There was also baigun bhaja, dal, mutton curry and many other special items. The meal ended with roshagolla and misshti doi.

Special cooks were called to prepare the food –it was fascinating to watch the food being prepared in huge utensils. My uncles and cousins served the food to every one.

Navaratri is celebrated over a period of nine days during which we have only vegetarian food. We mostly eat fruits, nuts, milk and potatoes. Sometimes mother invites the ladies from the neighborhood. They pray and eat together.

We celebrated Guru Nanak’s birthday recently. We went to the local gurudwara for the celebration where people had gathered in huge numbers. We all sat down for langar or community lunch, together. The tandoori roti, sabzi and halwa were delicious. Lots of people volunteered to help in the cooking as well as serving the food.

It is very important to drink plenty of water as part of a healthy diet to nourish our body which is made of 60 to 70 percent water. Through water has no food value, still it forms an important part of our food. It helps the body use other nutrients and also helps to digest food. We must drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. Fruits like watermelon and cucumber contain a lot of water.

Tags: Food , Party , Wedding