Gluten Free, sugar free, vegan, raw Date Truffles } | The Novice Housewife Diwali, one of India’s biggest festivals, is right around the corner. Known as the festivals of lights, Diwali celebrations generally last 5 days, with Indians all over the world celebrating it in their own special way. Diwali signifies the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness.

Diwali is kind of like the Indian Christmas, with the days preceding Diwali marked by people cleaning their houses, lighting it, shopping new clothes and buying gifts/sweets for friends and family.

I had read somewhere that there is actually a scientific reason behind the cleaning of houses before Diwali. Since Diwali is celebrated somewhere between mid-October to mid-November, right after monsoons end, the cleaning makes sure all the germs and infestation that monsoons brought with them get eradicated with the whitewashing, and other pre Diwali cleaning activities. In fact a lot of Hindu traditions that we follow blindly these days are backed with a very logical reasoning that we are not aware of. Gluten Free, sugar free, vegan, raw Date Truffles } | The Novice Housewife Growing up, Diwali for me meant new clothes, lighting candles and diyas, putting lights up, cleaning every nook and corner of our rooms because else the Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi won’t pay our house a visit, going to the Gurudwara to light candles and then bursting crackers at home.

I, being terrified of crackers, would just just burn the sparklers and be happy while my dad and brother would burst the more scary crackers. As we grew up and realized how terrifying the noise is for animals (we had a dog who had the toughest time during Diwali), besides the air pollution that crackers cause, we stopped bursting crackers altogether. Just to continue a little tradition we celebrate Diwali now by lighting a sparkler or two, and maybe an anar for fun. Besides that we just light the house and distribute sweets to our loved ones. And eat good food and lots of sweets!

Read More →

Goa, a state located in the West of India, is famous for its beaches, its relaxed culture and of course its cuisine. The long period of Portuguese rule, besides that of the Muslim and Hindu kingdoms has led to a different and unique style of food with a combination of spicy flavors in this beloved vacation state.

The Portuguese dominated Goa for centuries coming in the 1500s and leaving in 1961. Thus, the Goan culture heavily reflects the Portuguese influence. The Portuguese culture is known for their happy go lucky nature, love for drinks, late night parties and gala dinner. And that’s how Goa is perceived all over India and loved by all.

The taste of Goan food involves tangy, spicy and other lip-smacking delicacies. Most Goans, unlike the rest of India, eat all kinds of meat- including beef, pork and all types of seafood, besides the regular chicken. Prawn Balchao, Pork Vindaloo and Chicken Xacuti- yup they are all goan dishes.

One of Goa’s staple dishes is fish curry and rice, something I will be sharing today.

Read More →