Have you ever thought about what we would’ve done if we never had any festivals in our life? Ohhh, it’s scary and don’t want to think about it right? when you are used to having almost various kinds of festivals and celebrations every few weeks. Festivals and celebrations plays such an important role in our lives, and each festival holds very specific significance whether they could be religious, historical, the birth of god or arrival of the season. Participation in festive celebrations has long been a part of the human experience. In our life, we are learning how to deal and cope with so many unpleasant incidents and situations, in between celebrating the festivals whether they are small or big gives us a chance to accept a positive influence in our life. Since I have settled outside India for more than 25 years, I am not obliged to celebrate each and every Hindu festival, but a few main festivals we do celebrate because when you celebrate festival means respecting that event we are connecting our children to their roots in this modern and competitive world. MakarSankranti, we can not celebrate this festival with so much zeal as I used to in India. The Festival of Kite is quite unique and it is a special festival of Ahmedabad which is very popular amongst the Gujarati community and now especially Indian Prime Minister Mr. Modi has been promoting this event (aka) International Kite Festival al all over the world. For us Brits, when temperatures are settled in minuses and pouring down heavily surely it dampens your mood, I am restricted to fly a kite but no one can stop me devouring that delectable food. Every year I prepare one or two kind of dish, sometimes traditional like Til Papdi, Kachriyu , Crushed Peanut Chikki , Mamra Ladoo or something totally new recipe like Rose and Pistachio Sesame Tahini halwa and Mixed Seeds and Jaggery Fudge to beat cold weather as long as I include sesame seeds. This Makarsankranti, I thought of trying my hands on making Til Gajak , my childhood favourite and every visit to India means pack of Gajak is in my suitcase when I return. Our last visit to India, returning from Agra, our taxi driver and guide took us to this very famous Gajak Shop, ( Guessing they get some commission when they take people there ) because whenever I see any Gajak shop, they were refusing to take me saying ‘Arey nahi Madam, in logo ki Gajak tasty nahi hoti or they are not that fresh and hygienic’ well, I listened to them and next day I bought few packs of various kind of Gajak from the shop where they took me. Gajak, sometimes it’s a little difficult when you make at home, perfect crunch which is not too tough when you bite and it is hard to make to perfection. But today is your lucky day because from now on you are going to make delicious, almost like shop-bought. Although I have added rose flavours, pistachio, and coconut, you can omit and make just plain Gajak as well and you can prepare and cut this gajak in less than 30 minutes, just make sure you have every ingredient ready on your worktop. Lol, ask someone to babysit your babies, because this dish needs all your attention, love and care, , then you have plenty of free time to enjoy Makarsankarnti with friends and family! Share with friends and family on the roof of your house while enjoying kite flying, or pack in beautiful boxes or Jars as giveaways and receive so many ohhhhs and ahhhhhs !!! do you like to read our blog? then don’t forget to sign up for email updates to get new recipes delivered right to your inbox. you can find us on twitter, facebook, instagram and pinterest. do follow us if you can. we would love to keep in touch with you all:)
