Karva Chauth is almost here and I can’t wait! Karva Chauth is a North Indian festival celebrated around the world in which married women fast from sunrise to moonrise for the health and long lives of their husbands. You’re probably thinking what could be so exciting about fasting? But that’s just it, the day is spent in adorning yourself like a bride, the full deal from clothing, jewelry to applying mendhi (henna). In addition, housework is restricted and you are so busy in preparations for the chaand puja (moon prayer) that you hardly notice the fasting. Traditionally mother in laws prepare saargi, the pre-sunrise early morning meals for their daughter in laws and fast together. In essence, it’s a celebration of the wife and her promise to always pray and protect her husband.

Second to Diwali this is the festival I look forward to most. When I was a little girl I would ‘ooooh’ and ‘aaahhh’ as my mom adorned herself the day of. She would take out her crimson color sari, adjust her kamar baand, select something from her jewelry collection and apply sindoor (a red powder, the symbol of a married woman) on her forehead. I would shriek out of excitement of how beautiful she looked. All I could do was hope that I too had the glow of love and femininity like her when it was time for me to celebrate.

My first Karva Chauth as a married woman!

When it was time for me to celebrate my first married Karva Chauth a few years ago, my mom made sure everything was as beautiful and romantic as I imagined it. She had a mendhi artist come the night before to adorn our hands and feet. A few days leading up to the festival we decorated our plates and accessories needed for the prayer. In the wee early hours of the morning after showering, we sat together in prayer which was immediately followed by a meal of paranthas and jalebis dunked in milk. That evening I took out my wedding trousseau to wear, it felt just as magical as it did the first time. Everything was perfect, even better than I had imagined.

Karva Chauth through out the years

The romance, colors, significance and traditions have me counting down as the festival approaches each year. This year a group of girlfriends and I are having a mendhi celebration the day before – to get us in the spirit and start the adorning early! I love celebrating traditional holidays even more now that Little Mirchi is growing up. I hope that she too will be as enthused as I was watching my mom celebrate.

Wishing all the beautiful ladies celebrating a Happy Karva Chauth!

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Having to raise my brother and I outside of India my parents had to make extra efforts to teach us about our culture, language and religion. When you live in India, you just know when the festive season is around the corner, shops start putting out their finest pieces, it’s blasted across televisions and street signs, families start hosting big dinners and mothers get busy in the kitchen. Due to the zero commercial influence in the States, my parents would have to make up for it at home by making it a big deal. They would tell us colorful stories from their childhood, cook our favorite foods, and get us involved in fun and festive help tasks. My dad had a shelf in his library dedicated to Indian books and comics, just so he could teach us the culture in a ‘fun’ way. Years later I still find myself indulging in those books every time I go home to visit my parents.

Even before Little Mirchi was born I started a running list of Indian inspired books that I wanted to add to our home library for her to learn and read from. My hope is that she too will learn and hold on to the memories the way I cherish the books my Dad collected for us when we were kids. Sharing some of my favorite books that teach children about Indian culture, festivals and language below. I’ll be adding to this list as I come across more Indian inspired fun reads. If there are any children’s books in your collection that you think should be on the list, please share in the comments section!

1. Amma, Tell Me About Series

1. Amma, Tell Me About Holi
2. Amma, Tell Me About Krishna
3. Amma, Tell Me About Diwali
4. Amma, Tell Me About Ramayana
5. Amma, Tell Me About Ganesha
6. Amma, Tell Me How Krishna Defeated Kansa
7. Amma, Tell Me How Krishna Fought The Demons

8. Diwali (Bright Baby Touch & Feel)

9. The Drum: A Folktale from India

10. Indian Children’s Favorite Stories

11. The Story of Divaali

12. Ramayana: Divine Loophole

13. Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth

14. Mina Goes to India: Mina Chali Bharat

15. Lots of Lights

16. Rani and the Safari Surprise

17. The Diwali Gift

18. Rani Vists the Taj Mahal

19. The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow

20. Rani Saves Diwali

21. The Big Poster Book of Hindu Deities

22. Chaat and Sweets

23. Elephant Prince: The Story of Ganesh

24. Diwali: A Cultural Adventure

25. Lighting a Lamp: A Diwali Story

26. My Dadima Wears a Sari

27. Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji

28. Monsoon Afternoon

29. The Road to Mumbai

30. Lily’s Garden of India

30 Children’s Books on Indian Culture & Festivals

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I’ve been singing this all week at home – driving Hubby Darling crazy. Is it obvious I’m in the Diwali spirit? Anndd that would be my lyrical talent for the year.

Kala chana, halwa & poori, without these three things, the festive season in our house is incomplete. The first time I made Kala chana was my first married Diwali. I was fasting and wanted to prepare a perfect Diwali thali (Diwali plate) just like my Mom did while we were growing up. I asked her for the recipe over the phone and set forth making the dishes one by one. As I started to make the dish I followed the recipe step by step, checking every ingredient off the list. After Diwali puja (prayer) my husband and I sat down to eat. I was so excited for him to try the kala chana (it’s one of his favorites). He gave it a taste and did all he could not to spit it out. In all the jumble of cooking so many dishes I had notated the recipe wrong and double the salt! They tasted terrible to put it gently, but we had a good laugh at my fumble. You can bet the next time I made this dish was on a non fasting day, so I could taste as cooked.

This recipe is a fasting version (meaning onions, garlic are omitted) but it’s full of flavor and tastes great any time of year. If you are looking for a “wetter” version with more gravy you can sauté 1/3 cup chopped onions and tomatoes as step one in the recipe. Black chickpeas are high in protein and fiber and are considered a ‘super food’. Growing up if we made a fuss about eating then my dad would reply “It’s horse’s food, it will make you strong!” After getting married I remember my husband mentioning how it was horse’s food, all I could do was smirk at the coincidence. Black chickpeas are very dense so soaking them overnight is not only suggested it’s almost necessary to ensure quicker cooking time.

Kala chana are a great finger food for kids if they are at the chewing stage. You can add them in chaat, salads; have them with roti or just on their own. My favorite thing to do is roll them in a hot poori with some halwa… a sweet and spicy poori roll – yum!

Ingredients:

1 cup Kala chana (Black Chick Peas)- soaked overnight
2 teaspoon finely crushed ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon jeera (cumin)
1/2  teaspoon Red chili powder
1 teaspoon roasted jeera powder
1 1/2 teaspoon kala namak (black salt)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
fresh cilantro for garnish

Method:

Wash the soaked chick peas and pressure cook them for 3-4 whistles (or until soft). In a heavy bottom pan heat oil and add cumin seeds to it. Once the seeds start sputtering add the drained chick peas. Add the black salt, ginger, red chili powder, jeera powder and mix thoroughly. Keep it on simmer for 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat, add lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

A version of this recipe first appeared in Masalamommas magazine.

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