Kheer and Ground Cashew nut Sandesh

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Vijaya Dashami, a day when we bid adieu to Ma Durga. As per Bengali tradition, Ma Durga is regarded as the daughter, who comes to her ‘Baaper bari (maiden home)’ with her children to spend 4 days. In Kolkata, these four days are the best spent days in a year. The air is vibrant.

Image Courtesy Google

As daughter comes to baper bari, so there should be a tone of happiness everywhere. She should get the feeling that back at her maiden home everything is going very nice and people are happy. As per myths, she is offered the best food from Saptami to Navami. Then on Dashami, she is served with panta bhat (previous day’s rice mixed with water) and Kochur saag (colocassia), so that she can go and say to Shiv bhagvan how poor people are at her maiden’s place. In the evening of dashamis there is ‘thakur baran’.  Married ladies in this occasion fill plates with pan ‘betel leaves’, a coin, a lump of mud, coriander seeds, ajwain seeds, a book,  sindoor and sandesh ‘sweets.’ All these are made touched to Ma Durga and all others who accompany her. After the ritual of baran, married ladies put the offered sindoor on each other’s forehead and bangles. The idols are now ready for immersion. After the immersion, younger people touch the feet of elders, friends embrace each others, greeting Shubho Bijaya. Sweet is distributed.

Since, childhood, I have always seen Ma and dida busy on these days with cooking. As everybody had a vacation at this time, they used to make their special dishes. Baba used to do the necessary sabji and machli shopping mostly by Shashthi. From Saptami onwards the grand feast was on till Dashami. Then on Dashami afternoon, post lunch, Ma and dida used to sit for making ‘narkol-er naru (coconut laddoos)’. In those days ‘narkol-naru’ were must serve sweets for anyone who comes for Bijaya.  In our childhood days, people used to go to every friend and relative’s place to do Bijaya. Places which were not readily accessible there post cards were sent, saying ‘Shubho Bijaya’. Narkol Naaru, ghugni and gaja or nimki were the dishes which were the common items for ‘bijaya’. Very simple items-  yet very tasty.

The simple things of those days are not common now. Time, place, lifestyle had created obstacle in many rituals. May be we cannot do it like our mothers but still we try to give these essences to our next generation.

My Dashami special sweet was- Kheer and Ground Cashew nut Sandesh. This was really loved by everyone who tasted.

Ingredients for 40 pieces

Milk 2 ltr

Cashew Nuts 50gms

Sugar 20 gms

Pinch of cardamom powder/ or cardamom pods

Method                                                                                                                               

In a deep bottomed pan start boiling milk adding cardamom pods. As it gets heated lower the flame and keep reducing the milk.

Reduce till its consistency becomes semi solid.

Grind cashew nuts.

Add ground cashew nut and sugar with the milk and cook in a low flame till the mixture comes to a binding state.

Cool the mixture in a plate.

In a bowl take water. Wet your hand. Take a little amount of mixture and make balls out of it slowly, then flatten it with your palm.

Decorate it with kishmish.