Festival Archives | Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes

Majoon Barfi | AlifBe~43

Alka Keswani — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 10:01:44 +0000

Firstly, wishing you all a very happy Diwali! May the light of peace, joy, prosperity and love erase the darkness of fear, sorrow, misfortune and hatred! AlifBe 43: The 43rd Alphabet of AlifBe of Sindhi Food is م in Sindhi, म in Devanagari and M in Roman Sindhi. M as in Milk, Mawa or Mithai and well, the corresponding dish also is a Mithai made from milk, mawa and dried fruits/nuts. Majoon Barfi is the dish of the day and let me clarify that it is different from the Majoon in terms of color and texture. You can find the recipe of traditional Majoon here! Majoon comes from Majoun, a Unani preparation used to make different variations of medicines for varying illness. Basically a Majoun is made by a mix of Cannabis, ghee, specific medicinal herbs and honey. Poppy seeds and dried fruits and/or nuts may or may not be present in Unani Majoun. Recipe Video of Majoon Barfi: It could be in dry powder form or could have a jam like consistency. Sindhi style Majoon is a similar preparation but instead of using herbs/cannabis and honey, assorted nuts and mawa (Khoya) are added to make it more like a dessert that could be relished in winters to boost the immunity and provide warmth to our body! Though Majoon is made in various ways in homes across the community, most of the Sindhis prefer it to be a dark brown halwa like sweet that tastes bit similar to Bhuna hua mawa (khoya). Many confuse it with Khhoraak but both are different in terms of taste, texture and ingredients used. Please do check this link to know the difference! Actually Majoon is faint brown because mawa is not to be bhunoed till dark brown, while Khhorrak is darker in appearance because of the roasted wheat flour and sugar syrup used. I hope now you all will know the difference between a Majoon and a Khhorak. Traditionally Majoon is of halwa like consistency but I cooked it for prolonged time to remove most of the moisture because I wanted to make a Barfi like sweet since it is easier to distribute and consume while serving it in the get togethers during the festive season. Print Majoon Barfi | AlifBe~43 Majoon barfi is inspired from the traditional Majoon sweet, made around Diwali and in winter season, by Sindhi folks. Ingredients 1 Cup Almonds (Or ½ cup Almonds and ½ cup Walnuts) ½ Cup Cashews ¼ Cup Pistachios 7-8 Dry dates ¼ Cup Khas-Khas 1 Cup Sugar 500 ml Milk 1 Cup Mawa ¾th Cup Grated Kopra 4-5 tbsp Ghee 7-8 Green Cardamoms Method Soak Poppy seeds (khaskhas) in water for 6 hours. Many skip the process as soaked khaskhas splutter a lot while cooking. But it is an important process as soaking removes the trace morphine from poppy seeds, if present. You can then dry khaskhas (in shade ) to avoid spluttering while cooking. I just soaked it and strained it using a tea strainer. Rinse well the dried fruits and nuts and spread on a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture. Soak dried dates if too hard, drain on kitchen towel, pound with a pestle, discard seeds and either chop or grind coarse. I preferred chopping dried dates as mine were not very hard. In a pan, dry roast almonds, cashews, pistachios (and walnuts, if using) on low flame to make the nuts moisture free. Cool and either pound in a mortar pestle or coarsely grind (using pulse mode of mixer grinder). Due to the lack of time I was unable to make mawa at home, in the traditional way. And I don't use store brought mawa. So I used cheat method and mixed around 1 cup of milk powder, 2 tbsp ghee and few spoons of milk and microwaved it for 3 minutes. Since the milk powder was sweetened, the resulting mawa was sweet. Also, since this barfi would be consumed by diabetic family members, I used only 2 and half tbsp 'added sugar ' in the barfi. Kindly adjust sugar quantity depending on whether the mawa used is sweetened or unsweetened and upon your level of sweet preferences. Heat a pan and add 3-4 tbsp of Ghee. Add strained poppy seeds and cook on low flame till slight brown. Add mawa and cook further. When the mawa is slightly cooked, add grated Kopra (dried coconut). You can use desiccated coconut too. I used a mix of both. Roast this mix till faint brown (10-12 minutes). In another pan, heat the milk. Add chopped chuhara (dried dates or Khareek) and cook the mix for 8-10 minutes so that chuhara softens a bit. Add pounded green cardamoms. Now add the khaskhas+khoya+kopra mix and stir well. Whole cooking process is to be done on low flame/heat only. Keep stirring and allow the mix to cook till the milk evaporates. You can add Moonh lalai or the edible brown food colored powder (available at pasari shops) for better color. I didn't use any. Add sugar and mix well. Sugar will release moisture so the mix will again look bit gloopy. Keep cooking further till the mix is dry. Grease a thali (flat plate with elevated edges) or a square baking dish. Transfer the Majoon mix on the plate and spread evenly. Flatten the mix and garnish with chopped nuts. Allow to set slightly. Mark the cuts (I forgot to do that when the mix was hot) and let the mix cool down completely. Cut into pieces and store in an airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator. Many people claim that majoon could be stored for many months. But actually it is the Khhorrak that has better shelf life and not the majoon cooked using milk and mawa. But it still stays good for a week or more in refrigerator. 3.5.3251 Check this short tutorial about how to write alphabet ‘M’ in Sindhi.

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Mahalakshmi Festival

Alka Keswani — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 05:33:35 +0000

Mahalakshmi Festival The Mahalakshmi Vrat ends today and like many other Indian communities who worship the Goddess of Wealth; Mahalakshmi Mata, Sindhis too, will celebrate the day by untying the Sagda (Auspicious thread), offering fried sweets and seeking blessings from the Mahalakshmi Mata. Mahalakshmi, the supreme ‘Mother- Goddess’ also referred to as ‘श्री’ (श्री in Sanskrit means ‘Noble’) is often considered same as the Goddess Lakshmi but it is believed that since it is impossible to imagine, to fathom and to describe the Supreme Goddess, hence the mere mortals generally follow Goddess Lakshmi, the manifestation of Mahalakshmi. The word Lakshmi in Sanskrit means ‘the one who leads you to your laksh i.e goal’ and hence the believers worship Lakshmi and Mahalakshmi Mata to receive the bliss of prosperity, wealth, fortune and many materialistic as well as spiritual gains. Like many other communities, Sindhis begin the Mahalakshmi Vrat by tying a sacred thread called ‘ Sagdo’ (Plural = Sagda). The Brahminis (Lady priests) make Sagda by bringing together 16 strands of cotton yarn (16 tand-u) and thereby making a thick thread which is then carefully rolled (so that the strands do not entangle) and soaked in turmeric mixed water. The Sagdo for a couple is called B^itto sagdo and it is actually two individual Sagda connected with a single thread i.e two sagda made in continuity leaving a small portion of single thread in between. B^itto sagdo is pulled apart at this single thread point and then the spouses tie each on his/her wrist. Once you receive the threads (one each for a family member) you are supposed to tie 16 knots in each Sagdo. The Sagdo is wrapped around the wrist (Like a Mauli thread) and one and a half knot is tied to secure the thread. This is to assure easy untying of the Sagdo when the fast ends as one cannot cut it with a scissor or break it with force. The sagdo is tied on the Radha Ashtami day (4th day of Ganesh Utsav) and is untied after 16 days i.e on the 8th Shradh day. One can opt to keep it tied for all the 16 days or just tie and untie it on the 16th day. One is supposed to eat satvik food and refrain from meat/eggs as long as one is wearing the thread. On the 16th day of Mahalakshmi Vrat, Sindhis make Gach (Recipe and Recipe video shared here), Satpuda (layered, crunchy maida puris), Maida puri and Sorhi/roat and Titar. Sorhi or the Roat as many call it, is made the same way as the Gach but the shape is different. The dough ball is rolled into a disc and 16 pointed edges are pinched out to make a Sorhi (related to the term ‘sixteen’) while Titar are the ones having 4 edges. Interestingly in Varanasi /Kashi a fair is held every year to celebrate Mahalakshmi and every ritual followed there has an aspect of ‘sixteen’ for example, the fast is observed for 16 days, the sankalp thread has 16 knots, people take 16 parikramas of the Devi and offer 16 grains of rice, 16 strays of Druva grass and 16 pallav (baby leaves /shoots). Another interesting thing that I came to know is that even in Odisha people observe somewhat similar traditions while worshipping Goddess Laxmi. The unique Odia festival is called Sudasa Brata and they follow the rule of 10’s instead of 16 (10 knots in the thread, 10 flowers are offered, a bhog of 10 types of Chenna sweets is made, so on and so forth). Coming back to Sindhi style Mahalakshmi Puja rituals, on the 16th day of Mahalakshmi fast, after frying all the sweets, generally, the leftover oil/ghee in the frying pan is used to make halwa/sheera or even the seyun (sweet vermicelli). Some fry only the roat while others make Roat, Titar, satpuda and soft puris too. Some do not make any sweets and instead use packs of Glucose biscuits. The Sagda are untied and each one is wrapped on a stack of 4 maida puris (or on a pack of glucose biscuit). Portions of fried ‘prasad’ are kept in a thaal (or plate) and dough lamps (aate ke diye) are made. The number of dough lamps made varies from family to family. The prasad, sagda and the dough lamps are then carried to the Brahmini. A katha (folk tale/story) related to Mahalakshmi is then told by the Brahmini and the ladies (generally but not exclusively) offer the goodies brought from their homes to the Brahmini. To watch the Puja rituals and to listen to the Mahalakshmi Katha, please watch this video captured by my hubby when he and his friends (from Sindhyatfoundation) organised the Puja two years ago in the pre pandemic era. An interesting part of the Puja ritual is the small horse made from clay or mud or even from the dough. In olden days the priests would hand over the clay horses to the ladies visiting her for Puja and it was supposed to be kept safe in the kitchen or inside the cupboard. Personally I never saw that ritual to be followed in the temple where my mom used to visit for the puja. But thanks to some of the members of the SindhiRasoi Facebook group I came to know about this ritual. This ritual too varies from place to place. While in the past a clay horse was given to each devotee, nowadays only single horse is kept for the Puja and while some offer grass and rice grains to the clay horse, others shower bits and pieces of the cotton on the horse and it is later used to make wicks to light the oil lamps in the temples. I tried to find out the significance of the horse in Mahalakshmi Puja ritual but there are way too many legends and folk tales associated with it and it is hard to pinpoint the exact reason. Here is one such version: When Revanta, son of the Sun God, visited Lord Vishnu, His wife, Mata lakshmi, kept gazing at Revanta and that irked Lord Vishnu and he turned Mata laksmi into a Mare. When she requested Him to have mercy, the Lord said that her curse will end when she will give birth to a foal. Devastated, she prayed to Lord Shiva who urged Lord Vishnu to turn into a horse. And hence once again Lord Vishnu and Maha Lakshmi united in the form of the Horse and the Mare. Some priests say that the horse given on Mahalakshmi is Lord Vishnu in horse’s avatar while some other believe that the king Manglik who abandoned his wife for disrespecting Mahalakshmi Sagda, when reunited with her after she did penance for her rude behaviour, they travelled on ‘this’ horse back to their kingdom. Some also believe it to be a symbolic horse sacrifice (Ashwamedha Yajna). Also, in olden days horses were sacrificed when wishes were fulfilled. Later on, the sacrifice of innocent living beings was condemned so instead the mud/clay figurines were given away (donated) at the completion of a fast or when a wish was fulfilled. I am yet to figure out the significance of the clay horse here. If you know it, kindly share it in the comment section. Many thanks to Meena Chijwani and Juhi Lalwani and my bestie, R.K for sharing the lovely pictures of the rituals!

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Gach For Mahalakshmi ~ AlifBe ~39

Alka Keswani — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 06:18:22 +0000

A G^ach, literally means a quarter in Sindhi language. The sweetened dough ball is rolled into a thick ‘roti’, cut into quarters and deep fried. These fried ‘cookies’ are then garnished with powdered sugar, chopped nuts, dried rose petals and a spoon full of hot oil is poured on sugar. It sort of, forms a crunchy sugar glaze and makes the cookie more visually appealing though, more calorie rich. Ideally G^ach are made using All purpose flour (Maida) with ghee for moyan but these taste good enough even if made with whole wheat flour. Video Recipe of G^ach: This time I made a vegan version by using oil instead of Ghee. These fried cookies are made for Thadri and Mahalakshmi festival and are mostly sent to the married daughters/sisters as food gifts. Shall share about Mahalakshmi festival in a separate post as we will be observing the festival towards the end of this month. These are also known as Chotha/ Chautha (as in 1/4th). And if you cut these in round shape using a cookie cutter or rim of a bowl/glass, these are called Mithi Tikkyun (Singular: Mithi tikki), meaning sweet tikkis. And well, the 39 th alphabet of Sindhi AlifBe is ڳ in Sindhi, ग in Devanagari and ‘G^‘ as in G^arho (Red), in Roman Sindhi. This is one of the peculiar consonants used in Sindhi language. As obvious the corresponding dish starting with ڳ is G^ach. Print Gach For Mahalakshmi ~ AlifBe ~39 Serves: 8 servings G^ach , the fried cookies are made for Thadri and Mahalakshmi festival. Ingredients 2 cups flour (I have used whole wheat flour but these are made with Maida too) 2 tbsp Semolina ½ cup Ghee / oil ½ cup water ¾ th cup Sugar ¼th tbsp of Green cardamom powder 8-10 Almonds 8 -10 Unsalted pistachios Some dried rose petals for garnishing Oil for frying Method Grind ¾ th cup of sugar. Use ½ a cup from this and leave the rest for the garnish. Add that ½ cup of powdered sugar to ½ cup of water and mix. It may not fully dissolve but that's ok. Just make sure to stir it well while adding to the flour. Take 2 cups of flour and add semolina, elaichi powder and ghee/ oil. You may need ½ cup or little less of oil/ghee. Do not add oil at once since if it is in excess the G^ach will crumble while frying. Adding little oil at once, in the flour, keep mixing the flour to form crumbs. Take a portion and try to bind it in a fist. If the dough retains the shape, the moyan is sufficient. If not, then add little more of ghee/oil. Refer the recipe video! Now stir the sugar water mix and gradually add it to the flour. Knead to make a hard dough. Divide the dough into two portions. Take one portion and roll it using a rolling pin to make a roti of ½ or ¼ inch thickness, depending on how thick you want the G^ach to be. Slice this 'roti' into 4 quarters. Remember that these take a long time to fry. Thicker the gach, more the time needed for frying it. The edges may be rough. The beauty of Gach lies in the rough edges but if you wish you can use a mould to smoothen the edges. Heat oil in the pan and once oil is hot, lower the heat. Carefully add the quarters (do not crowd the pan) to the hot oil. Allow it to cook on low heat. Stir the oil but do not flip the G^ach yet. Allow it to 'set' well. If you flip it too early, the G^ach will crumble. If you flip it too late, it will over cook. Carefully flip the sides and continue frying on medium to low heat, till golden brown Remove from oil and drain on kitchen towel/ tissue paper. Now garnish each G^ach with a tbsp of powdered sugar that we saved in the beginning. Sprinkle some chopped nuts, dried rose petals and pour a tbsp of hot oil on each fried g^ach. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Allow G^ach to cool well. Once cool, the G^ach turns darker and crunchier. Store in an airtight container. These stays good for almost a week if made with Ghee or for 3-4 days if oil is used. But I bet these wont last that long. 3.5.3251 To watch the short video tutorials about how to write in Sindhi, do watch the video!

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Gyarsi (Ekadashi) Khadho For AlifBe~38

Alka Keswani — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 06:55:45 +0000

Gyarsi Khadho or the Sindhi Ekadashi food is my pick for the AlifBe of Sindhi food~ 38. The 38th alphabet in Persio Arabic script is گ in Sindhi, ग in Devanagari and ‘G‘ as in Ganga, in Roman Sindhi. Gyars: Gyars (Giyaras/ Igyas) is observed on the eleventh day of Hindu Lunar month. In each lunar month two Gyars (Ekadashi) are observed. Like many other communities, even Sindhi people observe the Ekadashi fast. Upvas or fasting as we call it, is an essential part of any culture. There are various ways to observe a fast and there are various types of fasts. Be it Chaliha, Lent/Shrove Tuesday, Roza/Ramadan, Karva Chowth, Teej, Navratri, Paryushan or any other religious or spiritual fast, the beliefs may vary, the rituals may be poles apart but the crux remains more or less the same i.e to connect with the Supreme power and to connect with your own-self in a disciplined way. For many Hindus, Upvas is a synonym of fasting or to abstain from food. For religious folks, Upvas or Upa (near/close)+ Vas (to stay/ live) is the time to get closer to his or her deity while for many spiritual people, upvas means to connect with their own self, to introspect, to control their desires, to stay in solitude and to become a better version of his or her self. Of course not everyone understands the true essence of Upavas and for many it just means indulging in a different way. We tend to look for tempting recipes using pseudo grains when grains are not allowed, we feast on fancy ‘satvik’ food cooked with ingredients that our ancestors never knew about, restaurants and eateries offer ‘fasting’ meals to ‘satiate’ your taste buds, the markets are flooded with all sorts of feasts to break your fast. I feel so amused! Well, I am not the one who believe in the moral policing and I am as much guilty as many of us would be, when it comes to feasting on a fasting day. We surely need to mend our ways! Coming to Gyars or Ekadashi, the day is considered to be a sacred day to worship Lord Vishnu and the Sindhis abstain from consuming meat, grains, beans/pulses, cereals, table salt (sendha namak is used instead) and spices except black pepper and cumin (many even avoid cumin seeds). Leafy greens and vegetables are also avoided in the Gyarsi (Ekadashi) food, by majority of Sindhis observing the fast. For those who observe Ekadashi, the Gyarsi breakfast generally consists of fruits or Kirng (Kin~g) i.e samo porridge. The porridge made from samo seeds could be sweet or savory (cooked with salt and black pepper). It is generally paired with shallow fried potatoes flavored with sendha namak and freshly pounded black pepper. Lunch consists of Gyarsi Bhaji and Dhodho. Video Recipe of Gyarsi Bhaji and Dhodho: Gyarsi Bhaji: A soupy, tangy curry is cooked with roasted samo flour (Bagar/ Varai) known as Sauri (sauvri) to which potatoes and boiled lotus stem are added. The curry is flavored with salt, pepper and tamarind juice. It is paired with Gyarsi Dhodho i.e a patted roti made from Sauri flour to which mashed boiled potatoes are added for the binding. Scroll down for the recipe of Bhaji and Dhodho! If in the season, Lahori Gajar i.e boiled/roasted or syrup sweetened sweet potatoes are also had on Ekadashi. Coconut, sago wafers, dates, peanuts are consumed as snacks or many consume sabudana khichdi in the evening. The above picture is shared by Mrs Urvashi Dama. This is Gyarsi platter and a particular dish that intrigued me was Kuttu Je Daro (dar-ey) Ja Dhokla or the Dhokla made from broken Buckwheat (groats), a traditional dish popular in some Sindhi subcastes (Do Nasarpuri Sindhis make this commonly?Please share any information you have). In the above picture you can see steamed Kuttu Dhokla and also the fried Dhokla. Urvashi Ji was generous enough to share the recipe of this lesser known dish. If you wish to get her recipe, just leave a comment in the comment section! Though Rajgira and Kuttu (Amaranth) puri and pakode are also had by some but many avoid the greasy puri pakoda. These are more popular with those who observe only one Ekadashi in whole year i.e Vadhi Gyars (Prabhodhini Ekadashi) and for many of us it is an occasion to relish Rajgiri and Kuttu (Buckwheat) puri/ pakora, the tempting Gyarsi patties and the tangy, off white colored Beeh alu curry sold in the shops and eateries in Sindhi populated areas on Vadhi Gyars. Print Gyarsi (Ekadashi) Khadho For AlifBe~38 Ingredients For Curry (Sindhi Gyarsi Bhaji/ Gyarsi Beeh patata) 3 medium sized Potatoes 100-150 gm Lotus stem ¼ cup Sauri flour 1 small tamarind ball Salt (preferably sea salt or rock salt ) 1 tbsp Black pepper powder 1 Green chilli (optional) 2 tbsp Oil 2 cups Water For Dhodho (Flat bread) Makes 3 200 gms ( 2 and half cup) Sauri (Bagar.varai/Samo) Flour Salt as per taste 1 tbsp Black pepper (crushed or powdered) 2 tbsp Oil (optional) 2 Mashed boiled potatoes Water as much needed Oil and ghee to cook roti. Method Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water for about 15 min, mash it properly, and discard the fibre and seeds. We will use the tamarind water only. Scrap off the peel of lotus stem and cut in slants (1-2 cm thick). If the stem is very thin in diameter, you can cut it in 2 inch long pieces (not slanted). Clean the stem thoroughly if their is any mud inside the pores. Use running water and tooth picks to clean pores. If you buy the stem that is closed at both the ends, there wont be any mud inside. Boil lotus stem along with water and few drops of oil, in a pressure cooker. You can use some raw papad instead of oil to hasten the cooking process. A good quality Beeh (Lotus stem) will soften in 2-3 whistles of pressure cooker. When pressure subsides, open the lid of cooker and drain lotus stem. Keep aside. Heat a pressure cooker and add 2 tbsp oil. Add add sauri flour. Roast it till slight change in colour is observed. Add water, salt, black pepper powder and potato cubes along with boiled lotus stem, tamarind water, green chilli (if using) and mix properly. Close the lid of cooker and wait for 2 whistles. Later, check the consistency of gravy and adjust accordingly. This curry is supposed to be soupy. It tends to thicken with time. This Sindhi Gyarsi (Ekadashi) Beeh patata are relished with gyarsi dhodha To Make Dhodho Take 200 gm of sauri flour , and mix salt, pepper, mashed potatoes and 2 tbsp oil (optional) Please Note: Adding oil will make Dhodho crisp while skipping oil will make Dhodho softer. Potatoes are added for the binding. So do not skip potatoes. Instead of using boiled potatoes you can use few chunks of potatoes from the Gyarsi Subzi. Mix everything well. Adding little water at a time, knead a soft dough. Grease your palms with little oil, take a portion of the dough and pat it between your palms (refer the recipe) video to flatten the dough ball as much as possible. Now grease a hot griddle (tawa) and gently pat the flattened dough rolling in circular motion with palm of your hand, till a thickness of paratha is achieved (since this is bit tricky, an easy way out is to take a clean polythene bag or butter paper and lay on kitchen platform. Now sprinkle some flour on this polythene sheet and place the dough, and then gently pat it in circular motion till a thick roti is formed and carefully pick it up and place on greased and hot griddle) Pour a little of oil and let the Dhodho cook on medium flame till small brown patches appear. Toss and cook on other side too. Repeat for the remaining dough. Enjoy it hot with gyarsi bhaji or with dahi The dough tends to get loose and difficult to handle with time. Hence make sure to cook the flatbread as soon as you knead the dough. 3.5.3251 And if you wish to learn how to read and write Arabic Sindhi, then you can watch these short videos that I make for letter formation!

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Gogo/Gogro~ Naagpanchmi Food and Rituals

Alka Keswani — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 06:36:31 +0000

Gogo or Gogro is a Sindhi festival celebrated in honor of the God of snakes, named Gogal Devta. It is celebrated as Nag panchmi by many Indian communities. Gogo is now observed only by a small percentage of Sindhi families and many are not aware of the rituals as well. But for those who wish to know why and how this festival was celebrated, here I am, with some details about the Gogo festival. The Legend: Gogo (Gogal), as per a legend, was the grandson of King Gopichand who ruled a place in Thatta (Now in Sindh, Pakistan). Gogo’s mother inhaled the aroma of a flower carrying the ‘soul’ of a saint and got pregnant. No one in her family and around, believed her and to save his family from embarrassment, the King abandoned her. She gave birth to a son named Gogo, in the forest. Gogo grew up in the forest and the legend says that he was immune to snake poison as he was probably bitten by many snakes (many believe that snakes would feed him poison) and when he grew up he started treating snake bites just by his powerful gaze. He also started extracting more venom from snakes to feed his seven disciples. The snakes were offended as no one was afraid of snakes any more and hence one of the snakes decided to kill Gogo. It borrowed venom from a Python and bit Gogo on his jaw where his own gaze won’t reach and hence Gogo couldn’t treat himself and succumbed to the snake bite. When King Cobra came to know about the death of Gogo, it got furious and immediately killed the snake . King Cobra also cursed the Python that it won’t be able to produce venom any more. The legend says that from that moment onwards Pythons turned non poisonous. A logical reason behind celebrating Nag panchmi: Most of our ancestors were either farmers or lived in villages around jungles. In the monsoon when it rains, the burrows where snakes live are often filled with water and hence snakes tend to move out and find shelters around causing fear and anxiety in people living in the vicinity. Also during rains many frogs are found around the ponds and in the fields and snakes like to feast on the amphibians. More the snakes venture out in the field, more scared people would feel. In the mode of panic, even the non-poisonous snakes were/are killed. But our ancestors were aware of the fact that snakes are farmer’s best friends as snakes kill rodents and pests that often destroy the crops. When snake population declines, rodents increase in number causing harm to the crops and the ecosystem is affected too. In olden days many people would collect snakes and keep them covered in huge earthen pots, during monsoons, particularly during Shravan month, feeding the snakes from time to time so that neither villagers are harmed by freely moving snakes nor the snakes get killed. So to sensitise the people about the reptiles and to remove the fear of snakes from their minds, Naag Panchami was celebrated where people would bow down to the otherwise scary reptiles, offering milk to the snakes to seek blessings! In most of the temples or around, on this day, you will find snake charmers carrying non poisonous snakes in baskets. People offer milk to the snakes and money/food/fruits to the snake charmer. Sadly, eventually, this became a business for some people. Ideally snakes do not drink milk but are actually forced to drink it by the charmers to appease people for the sake of money. Urban population is clueless about how to tackle snakes or snake bites so it is not advisable for them to visit snake mounds to offer milk or grains, without a local guide. Considering this situation many Sindhi families no longer observe Gogo. The Food: Sindhis cook food on the eve of Gogo and eat only ‘stale’ or Thadho (cold) food on Naag panchmi. The food made on Gogo is same as that made for Thadri (Satain) but the Pooja rituals are bit different. The stove (Kerosene stove or gas burner) on which Lola are made on the eve of Gogo is not lit for the whole day on Gogo. The food cooked is as follows: (Please click on the name of the dish for its recipe) 1) Lolo : Jaggery sweetened whole wheat flat bread. 2) Koki. : Savory whole wheat roti spiced with onions, chillies, coriander leaves, dried pomegranate seeds etc. 3) Besani : Same as Koki, but here, gram flour is used instead of whole wheat flour 4) Dal paata: Mung dal stuffed paratha. To make dal paata phulka, rinse well and soak moong dal for an hour. Drain and roast slightly with some oil in a pan, add salt, turmeric powder and green chillies (optional) and boil in little water till al dente. Drain if there is any excess water. You can add a tempering of cumin seeds, coriander powder and red chili powder and add some amchoor too. Cool properly and use this to make stuffed parathas, the way aloo parathas (or any other stuffed paratha ) are made, using whole wheat flour dough. Around 1 cup of dal is needed to make 4-5 parathas. Apart from the flatbreads, fried vegetables like Okra, potatoes etc are also made. Urad dal vada are made and are added to beaten curds to make dahi vada on Gogo. Many prefer boondi raita over dahi vada. Some make fritters ( mostly Mirchai pakora i.e Chilli fritters are preferred) while other cook subzis with better shelf life. Stir fried methi, spinach etc are often made for the occasion, along with stuffed bitter gourds. Green chutney, boiled potatoes, beetroot, bread etc are kept handy for those who cannot consume the heavy food for all the three meals and vegetarian sandwich is a nice option for them as it involves no cooking. Pickles and home set curds are mostly had on this day to add to the probiotic quotient of the food. Khatto bhat~u or Kanbo bhat~u is also made in some homes, for this festival. It is basically boiled rice, cooled and mixed with some milk and curd starter (jaaman) along with a little of mustard powder. The mix is allowed to set overnight and is had in the morning, with some fresh curds and a garnish of mustard and pepper powder. Rituals: After making all the food, seven ( the number varies from family to family) Akhryun/Akhdyun are made. A portion of Lola dough is kept aside (or some people make the dough for Akhryun/Akhdyun, separately) and at the end of the cooking process, a small earthen plate called daangi is kept on the stove. The reserved dough is divided in to seven portions. In some families the Akhryun/Akhdyun are cooked on the earthen plate, while in other families, it is left uncooked for the Puja. In some homes these are deep fried. Basically Akhryun are flattened dough balls and are an integral part of Puja rituals. The puja rituals vary considerably from family to family. As mentioned earlier, most of the families follow the same rituals as that of Thadri and you can read all the details about it in this blog post! Now, mostly, on this day, Sindhis offer a mix of milk and water to the snake idols in the temple instead of going around looking for the real snakes.

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