Festival feasts and delicious sweets!

 

Deepavali/Diwali, the festival of lights celebrated across the world by the Indian diaspora is close at hand. The Hindu festival spiritually symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance and hope over despair .Delicious Diwali treats are prepared as the day approaches and the neighbors are invited over to share the savory delights. Friends, families and colleagues indulge in their homemade snacks and fried foods, bond over the festivities and merriment all around. The time has come to run amok to fill our bellies with our favorite culinary delights and enjoy a range of entertaining activities and events.

It is not Diwali without deep-fried sweets and savories. Some of delicious Diwali treats that are enhanced in taste and aroma while frying with rice bran oil;

·        Samosas are fried pastries with a savory filling that includes ingredients such as spiced potatoes, onions and peas. The pastry also has a sweet variety though the filling is a combination of sugar, coconuts, fried gram and cashews

·        Pakodas is a fried snack made with a combination of batter, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers.

·         Murukku is a traditional snack made with rice flour and urad dal. These arecrispy, light, aromatic and delicious. They can be made with store bought flour.

·         Thattai is crisp fried rice crackers from Tamilnadu cuisine. The snack is usually served with tea and is mostly made during festivals.

·         Sev/omapodi - It’s usually used as a topping in chaats, curd rice and meals or be eaten alone as a snack.

·         Karanji is a fried dumpling that is deliciously crispy and sweet. The crispy outside of this dish is made of wheat flour and is stuffed with a mixture of sweetened milk solids and dried fruits then fried until golden.

·         Gulab jamuns - fried balls of dough immersed in sugar syrup.

·         Jelabi - spiral shaped crisp and juicy snack

·         Adhirasam – A deep-fried snack made with a combination of jaggery and rice flour

Diwali festival brings with it, wafting aromatic imagery of fried foods that is rich in flavor and texture, but we tend to forget the nutrition factor. At Diwali, we indulge ourselves in spicy fried snacks, sweets and dried fruits to celebrate the feast. Rice bran oil enhances the flavor of your favorite Diwali foods and in addition provide ample nutritional benefits. The oil reduces the levels of cholesterol and fats in the blood, since it is a source of phytosterols, which decrease their absorption and therefore prevent them from accumulating in the body. It is a food rich in soluble fiber so it is very useful for losing weight, as it contains satiating properties that reduce our appetite. It is very rich in antioxidants and Vitamin E present in the oil also provides benefits to our skin such as healing properties and cell regeneration, which prevents the appearance of wrinkles. If you want to maintain a healthy nutritional balance yet indulge in your favorite Diwali foods, rice bran oil is a no brainer.