Beyond the Regular Daawats
PLANNING FOR THE BIG, fat Indian wedding (and now, possibly, the more intimate and personalised one) often begins by narrowing down on the wedding menu; sometimes, as soon as the marriage is finalised. Caterers, today, set up an unending line of counters that look to scale the length and breadth of Indian and global cuisines. A few dishes and their very traditional ingredients, however, never fail to find a place in the very heart of our weddings. Such time-honoured variants are considered auspicious and are an integral part of the ceremonies. Scouring the four corners of India, one realises how much of what we savour is steeped in rich heritage and ancestral pride.
Sustenance in the North
In a Punjabi household, the wedding functions begin in full swing only after a traditional ceremony known as . Performed by the mother of (grindstone), and the ladies of the house grind it into a fine flour. This same flour is then kneaded into a dough, with the imprint of the mother’s fingers. The (confectioner) then deep-fries it, and a portion of it is placed in the soil with a prayer to the weather gods to prevent (rains and storms).
