Culinary Journey: Diwali

CEBU, Philippines – Diwali is India's biggest holiday. Its name takes from the rows (avali) of clay lamps that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize light prevailing over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil. It is a Festival of Lights celebrated annually in autumn (October or November), originating as a harvest festival for divine blessings (in honor of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth) for the start of a profitable New Year.

Aside from lighting clay lamps, Indian families also commemorate this holiday with fireworks, flowers, Rangoli (decorative folk art) decorations and food, especially sweets. The Republic of India has a very rich and diverse food culture with over 1.2 billion people living across 29 states and seven union territories.

Marco Polo Plaza Cebu added Indian cuisine to its series of culinary journeys. Last Oct 21 your favorite food writer updated his inadequate knowledge of Indian food with a visit to Café Marco to explore the richness of Indian cuisine. It was a peek into the Indian culture as well with a performance of traditional Indian dances at the lobby amid festive Rangoli decorations, under the guidance of Indian artist and Diwali consultant Ms. Aditi Ahuja, before I proceeded to Café Marco to take the food photos.

There were four salads prepared for that dinner: Black Beans and Couscous Salad, Kachumba (Cucumber Tomato and Onion Salad), Indian Rice Salad with Chicken Tandori and Gujarati (Carrot and Peanut Salad). Later, I took a small sample of each salad and found that the Beans & Couscous Salad was very tasty.

Main dishes on display were: Mixed Seafood Curry, Bhindi Do Pyaza (Okra and Onion Curry), Prawn Biryani (prawn with rice), Chicken Makhanwala or Buttered Chicken, Dal Makhani (black lentil and kidney beans), Fish Sarson Wali (mustard gravy), Seafood Pakora (similar to tempura, battered in flour, deep fried), Vegetable Pakora, Aloo Gobhi (potato and cauliflower curry), Lamb Rogan Josh (slow-cooked lamb curry) and a soup called the Tomato Shorba.

To gain knowledge, we sometimes have to make sacrifices and I have to sample each and every dish, excuse me, to provide an accurate culinary account despite the probability of unhealthy fat tissue deposits afterwards. The Tomato Shorba soup was the most delicious dish; it gave delightful flavors to my palate. It was made with tomatoes, coconut milk, flour, ghee and spices (curry leaves, cumin, coriander, chillies) then seasoned with salt and jiggery (raw sugar).

Gift-giving has always been an important ritual of Diwali festival and Marco Polo Plaza Cebu gave the celebrants four types of sweets: Anarseki Goli (rice flour, ghee & sesame seeds), Badaamki Barfee (almonds), Tilki Barfee (sesame, khoya or milk solids, sugar) and the Zafrani KajuKatli (cashew nuts and saffron).