NOT a food blog
Happy Deepavali
7Nov2007 Filed under: Bits and Pieces: Deepavali Author: Lyrical Lemongrass
To my Hindu readers, Happy Deepavali! The kolam is an apt design to start off the celebration with. It is a design drawn on the floor and filled in with coloured rice powder as a sign of welcome and prosperity.
The festival is celebrated with lamps and lights, signifying the victory of good over evil.
Deepavali Day is always celebrated with a lot of food cooked by my mother. This year, sis-in-law, Kat, took over some of the responsibilities and passed with flying colours.
Mutton curry by mum
Penang achar by Kat
Mutton perattal by mum
Fried chicken by Kat
Fruit salad by Kat
What’s unique is that these two ladies (mum and Kat) do not come from an Indian background. Having married men of Indian/part Indian heritage, they picked up the skills and can now cook a fantastic array of Indian cuisine, some of which are influenced by their Chinese and Nyonya heritage. And this is what being truly Malaysian is all about. I can’t help but salute these two women. (Note: Lyrical Lemongrass’ area of specialty is eating, and not cooking! We all have our strengths. 😛 )
Deepavali cookies and muruku assortment (muruku, kara muruku, achi muruku, omapodi) by mum and Kat
Those who are unable to view my pictures on flickr, including the good people of Abu Dhabi, may click HERE to view the pictures.
28 Responses to “Happy Deepavali”
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About this blog
Food, for me, is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
Food, for me, represents the love of family, the fellowship of friends, and the community and communality it brings.
Manisha
November 7th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Happy Deepavali to you, too! A truly scrumptious array of goodies there!
bhags
November 7th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Happy Diwali to you and your near and dear ones.
Imbi & Itchy
November 8th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Happy Deepavali Meena! Wow .. did you do the Kolam ? its even better than those I’d seen in shopping mall! All the food looks super yummy .. and wow, i love the flower arrangement for the last pic ..
Henry Yeo
November 8th, 2007 at 12:51 am
Wow, how fast did you post this? from your parent’s house?
Lyrical Lemongrass
November 8th, 2007 at 2:56 am
Manisha: Thanks and Happy Deepavali to you too!
bhags: Thanks. Happy Diwali to you.:-)
imbi & itchy: Thank you! No, the kolam shot was taken at my office…I think it’s really pretty! The flower arrangement is sweet, isn’t it? Sis-in-law did that. I basically ate. That’s my job. 😛
Argus Lou
November 8th, 2007 at 4:52 am
Everything looks wonderful! Happy Festival of Lights to you and your family, Lyrical.
Now my mind’s tongue is tasting every single yummy dish… ooo.
Reminds me of days when I visited my Chinese-Indian classmate Shanti’s home – her Chinese mum made wonderful Indian cuisine. Unforgettable!
Kenny Mah
November 8th, 2007 at 5:44 am
Dear, the second photo is just crying out to be made into a book cover… very ethereal…
…and I’m such a non-foodie that it’s the non-food pic that captures my imagination? Ah well. We can’t all be floggers…
*runs away and hide, er, gorges himself on murukku*
maninas: food matters
November 8th, 2007 at 5:56 am
Happy Diwali, Lemongrass!
Can we have some of the recipes, pretty please! Especially the one for mutton curry! 🙂
kat
November 8th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Lovely shots as usual. Looks like such a cosy, homey lunch with loved ones. *sniff..*
Flower arrangement never do, kolam never do. I thought you are the artistic one?? BEagle never gave you any meaningful glances meh, as all the goodies rolled out?? You could’ve given him bragging rights that his wife did all the decorations even if she doesn’t cook… 😛
Happy Deepavali, woman! 🙂
Lyrical Lemongrass
November 8th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Argus: That’s a nice memory. Gone are the days when we used to visit friends’ houses freely. Nowadays, many have adopted the “balik kampung” thingy, so friends’ houses are basically deserted!
Kenny: U can use my pic for one of your bookcovers as long as you buy me a really expensive meal. 😛
maninas: well, since I’ve cooked this mutton curry before, I do believe I have the recipe stashed away somewhere. U’ve given me an idea to replicate this dish and reproduce this recipe. Look out for it in one of my future posts. 😉
Kat: Hahaha…I’m quite teruk, hor. I do my bit for Christmas la. Once a year enuff, rite? 😛
sra
November 8th, 2007 at 11:31 am
That’s another fabulous post on Deepavali, Happy Deepavali!
msiagirl
November 8th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
What a lovely family celebration. Those other non-food pics just beyootiful as usual and did your family roll their eyes when you were taking pics to share their delicious food with us? Glad you did!
steveky
November 8th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Happy Deepavali Lemongrass!
Can I ask about the fruit salad? I’ve never seen fruit salad in a dresing like that. What was in the dressing if it wouldn’t be giving away one of Kat’s most closely-held secrets…
Precious Pea
November 8th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Happy Deepavali my dear sista. Lovely feast you got there…yumzz! You should also cook your braised pork belly you have just learnt. Hehehe..next year perhaps?
Bernsy
November 8th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
nice… Happy Deepavali to you… nice pics of the kolam, lamp, and flowers…
k.t.x
November 8th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
hehehe, vanakarmmmm!
happy deeep deeep punye valley!!!
somehow, hv 2 get someone to invite me to a deepavali open house…!! lol.
Namor (www.ravejoint.com)
November 8th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Ah.. Deepavali celebrations look fun.. Too bad there aren’t many Indians here in KK ( so indian food is really expensive ) and I wasn’t invited to any open house celebrations …. 🙁
hmmm… time to go search for muruku…
Congrats on your blog’s 1st anniversary ! 😛
bee
November 8th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
happy deepavali to you.
UnkaLeong
November 9th, 2007 at 2:07 am
muruku? get well soon!
mama bok
November 9th, 2007 at 4:16 am
Loads of good food..! yummy..!! Happy hols..!
teckiee
November 9th, 2007 at 5:35 am
The Kolam looks damn good! Happy Deepavali!
Big Boys Oven
November 9th, 2007 at 6:35 am
Happy Deepavali from us! Have a great celebration.
MyF
November 9th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Diwali greetings! I was working, too bad. But looking at your pictures makes me hungry and I hope to catch some yummy murukus soon…
Kelly Mahoney
November 9th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Happy Diwali! I just learned about the holiday.
By the way, those are fabulous photos, what kind of camera are you using?
Cynthia
November 9th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Happy Deepavali! It is a pity that I live so far away, I’d have enjoyed this feast your mom and Kat prepared and you are right, each of us have our areas of strengths! 🙂
wmw
November 10th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Happy Deepavali and happy holidays!
Lyrical Lemongrass
November 10th, 2007 at 2:52 am
sra: Happy deepavali to you too!
msiagirl: My family didn’t expect that I’d bring my laptop and post the pictures immediately on the blog. But there was another reason for doing this…to share the deepavali photos with my two brothers who are currently working abroad, and who are missing the celebrations right now.
steveky: I believe it’s a mayonnaise based dressing. 🙂
precious pea: Hahaha…that’s quite an unlikely dish to serve during deepavali! Maybe I’ll save it for the CNY celebrations, eh? 😛
bernsy: thanks! and thanks!
k.t.x: so did u enjoy your deepavali holiday?
namor: aww that’s a pity! Well, I hope you’ll be able to come to KL soon and sample some of the good and cheap indian food available here!
bee: Happy Deepavali to you too!!
unkaleong: I’m enjoying my muruku at home right now. Mmmmmm.
mama bok: Thanks!
teckiee: yes, it’s pretty, isn’t it?
BBO: Thanks! It’s been great so far.
myf: I hope you managed to eat enough muruku. 🙂
kelly mahoney: we have been having a string of great festivals in Malaysia these few months. 🙂 I’m using a Canon EOS 400D. Thanks for the compliments!
Cynthia: Oh you’d love the food we have here, especially during the festivities. And I’m glad you understand the different roles we all play. hehe.
wmw: Thanks! I hope you’re having fun too! (See ya Wed!)
mycookinghut
November 10th, 2007 at 5:41 am
Fried chicken looks yummy!