Jaggery, dates ladoos make way in Thaneites homes as winter sets in

17th Nov, 2017

THANE: With winter fast approaching, the aroma of jaggery and sesame seed ladoos, ghee, jaggery barfis and other such delicacies has overpowered the bylanes of the lake city.

To beat the cold, residents prepare home-made goodies, like ladoos.

''Earlier, relatives, friends and neighbours used to get together to prepare these sweets. But nowadays people do not have the time. So, they either order these winter delicacies of prepare limited quantities at home,'' Jayshree Mehta, a resident of Kasarwadavli, said.

Dishes made out of dry fruits are an all time favourite with the young and old. ''Dry fruits, ghee and jagery give the body the necessary heat required during winter,'' said another resident Vaishali Paranjape.

Kameshwari Kulkarni, from Vartak Nagar said, "There are a few food ingredients like dry fruits, jaggery, poppy seeds (khus khus), edible gum resin (dink) and sesame seeds (til) which can be eaten only in winter because of the sheer amount of heat they produce in the body. Once the weather starts to get cool, we make a variety of delicacies with these ingredients, and this has been the tradition in our family since generations."

"Besides laddoos, we even make a variety of sweets using almonds, cashew and our other dry fruits. We also sprinkle powders of roasted sesame seeds in our vegetables and curries and replace sugar with jaggery in our teas and coffees," Kulkarni added.

Residents assert that these traditional delicacies have been an integral part of their winter meals and actually help boost one's immunity during the season.

"With the cool climate comes a lot of health issues such as jo int pains, back pains, common cold and weakness. Using these heat producing ingredients in our meals not only gives us the energy and immunity to fight against these illnesses, but also proves beneficial for better skin and hair," said Waghbil resident Sangita Sukhi.

While most Thaneites have begun rehashing their traditional winter foods these days, some are even approaching city chefs to learn innovative variations of these traditional dishes.

"Even though I know how to prepare these winter delicacies, I decided to join a cookery class to get learn the innovative techniques used in these in preparing these delicacies,'' said Anisha Rathod.

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com