‘Lakhpati Didis’ Shine at Saras Food Festival with Food Delicacies
Roza from Telangana. Image credit Bhawna Malik
Saras Food Festival Showcases Food Diversity
By Bhawna Malik
New Delhi, December 13: Saras Food Festival Delhi, the annual event organised by the Ministry of Rural Development, lays down a sumptuous buffet of more than 300 delicacies from 25 states under 150 women entrepreneurs termed as ‘Lakhpati Didis’. The title ‘Lakhpati Didis’ is to bring to the front the culinary skills of 150 women, some of them connected with various women NGO’s and self-help groups and others ventured out independently.
The food festival has been divided into North, South, East and West zones. Right from Punjab, Himachal to Telangana, Goa and Kerala the food counters are jam packed with the Lakhpati Didid’s explaining the speciality of the particular state.
Roja from Seema Pur village in Telangana has more of non-vegetarian food. “Dum Biryani, both Chicken and Mutton, is the speciality of Telangana. We have some vegetarian delicacies like ‘Urad Dal Laddu’, ‘Besan sweet’, ginger chutney, but focus is on Dum Biryani,” she said.
Soni from Kerala serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. “We have fish, Biryani, Chicken roll in snacks and Padam polli is a veg snack made of mashed banana mixed with refined flour (maida) and deep fried. It’s very popular in Kerala,” she adds.
Since its winter and people are more aware about the calories and nutritions the separate stalls of fresh fruits, vegetables and fruit juice and also interestingly the Madhya Pradesh state stall has focussed on the winter delicacies.
Jitender and Sushma Verma from Madhya Pradesh share: “We have Mawa Bati, a sweet dish that is quite similar to Gulab Jamun, Besan dry fruit laddu, Poha, which is healthy and easy to digest, Methi parantha, palak puris with veg subzi. Both Palak and Methi being the seasonal vegetables, vegetarians are very happy with it.”
The Kalhaadi Kulcha of Jammu stole the spotlight as it had a huge waiting at the festival. Mamta, associated with Om Sai women self -help group of Jammu explained about the kulcha. “Kalhaadi Kulcha dish has got GI tag and it’s not found anywhere else in India. It’s purely a milk product and one kulcha contains 300 grams of protein and its very healthy food,” Mamata adds.
Makki ki Roti and Sarson ka Sag from Punjab, a regular winter dish in Punjabi families, too has a fan-following. But the Punjab food stall has some added attractions of non-veg items. “Tandoori chicken with naan, Amritsari kulcha, Tadka Chicken, Butter Chicken, Malai Chicken have also been served this time,” adds Simran Jit Kaur from Faridkot Punjab, who is participating independently.
While Arunachal Pradesh served steaming hot veg Soya Dumpling and veg Momos, preferred by the college students, Assam stall was enveloped with chai lovers, served in Kulhars and different flavours – Ginger, Ilaich and masala, the Bihar didis had Litti Chokha. The spicy food lovers had gol gappas, dahi bhalla, Tikki, and vegetable pakoras. The Rajasthani thali of Gatta subzi, kadi and Bajra roti was no less savoury. Tamil Nadu state had both mutton and dosa but Karnatka stall was dominated by Dosa and Idli Sambhar.
The Saras food festival not only celebrates food but brings forth women as the force behind this huge celebration, strengthening bonds and hopes for a better future.
Rita Hazarika from Assam credits PM Modi for this Lakhpati Didi Yojna. “I made tea, momos, rice curry earlier too, but now I understand the worth of my skills,” she says.
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