Happy Diwali or Deepavali.

Last Monday (10/27) was Diwali. One of the most auspicious Hindu celebration. Go here to learn more on Diwali http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali

It's one of my favorite Hindu holiday because mom cooks up all the most delicious dishes. Dishes she learned from her mom. It's the same dishes my grandma learned from her mom. It's recipes passed from generations to generations. She usually prepares about 10 to 15 dishes and my mom and dad would have open house to friends and families all day starting from about lunch time to dinner. We would have like about 100 guest coming in and out of the house all day. Some wait all year for mom's special Chicken Vindaloo, Mutton Kurma, Lamb Keema, Vegetable Briyani, Fish Cutlets, Shrimp Sambal, veggie acar (pickle), and of course not forgetting a table filled with cookies and tarts. So, amazing. The house always smelled so good.

Anyways, I decided that I should in my own way continue the tradition here in the US and especially at my new home. Of course not as a grand scale as mom's but just a little something to treasure the tradition.

So, I cooked some lamb keema, cucumber raita and some roti chania (paratha). I made everything of course except for the roti chania. I found this awesome brand from Malaysia called "Kawan". And yes, there are frozen paratha's. I could eat it everyday for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are the closest Roti Chania's you can get to home. It's truly delicious. It's just like stepping out to your Mamak Stall and getting a fresh roti chania.

Sometimes I would just cook them up and sprinkle some brown sugar on it. It's yummy. It's crispy and fresh. A little dap of butter on it to keep it crispy makes even more wonderful. They were great with my home-made lamb keema and raita. I thought I would have some left-overs to take to work the day but my guest did not leave me a thing... : )
http://www.kawanfood.com/kawan/paratha.html