Karwa Chauth has been a long lasting Indian tradition that portrays the devotion of wife towards her husband. It is a custom that every married woman fasts one day for her husband’s long lasting life. The festival is mainly celebrated in the north part of India and it is predominant in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The festival mainly depicts the wife’s love and affection towards her husband through the Indian customs and tradition.
The word Karwa Chauth has been derived from Hindi in which “Karwa” means “a small earthen pot” and “Chauth” means “fourth”, referring to the time in which the festival falls on the fourth day of the dark fortnight. The story behind the whole festival was built during the olden times when there were military campaigns conducted by Hindus who were defending India against the Mughals, so the husbands of the family usually leave their wife and children to go fight in the war. In order to pray for their beloved ones, their wife used to do prayers in order to keep their husband safe and to have a long lasting life.
The rituals begin early in the morning with pooja till the moon rises. Before the sunrise, the women eat fruits and sweets to start sent by their Mother-In-Laws - This morning ritual is known as 'Sargi'. After Sargi, the women who are fasting gather around and collectively pray to God and sing songs to keep themselves active.
At the beginning of dusk, in order to break the fast the wife start by lighting the lamp at the same time, the husband fills water in an earthen pot and places it on a “Thali” which remarks the name of the festival. Then they both move towards a spot where they can see the moon clearly, the wife offers water to the moon and witnesses the moon through a sieve or a mesh and then looks towards her husband with the same sieve.
The husband then offers her wife with a sip of water and thus breaks her fast. Thus the ritual ends with a prayer again and the husband feeds her wife with the first meal of the day which shows the love and affectionate that both of them have for each other.
As always, every Indian festival ends with a Grand meal, similarly, Karwa Chauth begins with fasting but ends with a very lavish and comforting meal.
Here we are, with an assortment of dishes that we have put for you to enjoy the traditional festival with a comforting and delicious meal. We have come up with a variation of different recipes and have used popular ingredients to make a “Thali” which has little of everything on one plate. Hope you enjoy trying out our new recipes and have a wonderful festival.
