indian

October 19, 2022 by monica 1 Comment

DIWALI IN DUBAI Eating, shopping, dancing and powerful characters

Updated OCTOBER 2022

Diwali in Dubai

This year Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, falls on Monday the 24th of October and while Diwali is a Hindu festival, it’s now celebrated all over the world. Dubai is no exception! Diwali in Dubai is a big event!

CONTEMPORARY INDIAN STARTER FROM INDEGO BY VINEET

There are actually 5 days connected to the festival of Diwali starting from October 23rd through to October 27th. Each day holds a different significance with the 23rd being Dhanteras typically associated with buying gifts of gold, and the 24th is Choti Diwali or Little Diwali.

The Diwali story

The Diwali story’s got all the elements of a classic Good conquering Bad tale. Wicked stepmothers, multi headed demons, beautiful princesses, it’s all there.

Hindus all over the world celebrate the triumphant homecoming of Prince Ram, his wife Sita and their brother Laxsman from a gruelling 14 years spent in banishment in the jungle.

They were banished as part of an orchestrated request by Ram’s step mother Kaikeyi as a last wish from her husband King Dashrath. He ruled the ancient kingdom of Ayodhya.

Story has it that the night the weary travellers were returning home was one without any moonlight to show the way. Excited villagers decided to light small clay earthen ware lamps using oil and wicks to make it easier for them to navigate their way back.

So Diwali is really a mix of 2 words, Deep and Avali, DEEP meaning light and AVALI meaning row.

They also lit up the sky with firecrackers, hence the present day fireworks again to show the rightful rulers of the Kingdom of Ayodhya the way home.

Celebrating Diwali in Dubai

You’ll see many houses in Dubai lit up with tiny diyas in rows, often on the entrance or porch of a house re enacting what the villagers did. Houses are often spring cleaned during this period so that good luck and prosperity can visit in the form of Lakshmi the Goddess of wealth.

Families share gifts of money and new clothes as well organize huge Diwali feasts where authentic Indian varieties of burfi (sweet fudge made from ingredients such as milk, coconut, almonds, cashewnuts and sugar) and desserts like ras malai (a soft cheese based milk dumpling soaked in cream and pistachios) and ladoos play a starring role.

If you don’t want to give heavy Indian Diwali sweets this year then try making some gorgeous energy balls instead, then be creative about how you package them up!

Traditionally the best Diwali sweets shared with family and friends were always homemade.

ENERGY BALLS RECIPE

ENERGY BALLS DOINDUBAI MONICA KAPILA fennel and sesame seeds — LOOKS LIKE A LADOO BUT IT ISN’T

There are Diwali brunches, dinners and even fireworks displays in Dubai. We loved our Indian meal at Indego by Vineet at the Grosvenor House hotel.

Click the picture to see our experience of that on Instagram.

CLICK TO SEE OUR EXPERIENCE AT INDEGO BY VINEET

Emirates airlines announced it’s serving traditional Indian sweets to celebrate Diwali on Indian routes in all cabin classes!

Authentic Indian favorites like motichoor ladoos, mixed nut tribooj and angoori rabdri are being served in it’s cabins and lounges.

Dal kachoris and vegetable samosas for those of us with less of a sweet tooth. Some brilliant biscuits – Nan Khataai served in Emirates lounge in Cape Town too!

Diwali Shopping in Dubai

The Meena Bazaar area of Bur Dubai is a great place to visit during this festive time. Shop fronts are festooned with orange marigold flowers and there’s an excited buzz in the air.

People stock up on garlands, both real and fake, intricate rangoli pattern makers and stencils – see the one below. You can see which colour I’ve used the most for my Diwali rangoli designs!

DoinDubai Diwali in Dubai Monica Kapila Rangoli Stencil — RANGOLI STENCIL FOR MAKING DIWALI DESIGN

They buy vibrant rangoli powder colour for doorways, hand-painted clay diyas, shiny brass candle holders everything linked to traditional worship at home.

ENTRANCE TO A HOME IN DUBAI DECORATED FOR DIWALI

The fact that gold is around 1700 dollars a Troy ounce hasn’t deterred people buying jewellery at this auspicious time. Plenty of offers abound at major jewellery shops all over Dubai. Get down to Bur Dubai and experience Diwali in Dubai yourself.

And if you just feel like a simple or more elaborate INDIAN THALI MEAL then choose from our selection here.

Money Saving Deals DoinDubai Monica Kapila Andrha Thali — VEGETARIAN THALI MEAL IN DUBAI

Diwali Gift ideas

You can’t go wrong with gifting anyone a candle at Diwali time. We love all the candles from PURE CANDLES DUBAI AED 180

GIFT A SOY WAX DIWALI CANDLE FROM PURE CANDLES

If you don’t want to make your own energy balls then get down to LITTLE URTH BY NABZ AND G. Buy some from there! They’re as good as good as home made (I’ve tried them!), nicely packaged too.

AED 50 or so for a generous portion.

Monicas-Weekend-DoinDubai-Free-Goodie-Bag-vegan-energy-balls- — NUTRIENT DENSE NO NASTIES ENERGY BALLS BY NABZ AND G

Or buy some bite size Indian inspired brittle bars from VARAK EDIBLE LUXURY get some for yourself too! Better than burfi and biscuits! Click the link and go to the Brittles page. 8 bites for just AED 27 with my discount code!

MONICA10 code for varak dubai brittle bars

Tell me about any cool Diwali gifts you’re giving or receiving this year. Please also SHARE THIS POST with your friends and to all my loyal DoinDubai readers:

Warmest wishes for a prosperous and peaceful Diwali in Dubai and all over the world.

Never mind the markets and British politics for now.

NOTE JUST IN..

The Pointe on Palm Jumeirah will celebrate Diwali with a performance by the world’s largest dancing fountain, The Palm Fountain.

From 14 to 28 October from 6pm to 10pm, every 3rd performance will be a popular Hindi song! So visitors can dress up and head to the nearby eateries for delicious deals as they enjoy the show.

Also Diwali Fireworks at Global Village on the 28th October 2022 in the evening!

DIWALI FIREWORKS OCT 2022 AT GLOBAL VILLAGE

A STAY AT THE TAJ PALACE NEW DELHI

July 30, 2020 by monica 5 Comments

INDIAN MATCHMAKING – The Sky’s The Nimmit

'Indian Matching' - have you seen it?

It’s a Netflix documentary focusing on that old chestnut of finding a mate. Not just for one or a few dates though, it’s how you go about finding a mate for life, from the start! Great Expectations then, but on both sides.

Like recipes, some people are a lot more traditional than others who are definitely more of a fusion (as am I) of the culture they were born into and the culture they grew up in or now find themselves in. Are you in this position?

But in this show they’ve all still opted for trying this traditional technique to find everlasting love, well, everlasting commitment at least.

The Matchmaker

“Marriages are like biscuits” says Sima, as in they’re so delicate these days they break very easily, just like biscuits!

Sima Taparia is the Matchmaker or the Nimmit she calls herself, of the show. That’s a Hindi word that means Cause or Reason. She’s the reason people get married and she gets genuine satisfaction from her occupation. She seems to have great experience and a vast data base of boys and girls across continents.

I liked her. She kept things simple; don’t dig into someone’s past partners, be a bit more flexible with your views and remember generally the woman has to compromise a bit more than the man for a happy married life.. spot on in my experience.

Interestingly, she’s skipped the UK and jumped across the pond straight to the States from India but she doesn’t go as far as matching up people who are happy to travel between continents, yet.

She’s in her 50s, well-groomed with sleek, straight, low-lighted hair. Wearing smartly cut Indo Western type outfits that flatter her shape and of course are practical when crossing continents and cultures.

The Characters in Indian Matchmaking

The characters, I think, are mainly Hindu by faith, although one girl is a Sikh – pronounced Sick by some Americans.

The character that generated the most discussion in our house was a girl called Aparna, based in Houston, a lawyer, aged 34. She now has an instagram following of over 37, 000 people with a bio that reads Took a Chance on Love with Indian Matchmaking on Netflix, so something about her clicked. I think she looks a little like veteran Bollywood actress Hema Malini, anyone agree?

Equally Pradhuman, a very rich boy from Mumbai who wasn’t sure where he would be able to accommodate his wife’s clothes in his huge walk in wardrobe generated much discussion. The name Pradhuman means a seeker of wisdom and knowledge.

I’m not sure what Sima, the matchmakers’s fees are, but there was also a candidate from a more humble background, Vyasaar who lived in a very large joint family. He had a single mum as a parent from when he was little and he worked in the State (Public) school sector for a living.

And Sima was always honest, albeit a bit brutal with her assessment of what their chances of finding a partner via her would be.. but like the BBC article below said, that’s reality, unless of course luck plays a part?

So the very pretty, but divorced Sikh lady with a young daughter would be a hard person for Sima to match. But we have a cousin who found love the second time round, quite late in life on a site called Second Shaadi (marriage).com!

Girls who are pretty, educated, not too old, single and from professional, happy families oh and tall but not too tall, seem to be the easiest candidates to find matches for.

But we know in reality that’s not the case, is it.

“Meeting people, even just to widen a circle of friends is difficult for young people these days, more so when you factor in working and studying from home for months on end”

Being introduced to someone by a friend is often ideal and provides that important filter; you trust your friends, they know you, so their choice should at least be a “safe” person to meet. So the wider the circle, the wider the pool of potential soulmates.

The Dubai Connection with Indian Matchmaking

We are of course all ears for any Dubai connections and we hear that Aparna actually went to primary school at our own DESS in Dubai! We learn this from a picture on her mother’s Happiness Blanket.

But that was a long time ago. And Sima’s own daughter married a boy who was settled in Dubai too and I guess followed him out there? Oh and Aparna tells a would be suitor that Dubai is fine to visit, but only if you like places like Disneyland!

Suitable Boys and a Suitable Girl

So back to the Nimitt or Sima in this case. You’d think she’d find it easy finding a good match for her own daughter right? Wrong.

Before Indian Matchmaker aired, another show called A Suitable Girl – 2017 (not Suitable Boy currently on BBC, but Girl) came out and featured 3 girls from India, all trying to find suitable matches.

A Suitable Girl where we first meet Sima the Matchmaker

One girl was none other than Sima’s own daughter, a well-educated young girl working in a blue chip consultancy firm in Mumbai, but resigned to not ever meeting her Mr Right.. even with mum’s help, especially with her mum’s help.

One dinner time scene had Sima crying into her thali and her daughter giving her the stubborn silent treatment, (we’ve all had that) when all mum was trying hard to do was to make sure her daughter ends up with a happy life via a suitable boy.

But what I found fascinating was that her daughter didn’t go to work in a chauffeur (read driver) driven car of any kind, let alone high end car, neither did she take a taxi for any part of what seemed like a fairly long journey. She took a very crowded Mumbai commuter train then took an Auto Rikshaw (read Tuk Tuk) to get to work.

Moreover Sima certainly didn’t have sleek, low lighted hair or wear much make-up or dress as she does now.

So the Indian matchmaker’s fortunes have grown along with her client’s. Good for her! She’s teamed up with a Life Coach who help clients get over some of their “stumbling blocks” in life and she’s got a couple of trusted astrologers who talk to her about the correct alignment of planets and compatibility, so the team is flourishing!

Life Coaching and Matchmaking.. seems like the Sky really is the Nimmit!

What did you think of the show and if you had to describe your marriage as a biscuit, what kind of biscuit would it be?

Links to the above mentioned shows and related articles.

Where are they now?

Apparently none of the matches worked out, even Akshay with an ultra traditional mum didn’t follow through with an engagement to Radhika after the initial Roka ceremony. Indian Matchmaking the sequel coming soon on Netflix?

And in the end they lived....happily ever after?!

If you'd like to know how you're reporter met her husband, leave me a comment about anything to do with this article and I'll reply!
Monica Kapila.

June 10, 2020 by monica 3 Comments

INDIAN CURRY BASE

eating

Indian Curry Base

Indian curry base

We call Indian curry base “masala” which means the gravy or sauce element in the dish. It’s also the generic term for spices. This is my go to easy recipe for a versatile tomato base that you can use for chicken, prawns, lamb or chick peas! It’s made using the minimum of spices but still packs a great flavour. Anyone can make it. So read on and have a go.

Ingredients

How to Make

Equipment Required

NOTE really great to store in containers and freeze so you can use when you need to.

Add coconut milk with water to make a South Indian base for prawn curry. Saute some curry leaves and mustard seeds to add at the end.

Fry onions first

Chop tomatoes beforehand

Add the spices

Salt Turmeric and Chilli

Quick Shopping List

Onions
Garlic
Ginger
Tomatoes
Oil to fry – not olive oil
Salt
Turmeric
Red chilli powder

CLICK the picture to see the steps

WE WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU MADE!

So if you make it, please tag us @doindubai on Facebook or Instagram or on Pinterest.

If you have a question about this recipe please leave us a comment and we’ll get right back to you.

browse our gallery for home cooked restaurant style recipes

Monica Kapila

Chef at DoinDubai

Blueberry Scones without eggs

MOTIVATION

Cook something from scratch and eat fresh today. Establish a routine for every day that incorporates cooking, connecting and chilling!

Quick Question...?

Which spices do you add to your curries, what makes the flavour special to you ?

Chat with me about your curry making by leaving a comment below please.

Much appreciated, Monica.