Mamma Spice in The Independent talking Diwali celebrations

Diwali celebrations were a little different this year, for many who were able to embrace the festival in post-pandemic style! Sadly, for Mamma Spice it was still a quiet one due to concerns around COVID, but nonetheless, she still managed to cook up a storm and share some gorgeous treats with her family. Lucky us! 

‘It’s a time to be joyous’: How people are celebrating Diwali without restrictions

Mamma Spice spoke to The Independent and here's what they had to say: 

Shashi Aggarwal, 70, and her husband will not be spending Diwali with their children and extended family due to concerns about the spread of Covid-19. Instead, she will send food parcels to her children and grandchildren. These will include South Asian sweets, called “mithai” – the sharing of which is an important aspect of Diwali.

“I’m doing all my normal Indian sweets which I normally cook every year,” she says. The star of her parcels will be Gulab Jamun, a round, milk-based sweet which is soaked in a fragrant syrup flavoured with rose water and cardamom. “If there’s one thing, I am really good at, and I’m famous for, it’s my Gulab Jamun,” she says proudly. “And I do savoury as well, like Bombay mix, and a mix of toasted nuts,” she adds.

It will be the second year in a row that Shashi will be having a quiet celebration at home. Before the pandemic, 15 different families would come together at a designated home, where each party would bring a different dish to feast on before a large firework display took place in the garden. This year, she will spend the day decorating her home with fresh flowers and making a Rangoli, an artful decoration created at the entrance of the house which signifies good luck and prosperity.

Click here to read the article in full on The Independent website. 

Photo credit 

Photo by Prashant Gupta on Unsplash