Navratri celebrations across India

The story of Navratri and Dussehra

Navratri, the nine sacred days, is dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine avatars. It is one of the most sacred festivals in Hinduism where we worship Goddess Durga or Shakti in her nine beautiful forms with great reverence. Navratri is celebrated with great fervor and enthusiasm. During the nine days, there is a feeling of festivity in the air. 

  

NAVRATRI VRAT:

Different parts of India celebrate Navratri in different styles. The thing that is common is its grandeur and auspiciousness. Some fast, others feast.Some people fast for the entire nine days. They eat only fruits and drink milk. Some eat just one meal a day, which is prepared without using onion and garlic. Those who do Navratri vrat are not allowed to consume alcohol, no smoking and should not eat eggs and non -vegetarian food. The house and the Puja room should be kept clean as you are inviting Goddess Durga into your house.

  

NAVRATRI PUJA:

All people celebrate Navratri. In some South Indian states people arrange dolls in their home like a miniature museum. This is called kolu. One diya is burned in the Puja room throughout the nine days. One red cloth and one coconut are kept in the Puja room. They also keep red sindoor, bangles, Kajal and anklets in the Puja room as these things denote auspiciousness.

In Gujarat, during Navratri nights people do Dandiya and Garba, a beautiful folk dance wearing colourful dresses. In West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujrat Navratri is celebrated as Durga Puja in praise of Goddess Durga. It celebrates both the victory of truth and greatness of feminism. During this period, the three forms of Goddess Durga - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are invoked.It starts on the sixth day or Shashthi of Navratri and ends on Dashmi when the idol of the Goddess is immersed in water.

NAVRATRI SPECIAL FOOD:

There are some special recipes which are prepared during Navratri. People cook this and distribute it as bhog to their neighbours and friends. The most popular food prepared during Navratra is the Bhog or Prasada. It may vary from region to region but its significance remains the same. In some parts, the Bhog offered differs on every day. Ghee, Sugar, Milk or Kheer made of milk, Malpua, Banana, Honey, Jaggery, Coconut and Til are offered on nine days respectively.The bhogoffered in South India is known as Sundal. This is basically a dry lentil or legume preparation spiced and tempered with fresh coconut. Kala chana, safedchana, rajma and green peas are used for this. 

UPVAS FOOD:

Those who follow Navratri upvas should abstain from onion, garlic, eggs, meat, fish and alcohol. They should avoid lentils and legumes too. They can eat fruits, dry fruits, milk and milk products. Special flour and grains are allowed. Tapioca or Sabudana is also a very popular thing eaten during the festival. It can be made into a sweet pudding with milk, savoury khichadi or fried cutlets with mint chutney.Upvas food should be cooked using ghee, peanut oil or groundnut oil.

DUSSEHRA:

Dussehra or Vijayadashmi is the 10th day and it marks the end of Navratri. It means the victory of good over evil. Dussehra marks the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana. People make special food like Jalebi, BesanLadoo and Mysore Pak to celebrate Dussehra. Kheer and Poori, vegetables without onion, garlic are also made in most houses. In some places, on Vijayadashmi day tools, weapons, vehicles and productive instruments are maintained, decorated, thanked and worshipped. Ram Leela recalling the life of Lord Rama is the most loved and popular way of people celebrating the festival of Dassaraacross the country.

All festivals in India are celebrated with special and unique festival food. Special dishes are made for these festivals. Most people are having a very busy life running between office and home. They do not find enough time to cook special recipes for festivals. 

Tiffin by Masalabox solves all your problems. All the special and delicious festival food will be cooked by home chefs and delivered at your doorstep. You can avail home delivery meals. Homemade food will be delivered at your doorstep according to your convenience. Enjoy Navratri recipes cooked by Masalabox. Place your order in advance and enjoy your Navratri celebration.

6 Reasons to Eat Home Cooked Food more often

Read on to Find out Why You should Eat Home Cooked Food

"Thanks to our increasingly hectic lifestyle, eating has become one of the lesser priorities in life. For example, we eat only when we are meeting someone in a lavish restaurant or snack mindlessly while watching a movie. When was the last time you took out a couple of hours only to prepare food and to relish it leisurely? When was the last time you put “LUNCH” on your daily to-do list? However, eating home cooked meals is one of the healthiest habits one can cultivate. It has multiple positive effects on the body as well as on the mind.

1. Nutritious:- Restaurant and other commercially prepared foods are notoriously high in fat, salt and sugar. Home cooked meals, on the other hand, are free from these and also have the option of replacing certain items with their healthier alternatives. Eating home cooked meals regularly prepares our palate for simpler and more wholesome foods in the long run, which eventually start reflecting in our trimming waistlines and overall health.  
2. Hygienic:- A recent video allegedly showing a worker of one of our favourite dhabas kneading atta with his feet had us all squirming in our seats. While not all restaurants follow standards like these, it is extremely difficult to maintain desired levels of cleanliness and hygiene while preparing food at an industrial level. However careful food handling and cooking techniques generally found at homes tend to keep the meals healthier and our stomachs happier. 
3. Appropriate portions:- Since childhood, we all have always been taught never to waste food. I followed this rule from childhood and still do, even while eating out with my friends. However, restaurants are famed for their large portions, which ultimately became one of the prime reasons for my overeating and subsequent health issues. While the entire earth is moving towards the Japanese “Hara Hachi Bu” (Eat till you are 8/10th full), it is high time that we, too, make a paradigm shift and change our eating habits. Eating at home gives us the luxury to customise our portion sizes according to our needs, exclusively. 
4. Increased knowledge of food:-  Do you know which food you should eat when you feel low after those boring day long meetings? A large plate of French fries and a medium portion of rice and dal will have different effects on your body, mind and soul. Since food is our main source of energy, it can have a filling, healing or even negative effect on our bodies. Since home cooked meals are generally nourishing and made from much lesser ingredients, the taste and effects of each ingredient can be thoroughly savoured. 
5. Builds healthy habits:- Eating home cooked meals jump start a lot of good habits which prove to be beneficiary throughout the life. 
6. Easy on the pocket:-  Read any book or article on “money saving hacks” and this one comes at the top. Eating home cooked meals more often is one of the biggest and easiest ways of saving money. Even eating out from your neighbourhood thela is a costlier affair in the long run.

Of course, cooking food is not everyone’s cup of tea. A lot of factors like being pressed for time, being bone lazy after a long day and ineptitude to cook well come between us and a delicious and nutritious meal often. For my brethren who still long for some simple homely meals but are unable to find some, let me show you the light to the dark path. Log onto to Masalabox.com to order delish and nourishing home cooked meals at affordable prices.

Click here to know more about Masalabox! Welcome to the family!"

7 Reasons to Order from Masala Box Food Networks

Masalabox is an online Tiffin Service in Bangalore and Kochi. We provide delicious and healthy tiffin from talented chefs. We would let you know some of the reasons why you should order from Masalabox more often:

1. 1. Healthy: As much as the popular brands would have us believe, fast food is generally not the healthiest option around. The dishes are generally high in empty calories and low in nutrients. Relying on fast foods for a prolonged period of time takes a visible toll on the health. Even in the short run, fast food often makes one feel lethargic and bloated. Order from Masalabox and enjoy nutritive and home cooked meals that would not take a toll on your health and mind.
   2. Economic: Ordering out is expensive. And the corner chow mien thela does not make the healthiest stuff, either. Problem? Solution: Masalabox. Log on to the site and have the choice of ordering from a range of delectable and filling meals at affordable rates.
      
   3. Variety:  Ordering food day in day out can become boring after a while. Fast food chains, corner side thelas and even restaurants offer limited menus. But with Masalabox, you get multiple choices, which changes everyday. Just like at our homes, our multiple home chefs do not have a same menu - they change their menus according to the availability of fresh seasonal ingredients. This gives you a great choice, be it your Chinese cravings, or an authentic Indian Thali, you would never be disappointed.
   4. Freshness: Our home chefs are essentially home makers who like to cook (and make some money with it). Unlike established organisations, their menus are not dictated by marketing gimmicks, but with what they find at their nearby markets each day. Needless to say that all our menus are prepared from fresh, crisp and seasonal vegetables and ingredients.
   5. Hygienic: Home cooking will always follow high levels of hygiene; after all it is something the home chefs cook for themselves as well. Hygienic cooking = healthy cooking!
   6. Contributing to the local economy: With the entire world now focussing on supporting local economies, you can do so too by ordering in from Masalabox – an Indian start up which helps local home chefs raise money from selling their cooked food at affordable prices. Next time you order in something from Masalabox, be proud of your contribution to the society.
   7. Convenient: What is ordering in without some convenient? Log on to Masalabox, select your dish according to your craving of the day and enjoy warm, wholesome homely meal delivered at your doorstep at your convenience in a short while. Not bad, eh?

Homemade food, everyday! There is something about homemade food that makes everyone swoon. The love sprinkled over and the care kneaded into it makes it taste unique. You can always differentiate a homemade food from a restaurant cooked one. However, not all are lucky enough to experience this bliss every day- staying away from family and long gruelling hours at work often comes between a good homely meal and us, the lesser mortals. Masalabox ensures that you get this unique experience every day, even when you are staying away from home, even when you are too tired (or simply lazy) to cook for yourself.
Now that you have enough reasons to order from Masalabox, what are you waiting for? Order from the site and enjoy a hot bowl of tasty and nutritious food at your desk or your home."

Regional Indian food and Healthy Fast Food

Regional Indian food and Casual Dining: 

Local cuisines have made a comeback in a big way. Diners and chefs alike have shown a renewed interest in local flavours, traditional and indigenous ingredients and cooking styles. Chefs have also realized that it is far easier to research regional cuisines, source ingredients or work with skilled cooks than trying to do the same with international cuisine.

Casual Dining is gaining popularity too with chefs whipping up old style comfort food or serving the same with a contemporary twist.

Chef driven restaurants/Take-home chefs: 

2017 saw a boom of sorts in chef driven restaurants. Ordering food from restaurants too seems to have become passé. Top chefs today are ready to come home and make you a gourmet meal. A couple of food startups even lets users choose a chef, who not just cooks and presents the meal but also shops for the ingredients!

Quirky and unusual food concepts:

• Discards: A huge trend in 2016 - onion and apple peels, broccoli stems and unusual meat cuts, otherwise just junked, found their way back on the plate in a flavourful and nutritious avatar. A conscious way to cut food wastage apparently!

• Food Meditation: Focus is on the food on the plate while the mind is free from positive or negative emotions. So you basically don’t talk or think while eating thus ensuring a good impact on the gut.

• Alcohealth: There is apparently a growing demand for alcoholic beverages with ingredients that supposedly negate the undesirable effects of alcohol and offer some nutritional benefits too. Beet infused vodka, acai blueberry mojito, superfruit acai Margarita being a few such examples.

Healthy fast food: People are getting increasingly conscious of the food they eat including when they eat out. A lot of companies in the food business are trying to do away with artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners and preservatives and focus on the nutrition aspect.

Organic and Health Food: There appears to be an increased emphasis on authenticity and hence the last couple of years have seen a growing demand for organic and natural products. Processed food is gradually being replaced by food that is either hand-crafted or healthy. Food packed in convenient portable bowls are available in restaurants and grocery stores. They are nutritious and versatile.

Craft of Blending: Blended tea and wines are the new rages this season. Fusion of flavours is here to stay. Different wines are blended to offer a more complex concoction that even changes the basic qualities of wine. Similarly, tea infused food from cocktails to jams and desserts are gaining acceptance all over. So you now have desserts like Chilly Chai Truffle, Marigold Tea Porched Pear and cocktails like green tea infused vodka!"