6 traditional dishes prepared on Kali Puja

Kali Puja is a celebration mainly in Bengal, Odisha, and Assam and holds importance due to its adoration towards Goddess Kali, meaning evil destruction and protection for the devotees. The festival is performed on the new moon night of Diwali with deep reverences and rich variety of traditional dishes that show the festival's spirit.
Here are the staple foods that land up in Kali Puja plates year after year: tradition in a taste, devotion in a flavor.

Bhoger Khichuri
It has also been a favorite bhog to offer to goddess Durga in Kali Puja. Traditional khichuri from Bengal has the combination of rice and moong dal, but more ingredients have been added. Bhoger Khichuri uses vegetables and garam masala for added flavors. Using ghee makes it tastier while being a whole meal accompanied with potatoes, cauliflower, and peas. Bhoger Khichuri is most of the time accompanied by its pair of accompaniment either in brinjal fry or aloo bhaja.
The fragrance of roasted moong dal with the tempering of whole spices gives a fragrant and mildly spiced dish for the occasion.

Labra
Traditionally served with Bhoger Khichuri, Labra is a mishmash of seasonal vegetables, lightly spiced and prepared to retain the intrinsic flavor of each vegetable. Pumpkin, sweet potato, radish, and spinach are common ones, and all of them are slow-cooked until they get together and form a kind of semi-dry curry. The preparation of Labra depicts a balance in flavors and humility towards food, and this is also the mood of Kali Puja.
With flavors poised between sweet and savory, labra is the perfect combination to accompany khichuri, much looked forward to during Kali Puja.

Payesh
Payesh is a sweet rice pudding made of rice, milk, and sugar with cardamom flavoring. This is a rich dessert prepared as an offering to the goddess and carries the essence of purity and devotion. Usually, cashews, raisins, or almonds are used to garnish this Payesh, which is a dear finale to the puja meal.
It slowly thickens into a rich creamy texture, the flavors of cardamom and a hint of sweetness from jaggery or sugar, into comforting, mildly sweet flavors.

Luchi and Cholar Dal
A traditional Bengali dish, Luchi with Cholar Dal (coconut flavored Bengal gram lentils), is a part of several festivals, and Kali Puja is no exception. With coconut, ginger, cumin, and cinnamon spices, the cholar dal's sweet and sour taste complements the soft, puffed luchis. So, in this sense, these two serve as symbols of plenty and celebration in the tradition of the festival.
The perfect complement of sweet with spices balancing the uniqueness of its sweetness from coconut gives a perfect taste to golden brown, fluffy luchis.

Beguni

These Beguni or brinjal fritters are actually slices of eggplant coated with gram flour batter and then fried until golden. Such a great addition to a Bengali festive meal-they provide a good crispy contrast to khichuri and dal. Much sought after during puja, they add a bit of indulgence. With spices in the batter, it offsets the slight bitterness of brinjal and crispiness of the exterior, making Beguni a favorite snack for Kali Puja.

Shinni

Made of flour, sugar, or jaggery, Shinni, banana is another more traditional prasad for the worship of goddess Kali on the course of pujas. Simple yet rich in symbolism, Shinni speaks of purity and loyalty. The simple elements found in Shinni allow it to be perfect even for this occasion. It tastes slightly sweet and so fulfilling and spiritual: the sweetness of the banana mixed with the earthiness of the flour.

Traditional methods of preparing in Kali Puja
Very often the dishes presented on Kali Puja are not very pretentiously prepared but once again simple preparation is preferred. Traditionally most households prefer cookings and clay stoves and clay pots and earthware is preferred for maintaining the real essence of flavors. Many households also tend to cook using ghee, by consuming minimum amounts of oil and spices that preserve the purest taste of the ingredients. These are cooked offerings made to the goddess and then handed around the family and friends in the form of prasad, which depicts the friendship that benefits from Kali Puja. So beautiful are the magic in each and every one of these delicacies, passed on simplistically, flavored and laden with symbolism through ages; and which can well elevate into a feast worthy for the festival. Such transformation of the festival by their preparation together and then the offering to Goddess Kali turn the mere celebration into rituals rooted in gratitude, reverential, and culture heritages.