Sikh festival of Vaisakhi brings spring food favourites to community
CBC
April is a month of diverse celebrations and observances from Ramadan to Passover to Easter.
The middle of month is also Vaisakhi, a spring harvest festival and new year for people of the Sikh faith.
Cambridge-based chef, culinary instructor and broadcaster Jasjit Kaur refers to the celebration, which takes place on April 14 this year, as "an ode to Mother Nature." Kaur specializes in Indian cooking teaching workshops, online classes and radio and television broadcasts.
"It's the first month of the Hindu calendar and harvest time of rabi, which is wheat crops, in Punjab, a region rich in agriculture," Kaur said.
Rabi crops, such as wheat, oats, barley, pulses and oilseeds, are planted in winter and harvested in spring.
"Food plays an integral role with friends and family gathering in the evening for special dishes. Food connects everyone in the community," she said.
One of those special dishes made for community gatherings in the Gurdwara (the Sikh temple) is the sweet karah prashad, Kaur says.
"It's made with whole wheat atta flour, sugar and ghee. It's very special."
While Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi, is an important Sikh and Punjabi celebration, it's also a secular festival for many Muslims and Christians in India.
At least pre-COVID, Vaisakhi parades took place in major centres in Canada. The annual Surrey Vaisakhi Khalsa Parade (cancelled this year), has drawn half a million spectators in the past.
During Vaisakhi, you will notice vibrant yellow and golden colours in the food and even clothing.
"Everything is in spring mode," Kaur said. "Harvest, vegetables, flowers. Wheat is golden and yellow hues. Yellow and orange are considered (to show) selflessness, spirituality and dedication."
Gatherings at Gurdwara include communal cooking and sharing of food where, it seems, having too many cooks in the kitchen is not a problem.
"For langar wali dal (a pulse dish), you won't even have a recipe because everyone is contributing and making it," Kaur says. "It's one of the tastiest dal ever."
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