Eating together...Pangat

While cleaning the wardrobes, this summer, I got my hands on a wedding album. It was that of my in-laws. As I flipped through the black and white photos, one caught my attention. It instantly re-winded my memories of gone by era. The photo was about guests sitting and having the wedding lunch it was a "PANGAT"
   
The word "Pangat" come from Sanskrit word "pankit" It means row or a group. Pangat is about eating food while sitting in rows with no discrimination on whatsoever basis. In a Pangat food is served by volunteers to people who sit together to eat. People would sit on the floor together as equals to eat same food. It was a common sight at the wedding celebrations, where the guests from the bride and the groom's side would sit and enjoy scrumptious wedding lunch or dinner. 
    
Tradition of pangat can be traced to all the states of India. History indicates that Guru Nanak was an ardent follower of the pangat system. Some even attribute him for initiating the pangat system so as to bring unity amongst people. There are certain benefits apart from camaraderie of Pangat. Here are the few that have an edge over the dinning table dinners and lunches!

Benefits of sitting on the floor to eat...
When we sit on the floor, we usually sit cross legged ( in Sukhasan or Half Padmasan) These poses aid digestion, one feels more calm, eats slower and feels full with handful of food. The other benefits are ...
1 It makes you  more flexible.
2 It helps in weight loss.
3 Improves Posture.
4 Make you live longer.
5 Keeps knees and hip joints healthy.
6 Relaxes the mind and calms the nerves .
9 Strengthens the heart by improving circulations .

And one of the obvious things that brings to mind when one sees these fotos.... yummy delicacies served during weddings. The mouth melting Rajawadi Mitha Boondi with oodles of dry fruits was my favourite and still continues to be. Sharing the recipe for the same. Its easy to make! Don't forget to have at-least one meal sitting on the floor with your family...Let the Panagat begin....

RAJWADI MITHA BOONDI        

Ingredients...

1) Gram flour (besan) 2 cups

2) Sugar 2 cups

3) Baking powder 1/2 teaspoon

4) Cashew nuts 10

5) Raisins 20

6) Green cardamoms 15

7) Saffron (kesar) 4 strands

8) Milk a few drops

9) Ghee 1/2 kilogram

Method...

Shell and powder cardamoms. Add one fourth cup of water to sugar, heat until sugar melts.

To check if the sugar syrup is ready, take a drop of the solution and drop it in water - if it remains intact and does not dissolve right away in water, the sugar syrup is ready.

Add saffron and cardamom powder to it. (While preparing the sugar syrup, add a few drops of milk. Impurities will collect on the surface in a layer - remove it.)

Add soda and water to gram flour and make a paste without lumps. Heat half a kilogram of ghee in a deep frying pan.

Put gram flour in boondi maker and drop the boondi directly into the hot ghee. Fry till light yellow. Drain and keep aside.

Fry cashew nuts and raisins. Add boondi, cashew nuts and raisins to the sugar syrup and mix. Cool. And now The Rajwadi Mitha Boondi is ready to serve!

Note: You can make "Laddoos"  (sweet roundels) as well from the same mixture.

What was your favorite dish as a child when you attended the weddings in your family? Did you ever had the chance to eat in a Panagat? DO share your stories... I am waiting!

---------By MocktailMommy Ruchi