Sweets signal the Diwali holiday

By Tom Hanchett
Halloween isn’t the only candy-licious holiday this week.  Sunday marks the start of the Hindu celebration called Diwali.  And the sweets shelves are piled high at Patel Brothers in Pineville.

If you haven’t been to Patel Brothers, in the Centrum shopping cluster opposite Carolina Place Mall, this is a fun time of the year to explore. The store’s motto is “Celebrating Our Food … Our Culture.”  As Diwali approaches, Patel Brothers can feel like the busiest place in Charlotte.

For people from India, Diwali is the beginning of the New Year.  But it’s also a bit like American Thanksgiving — lots of family visiting, lots of traditional cooking, says store manager Nikunj Patel.  “People go to each other’s house to celebrate, light candles.”

Sweets are almost the first thing you see when you walk in the store, arrayed in an open-front chilled case not far from a display of little clay-pot candles.

Bright colors abound.  Hot pinks, yellows and greens signal Diwali in much the way that orange heralds Halloween. For instance there are little yellow spheres of sweet fried dough called boondi — fun to say — with the same grab-a-handful appeal as M & Ms.

Many Diwali sweets make use of cashews.  Spelled kaju in the Hindi language, the nuts have been a favorite in India ever since Portuguese traders brought them from their native Brazil in the 1500s.

Look for cashew burfi, sweet cakes made with cashew nut powder.  Or try kaju cutlet — colorful doughs and cashews, all encased in a sugary exterior.  Slice across it (ie make it into a cutlet) and the interior is exposed like a miniature treasure chest.

What’s Patel’s personal favorite?  “Kaju katli, that’s most popular with nearly everybody,” he chuckles. “Cashews and sugar – that’s it.”

Patel Brothers
Monday – Sunday  10 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.

10701 Centrum Parkway,
Pineville, NC  28134
(704) 540 – 2013
www.patelbros.com