What is the significance of Kheel Batasha during Diwali

Festivals are a time of joy and fervour, and what better way to increase emotions than by offering a taste of traditional food. While lights are the main attraction of Diwali, the wide array of mithais always seem to steal the spotlight at home or at parties. Quintessential festive desserts like ladoo and barfi dawn the platter of most households, and while they might be associated with prayers and celebrations, none is as significant as Kheel Batasha.

One of the many ‘religious’ foods, kheel batasha is a traditional sweetmeat that is commonly given as prasad in Hindu temples and is prepared on festive occasions. Kheel batasha is made with puffed rice mixed with sugar, and apart from its sugary richness, it also holds significance during the period of Diwali, and here is why.

Kheel is prepared from paddy (rice), which is a major grain in India. Rice is sown in most parts of the country around mid-year, and is harvested around the time of Diwali. Kheel Batasha prepared from the fresh batch of rice is offered to goddess Lakshmi as a token of respect, and to ensure health, wealth, and prosperity.

The sixteen day period of Pitru Paksh, which involves a strict food regimen, followed by another nine days of strict dieting in the form of fasting, affects our digestion. To allow our digestion to return to normal, we must feed our gut simple food that is easy to digest. Kheel Batasha, which is made up of primarily rice and sugar, is easy to digest, and is light on the stomach, hence making for an important sweet during Diwali.

Diwali is a festival of health, wealth, and prosperity. According to astrology, Shukragraha (Venus), is the giver of wealth and prosperity, and similar to offering food to goddess Lakshmi to attain wealth and prosperity, Kheel Batasha is prepared as an offering to Shukragraha to make it happy.