The festival of Rakhi is soon approaching. It is an everlasting bond between a brother and sister which is one of the most popular celebrations in every Indian home. It is celebrated every year on 'Shravan Purnima' (Full Moon Day of the Hindu month of Shravan), which generally falls in the month of August. It is symbolised by sisters tying the sacred thread ‘Rakhi’ on their brother's wrist and brothers promising protection for a lifetime against all odds which again fortifies the bond between them. 

There are different versions of evidence in history which glorifies this festival

• The ancient one when Indrani tied a thread around her husband Lord Indra's wrist given to her by Lord Vishnu to protect him from demons during the war between the gods and demons.  

• The promise of protection by Lord Krishna when he cut his finger and was bleeding profusely. Seeing this, Draupadi tore a part of her sari and tied it around his finger. This is believed to be the reason why he saved her during her cheerharan by Kaurava.

• Story heard from legends about Yamuna river and the god of death Yama,  the lord of death granted Yamuna river immortality when she tied a rakhi to him.

• The recent and most significant being the story of Emperor Humayun who went with his troops to Mewar when Rani Karnavati, who ruled the region then, asked for his help. Mewar had been attacked twice by Bahadur Shah and as a ray of hope, she sent a letter to Humayun with a rakhi asking for his help. The emperor who was between a military campaign then left everything to go and protect her. 

It purely touches upon brother-sister affection, sacrifice, love etc and so Rakshabandan, as it is called, is still celebrated in the same traditional way it has been practised before. But with changing times Indians have spread across the globe and still prefers to keep such traditions alive. Today you can be in one country and celebrate festivals with your loved ones across the seven seas through online stores and supermarkets, online gift portals which make the transition of shopping and gifting smooth, easy and doable.

Festivals are a great way to celebrate our culture, traditions and family bonding, as they give us time to bond with our near and dear ones and celebrate our culture together. Also, food plays a very important role in our festival celebrations. No celebrations can be complete without good food. 

We at JustHaat believe in cultural traditions and celebrations, and so to make your celebrations more cheerful and lively, we are here with a customized grand festive menu for you. With some really delicious and time-saving recipes, this menu will definitely make your Rakha Bandhan celebrations flavoursome. So let’s take a tour of our grand festive menu. 

Starters

We all love starters or appetisers or snacks. We like to munch on them every time and why not? They are so flavourful that we can’t resist ourselves. Starters like Tandoori bhuna Aloo, Paneer Tikka, Vegetable Cutlet, Samosa, Kachori, Aloo Bonda, Gobi 65 are some quick options for you to try. All these dishes can be prepared one day before and refrigerated and on the day of Raksha Bandhan, you can deep fry or shallow fry them and serve them with chutney or tomato ketchup. All these starters are full of spicy and flavours. You can also prepare some famous street food as a starter. Read here for details - Delicious Indian Street Foods.

Main Course

The main course should always be fulfilling, healthy yet tasty. You can prepare lip-smacking sabzis like Paneer Butter Masala, Paneer Kadai,  Matar Paneer, Dum Aloo, Kofta Curry along with Parathas, Naan or Kulcha. And if you are a fan of Punjabi Chole, you can prepare Punjabi Chole or chana masala with Bhatura or Kulcha.  Ans yes no Indian meal is complete without rice, right? So to complete your main course with rice, you prepare Vegetable Pulav or Lemon Rice or Tawa Pulva. Don’t forget to serve Boodi Raita and Pickle/Papad with your rice.

Dessert

Now comes the best part of our grand festive menu and that is Desserts. After preparing your starters and main course, its time for preparing mouth-watering dessert. You can prepare traditional desserts like Kheer, Gajar (Carrot) Halwa, Sooji (Semolina) Halwa, Moong Dal Halwa, Rabri, Besan Laddoo, Gulab Jamun, Rasogulla, Coconut Barfi. All these sweets can be prepared a day before and enjoyed on the day of Raksha Bandhan. 

If it is difficult for you to prepare all the dishes at home due to your busy work schedule, you can check out JustHaat wide collection of Ready To Eat Meals. Made with the finest quality of ingredients and no artificial colour or preservatives, JustHaat Ready To Eat Meals are super tasty, delicious and perfect for your festive menu. 

Special Sweets

Sweets are an integral part of any Indian festivals. They become even more important for the Raksha Bandhan celebrations because, on the day of Raksha Bandhan, sister performs brother's aarti, puts tika on his forehead, ties Rakhi and offer sweet to him. So to complete your Rakhi celebration, we are here with a wide range of sweets made only for you. Being a trusted name as an Asian grocery store, we do care for our Indian customers and their needs from time to time. We are spread across the UK with our online store to cater to the ever-growing online demands. Do you have to wish Rakhi to your Siblings in the UK? Our online store JustHaat is just a store away and can help you get the best sweets your brother can ever get. It's not all about only sweets, rather you can lay your hands on the best deals for gift hampers, sweets, chocolates and much more. Also, We have a wide range of designer Rakhi and sweet hampers specially prepared to celebrate this special bond of love. Listed below are a few of our sweets, nothings waiting just to be ordered from your JustHaat store:

• Kaju Katli

• Kesar Peda

• Almond Pista Soan Papdi 

• Dry Petha

• Gajar Halwa

Happy Raksha Bandhan from all of us at JustHaat.com. Enjoy the sweetness of this festival and experience the happiness of online shopping with us and we will be at your service for all your online shopping needs promising speedy and timely delivery at your doorstep and that too at reasonable rates.

“Rakhi- The thread which binds and pulsates with sisterly love and sublime sentiments Signifies a bond of protection.”  To make this bond even stronger, connect with us and we promise to make your Raksha Bandhan a most memorable one.

With Diwali just around the corner, joy, excitement and preparations are at its peak. Yes, we are soon approaching the most awaited festival of the year, Diwali the festival of lights. Diwali is one of the festivals that is celebrated in almost every corner of the world.

It is celebrated as a victory of light over darkness, triumph of good over evil, and to honour Ramachandra, the seventh avatar (incarnation of the god Vishnu).

The gold lit colourful lamps, the artistic lanterns, the beautiful rangolis, the range of flowerpots, sparklers, crackers, shopping and a wide variety of sweets and savouries is a perfect picture we sketch in our minds when we talk about Diwali. It’s one of the festivals where you need not fast but simply feast & relish to the fullest. 

With the onset of this festival, people start shopping, decorate their homes, and prepare flavoursome sweets, snacks and other delicacies. There is a lot of positivity, happiness and joy around. The celebrations occur over a period of five days and include numerous traditions, activities, and, yes, tasty treats too. When we talk about tasty treats it is true that food plays a very important role in all celebrations. Sweets and snacks are an integral part of Diwali festival. Yes, gorging on these delicacies will definitely add a few calories on you. But hey it's Diwali, and indulgence is fine during the festival, we can have a detox week later.

Any Indian festival is incomplete without sweets. So, let's begin with the first things first. Have you ever wondered why sweets are an integral part of festival celebrations? Why do we gift our loved ones sweets? Why are Diwali sweets the most gifted item during the season? Let’s find out the significance of gifting sweets. Let’s get back to mythology, link the connections and find out:

• Legends have it that after the 14 years exile of Ram and Sita, they were returning back to Ayodhya. The defeat of Ravan and the victory of Ram symbolizes good over evil and so people welcome Lord Ram with decorative rangolis in front of their house and gave sweets to celebrate the happy occasion.

• The other epic story is when the Pandavas return from their 13-year exile imposed on them by the Kauravas over a gambling game. Hastinapura was fully illuminated with lights by the people and sweets were distributed as a sign of happiness and joy to welcome the Pandavas back.

• Diwali is also celebrated as the victory of Lord Krishna over the evil king Narakasura.

• In recent years  Diwali signifies the end of the harvest season and the beginning of a new year and so farmers exchange sweets with each other as a mark of celebrating the harvest and being thankful for the abundant crops. 

• It is also the start of the new accounting year for a businessman as they close their books of account during this period and celebrate their success.

All these stories and more call for celebration and victory and so it becomes very significant that sweets be a part of this grand celebration even now. Here are some traditional sweets which are prepared at almost every home before the festival sets in:

• Ladoos

A wide range of Ladoos is prepared for Diwali celebrations. Besan Ladoo, Coconut Ladoo, Boondi Ladoo, Rava Ladoo, Dry fruit Ladoo are some of the most famous varieties prepared. These Ladoos are extremely delicious. Make it, taste it, they just melt in your mouth.

• Mohanthal

Mohanthal is a fudge-like sweet made with gram flour, ghee, saffron and dry fruits. It has a mouth melting texture and delicious flavour. It is popularly made in Gujarat and Rajasthan on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. 

• Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun is one of the classic Indian sweets which is prepared on many festivals and special occasions. It’s easy to make and is preferred by all. The succulent sugar dipped juicy Jamuns are definitely a treat for everyone. Some like it hot, some like it cold. Hot or cold it’s simply yum.

• Halwa

The humble yet sweet treat halwa again is something made in almost every household be it any occasion. Halwa is an Indian version of a sweet pudding that is enjoyed during festivals, religious and special occasions. Wide variety of halwa like Gajar (carrot) Halwa, Lauki Halwa, Moong dal Halwa, Atta Halwa are prepared during the festive occasion of Diwali.

• Kaju Katli

Kaju Katli is a star of Indian sweets. It is one of the most famous sweets that is perfect for any celebrations, whether it be Raksha Bandhan, Navratri or Diwali. It’s an Indian version of fudge made with powdered cashew nuts and sugar. Nowadays there are many variations of Kaju Katli like Chocolate Kaju Katli, Kesar (saffron) Kaju Katli, Anjeer (fig) Kaju Katli and many more are prepared. Also, a wide variety of Kaju Rolls with different flavours like Kaju Anjeer roll, Kaju Pista Roll, Kaju Badam roll, Kaju Mawa roll are enjoyed.

• Gujiya

Diwali celebration is incomplete without Gujiyas. Gujiyas are sweet dumplings made of maida and filled with khoya and dry fruits mixture and deep-fried in ghee. The crisp outer layer and sweet inside filling will take on your senses. Nowadays Gujiyas are prepared with many variations like Coconut Gujiyas, Rava Gujiyas, and even chocolate Gujiyas are made.

• Barfi

No festival is complete without barfi. Whether it be festivals, celebrations or just what to indulge in sweets barfi is the perfect sweet. barfi is prepared from full-fat milk and sugar. A variety of flavours can be added to simple barfi to make it more tasty and delicious like Pista barfi, chocolate barfi, mango barfi, anjeer barfi and many more.  

We know your sweet cravings and we know this is the best time for such Indulgence. Preparing sweets and snacks can be a bit difficult if you are busy with other preparations and can’t find the time, don’t be disheartened. Be assured you can enjoy all this and more with JustHaat. We at justhaat.com have ensured that all of you enjoy and celebrate this Diwali to the fullest and so we have a wide range of sweets & snacks stacked on our shelves waiting to be picked just for you.

JustHaat's Diwali Special Sweets

• Kaju Katli

• Kaju Rolls

• Sweet Delight

• Pista Barfi

• Kesar Peda

• Motichoor Ladoo

• Rasmalai Tikki

• Rasgulla

• Gulab Jamun

• Moong Halwa

• Dry fruits

 ‘Let this Diwali be A sky full of lights, Mouth full of sweets and heart full of Joy.’ JustHaat wishes you all “A very happy and prosperous Diwali”. 

Have you ordered your sweet portion? No then, Hurry up. Order now and Grab this Season's Biggest Offers & deals from JustHaat.com.