This year is a special year for Indians all over the world. We are celebrating 70 years of Independence. 15th August 2017 marks the 71st Indian Independence Day.
15th August is also a special day in our home as it is my dad’s and my grandmother’s birthday. My grandma used to say that after India’s Independence, my dad was the best birthday gift she ever got! 🙂
Memories from the first Indian Independence Day
She would tell stories of 15th August 1947, a day that was both a victory and a tragedy in Indian history as it also marked the partition of the country and a lot of bloodshed. Delhi she would say was a sight. Streets were full of people as they came out in large numbers to celebrate and congratulate each other. Everybody was singing National songs like Vande Mataram and Kadam Kadam Badhaye ja. My grandmother said, she and her brothers all got new clothes and they roamed around with little India flags.
What a moment it must have been. It is such a rare moment to witness. As Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru had said in his speech as the first Prime Minister of Independent India,
“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.”
-Jawaharlal Nehru
Here is a video clip of the first Indian Independence Day: 15th August 1947
Even today 15th August and 26th January are days that fill our hearts with patriotism and love for our country. No matter where we are, it is a day of celebrating the tricolour and what it stands for.
- Saffron: for courage and sacrifice
- White: for purity
- Green: for prosperity
- The blue wheel: for progress
And especially when we are outside India, Indian Independence Day is an occasion to greet, gift and celebrate.
Independence Day Recipes
This year we have invited friends to our place to celebrate. Here are some of the dishes that I will be preparing for the Independence Day dinner.
Click on any of the Images below for the recipe or follow the links at the bottom.
- Mango and Lime cooler
- Sprouted Moong Salad
- Shaam Savera
- Potato curry in Coconut sauce
- Plain Paratha
- Chana-Kishmish Pulao
- Tricolour sandwiches
- Almond and Saffron Phirni
Some staple accompaniments on the table will be roasted papads, plain homemade yogurt, coriander and mint chutney with gathiya and chilli-garlic chutney. If you have guests who prefer gluten-free, make some millets bread like this bajre ki roti or millet stir-fry.
Happy Independence Day!
Connect with me
How do you celebrate your National Day? Join us in our Indian Independence Day food celebrations!
If you try this recipe, I would love to know how it went. Tag your picture with #weekendkitchen on Instagram or connect with me on Facebook.
Would love to start a conversation, share recipes, cooking experiences and food stories from India and around the world.
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