Kajjaya — the Deepawali sweet I grew up on

Kajjaya is a Karnataka sweet — dark, fried, a little sesame on top — and one of those smells I'll always file under Deepawali.

I like mine crunchy on the outside, which is how my mum makes them. Others keep them soft, with a gooey centre, and eat them with a bit of mashed banana — that's how my grandpa took his. He had a serious sweet tolerance, probably because sweets were rare back then; nothing like how often we reach for them now.

Mum makes a big batch every Deepawali. We share it around — neighbours, friends, relatives — and still have enough to snack on for the better part of a month.

The making is trickier than it looks. I'll write that part up properly soon.