Why are pistachios colored red?
This practice has an ancient history, rooted in Hindu mythology. The goddess Kali, wild-woman consort to Shiva, is often portrayed naked with a long tongue and bloody fangs. She’s got dark skin and red eyes, wears a necklace of skulls and has a number of arms carrying unspeakable things. She laughs loudly and dances madly. Forget horses–Kali rides lions and tigers. One might think she’s dangerous and out of control, but I tell you, it gives you a sense of peace and security to have her on your side. She is powerfully destructive but also awesomely creative. And it’s not a party unless she’s there. The specific story that spawned the red pistachio tradition was the one about the demon, Raktabija. Nobody could kill this guy. Every drop of his blood landing on the battlefield would transform itself into a mini-Raktabija clone. So pretty soon there was a whole squadron of Raktabijas. The other gods went to Shiva for help, but he was too busy meditating in the forest. (Who could blame him?
