59 Diwali Recipes for a Bright, Festive, and Sweet Holiday
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Diwali is a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness—and of really, really good food. During the course of the five-day festival, people from across the globe come together to rejoice and eat delicious Diwali recipes with friends, family, and loved ones.
But Diwali might look a little different again this year. Maybe your celebration of the festival of lights will be small and intimate, or maybe you’re planning to throw a slightly bigger shindig and use your backyard (with a little heated seating) for a last bash before winter sets in. In either case you’ll need plenty of good things to eat.
The recipes below include several non-vegetarian options, which are not traditional; some folks may avoid meat during the festival season. But rest assured, we’ve included plenty of vegetarian dishes as well, so there’s something for everyone to enjoy, including cheesy appetizers, hearty mains—and lots and lots of sweets. Because it’s not Diwali without dessert.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou1/59Cheesy Samosa Puffs
Snacks are a crucial component of every Diwali party, and these samosa puffs increase the fun factor, with light and crispy pastry encasing a soft, cheesy interior. The cheddar cheese melts into the spiced potato mash once baked. Serve with your choice of hot sauce or green chutney for an added punch, and this is sure to become one of your favorite Diwali recipes.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou2/59Khajur Ladu (Date, Pistachio, and Almond Morsels)
These easy-to-make date balls from Epi contributor Nandita Godbole are nutty and fudgy—without any chocolate. Read more about these Diwali sweets here.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou3/59Chicken Yakhni Pulao
The essence of this pulao is the yakhni, which means meat stock or broth: The delicate flavor of the chicken stock is absorbed by the rice. Do use chicken thighs on the bone when preparing the stock rather than boneless thighs or breasts to ensure the stock has lots of flavor.
Photo & Food Styling by Tara O'Brady4/59Homestyle Dosas with Tomato Chutney
Dosas are completely attainable at home (especially if you follow Tara O'Brady's step-by-step instructions). These ones, left unfilled, are delicious with the tomato and onion chutney, but a coconut chutney would be an excellent move, too.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton6/59Ghurma Aloo
This quick stew of pan-fried potatoes, tomatoes, and onions flavored with whole cumin seeds and ground turmeric comes from Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell7/59Paneer Butter Masala
This deeply satisfying recipe for butter paneer comes from Meera Sodha's Fresh India. Here, cubes of creamy paneer simmer in a tomato-based sauce that's been enlivened with ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, fenugreek, and more.
Photo by David Loftus13/59Gulab Jamuns in Rose Syrup
“It's not Diwali without sweets," says our Executive Editor, Sonia Chopra, “and syrupy gulab jamuns are a favorite across communities who celebrate.” Meera Sodha calls them “pretty little milky doughnuts [that are] burnished bronze on the outside, white and cakey inside, and soaked to the core with delicately flavored syrup." In this recipe, also from Sodha's Fresh India, that syrup is delicately flavored with rose water and cardamom.
Photo & Food Styling by Joseph De Leo14/59Sumac and Saffron Refresher
Earlier this year, Epi's Lauren Joseph wrote about how she turned to this drink from Nik Sharma's Flavor Equation as a way to celebrate the saffron she reserves in her cupboard for special occasions. Here, she says “saffron really gets its moment, as the delicate threads are ground with sugar and combined with sumac, which is acidic and bitter. The resulting drink is tangy and refreshing, but with a subtlety and harmony to it."
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Susan Spungen15/59Cardamom-Pistachio Carrot Cake
In this recipe from Epi contributor Sohla El-Waylly, a spiced single-layer cake is glazed with a sweet cream and carrot juice reduction, reminiscent of halwa.
Photo by David Loftus16/59Cardamom Kheer
This aromatic rice pudding from Meera Sodha's East is flavored with cinnamon and cardamom, and gets a kaleidoscopic topping of pistachios ground with sugar and edible flowers.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton18/59Chhena Poda
This sweet and creamy bronzed paneer cheesecake from chef Maneet Chauhan's Chaat is definitely a Diwali dessert showstopper. Start with homemade paneer for the best texture—it's more like ricotta than it is like the bricks of paneer that you'd buy at the store. Chauan and her coauthor Jody Eddy walked us through their technique as well as the history of the cake.
Photo by Peden + Munk19/59Chile-and-Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken
Eating meat isn't traditional for Diwali, but if you do partake, may we make the case for this chicken dish from London restaurant, Gunpowder? Just marinate chicken thighs in a powerfully aromatic yogurt sauce and then let them get nice and charred on the grill.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton20/59Shaak-no Sambharo
This recipe from Epi contributor and cookbook author Nandita Godbole calls for any mix of cauliflower, carrots, radish, or radish pods, which soak up a brine spiced with mustard and fenugreek.
Photo by Kim Lightbody21/59Gajjar Ka Halwa
In her cookbook Asma's Indian Kitchen, Asma Khan notes that this carrot and cream pudding is “not a quick dish.” Instead, she writes that while the dessert is relatively easy to make, you'll need "great patience and a killer playlist” as you keep a watchful eye on the slow-simmering pot.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton23/59Pistachio-Rose Shortbread Squares
Freeze-dried raspberries give these cookies from Epi contributor Tara O'Brady a festive, colorful, and full-flavored sugar-crusted edge.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Molly Baz25/59Peanut Drinking Snack
Novelist (and Epi contributor) Rumaan Alam based this savory snack on one he enjoyed at a bar in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The combination of lime zest and juice, chiles, and cilantro gives the peanuts tons of flavor.
Photo by Jonathan Gregson26/59Sooji Halva
Legendary cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey says you can eat this almond- and pistachio-studded confection in one of two ways: soft and warm straight from the pan, or pressed into a tin, cooled and cut into squares. The recipe comes from her book, Vegetarian India: A Journey Through the Best of Indian Home Cooking.
Photo & Food Styling by Joseph De Leo27/59Baigan Chokha
This Indo-Caribbean eggplant purée is part of our Wednesday Night Trinidadian roundup, curated by Ramin Ganeshram. (It also appears in her book, Sweet Hands: Island Cooking From Trinidad and Tobago.)
Photo by Evan Sung29/59Down South Goat Biryani
Executive Editor Sonia Chopra calls biryani “one of the ultimate celebration dishes in India." Asha Gomez's version, from her first cookbook, My Two Souths, layers goat and aromatics with fluffy basmati rice.
Photo by David Loftus30/59Pista Kesar Kulfi
In Made in India, Meera Sodha writes that “the two most elegant ingredients in the Indian pantry [pistachios and saffron] go hand in hand in this recipe to create one of India’s most famous kulfis.”
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton31/59Khara Huggi or Pongal
This comforting savory rice and lentil porridge comes from Epi contributor Chita Agrawal. If you're in the mood for a sweet porridge, she says that you can omit the spices and sub in sugar, golden raisins, and ground cardamom to taste. (Don't have Agrawal's cookbook, Vibrant India? It's time to fix that!)
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Erika Joyce33/59Buss Up Shut (Paratha Roti)
When the rest of the country seemed to be tackling quarantine sourdough, Epi contributor Ramin Ganeshram took the time to perfect her paratha roti technique, and shared with us the tricks she learned along the way.
Photo by Martin Poole34/59Carrot, Onion, and Spinach Bhajias With Mango Chutney
These vegetable fritters come from Anjali Pathak's The Indian Family Kitchen. She serves them with her riff on mango chutney, which is spiked with bourbon—the booze adds warming depth to the sweet and spicy sauce.
Photo & Food Styling by Joseph De Leo36/59Ginger and Tamarind Refresher
This drink from Season by Nik Sharma is cooling, gently spicy, tart-sweet, and so delicious that it's one of the first things we make when there's tamarind on hand.
Photo by Jonathan Gregson37/59Bonda or Batata Vada
This Diwali recipe for spiced potato fritters coated in a batter of chickpea flour mixed with rice flour, leavening, and spices comes from Madhur Jaffrey's Vegetarian India.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Claire Saffitz38/59Yogurt-Braised Chicken Legs With Garlic and Ginger
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton39/59Cabbage Palya With Coconut and Lemon
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton43/59Naan
This recipe for the classic stove-top cooked, yogurt-enriched flatbread comes from Tara O'Brady's cookbook Seven Spoons.
Photo by Shimon and Tammar44/59Masala Popcorn
This imminently snackable recipe from Rasika: Flavors of India is chef Vikram Sunderam's take on chiwda, a sweet and savory mix often made with puffed rice, dried fruit, nuts, spices, and herbs. He says “it's a mainstay during Diwali, much like you'd have Chex Mix during the American holiday season.”
Photo by Marcus Nilsson46/59Rose and Yogurt Panna Cotta
Chef Vivek Surti of Tailor restaurant in Nashville based this delicately flavored dessert on falooda. The toppings consist of fresh berries, golden raisins, chopped pistachios, and a basil seed gel.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Ali Nardi48/59Lamb-Fry
This flavorful lamb stir-fry from Maya Kaimal's Curried Flavors: Family Recipes From South India is a specialty of Kerala. It's ideal for a Diwali spread, served with an array of condiments and accoutrements.
Photo by Noel Barnhurst50/59Royal Chicken Cooked in Yogurt
Braise chicken with almonds, golden raisins, and spiced yogurt for this take on Royal Chicken from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking.
Photo by Shimon and Tammar51/59Gujarati Eggplant and Sweet Potato "Lasagna" With Kadi Sauce
This playful riff on veggie lasagna from chef Vikram Sunderam's Rasika pairs chickpea-flour noodles with eggplant, sweet potatoes, and chile- and ginger-spiced tomato and yogurt sauces.
Photo by Christian Lalonde, Image Courtesy of Figure 1 Publishing53/59Mango Curry
This vibrant curry of unripe green mangoes cooked in coconut vinegar, coconut milk, and spices from Joe Thottungal's Coconut Lagoon: Recipes from a South Indian Kitchen is a staple in Kerala.
54/59Kiribath
Unlike some versions of coconut rice, this one from the cookbook Sri Lanka by Prakash K. Sivanathan and Niranjala M. Ellawala is cooked without sugar. Serve it with Pol Sambol, a savory and spicy coconut relish.
55/59Prawn Moilee
This light, fragrant and utterly delicious south-Indian-style curry from Dishoom: From Bombay With Love by Shamil Thakrar, Kavi Thakrar, and Naved Nasir is packed with juicy shrimp and tempered with coconut milk. It's one of the best things we've cooked in recent memory.
Photo by Martin Poole57/59Paneer and Broccoli Masala
Pan-fry the paneer in this recipe from Anjali Pathak's The Indian Family Kitchen before stirring it through the masala to add a bit of texture and encourage it to soak up even more flavor.
59/59Poori
Don't have enough Diwali recipes yet? Don't skip this puffy fried bread from Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking by Julie Sahni. It's made with chapati flour, a finely milled whole wheat.
