The sweets in this article share three qualities: they use ingredients from an ordinary Indian kitchen, they need nothing more than a heavy pan and a plate, and they are done in under an hour including cooling. Each makes about 20 pieces, enough for the puja, the family and two neighbours.
Continue reading Five Easy Diwali Sweets You Can Make in Under an Hour
Dry fruits are the Diwali gift that rarely gets passed on. They suit almost every diet and age, they keep for months, and they get used up at exactly the time of year when the house is full of guests and someone in the kitchen is making kheer or ladoos for the third time that week. If you are stuck on what to give someone, dry fruits are the safe answer, unless you know they have a nut allergy.
Continue reading Dry Fruit Gifting Guide: How to Choose, Store and Present Dry Fruits
For every box of sweets that changes hands at Diwali, a tin of something salty and crisp sits on the kitchen counter, opened every time someone walks in. In Maharashtra it is called faral; in Gujarat, nasta; in the north, simply namkeen. Whatever the name, it is the food that actually gets eaten over the five days, because nobody can manage a ladoo at every visit.
Continue reading Diwali Snacks and Savouries: Namkeen, Chakli, Mathri and the Faral Platter
Sweets are the currency of Diwali. They are the offering at the puja, the gift to the neighbour, the thing on the table when anyone walks in. Most families have a fixed list of the ones that must be there, and most of those lists overlap.
Continue reading Classic Diwali Sweets and Where They Come From
