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Sanjana Modha shares her experiences of Diwali growing up in a Hindu home and talks us through some of her favourite celebratory dishes

By Sanjana Modha

A festival of light, life and love, Diwali is a celebration of togetherness and a time of reflection and gratitude. With our busy lifestyles, it’s a moment to stop, breathe and connect with family and friends.

Growing up in a Hindu home, I was surrounded by the vibrant colours, bright lights, the joyous music, and the sense of community that comes with Diwali. It was always truly uplifting and sharing delicious food was – and still is – always a big part of the festivities.

Now, as an adult, Diwali is very much the same as it has always been for me. Warm family gatherings, fireworks, masses of food to pack up and send out both in person and by post.

The best thing is that I now celebrate with my son, Bodhi and all the other children who’ve come along since I was a little apprentice. They all enjoy getting involved in the cooking. Seeing their faces light up when making and eating sweets like lemon Laddoos adds extra sparkle to an already magical time of year. I can’t wait to do it all again this year.

Whether you celebrate every year or are enjoying it for the first time, here’s how you can create dishes that match the festivities…

When I was younger, I’d watch my mum create the grandest platters of glimmering sweets like laddoos, biscuits, jalebi and barfi to take to the temple as offerings (prashad) and to gift to family and friends.

I was awe-struck every single time, since she’d go all out on the edible glitters, gold and silver edible foils and other decorations. As I grew older, I watched and learned, offering a hand whenever I could, just as she did with her own father.

While some Indian sweets can take effort and experience to prepare, there are many easy options that look just as lovely. My easy rose and pistachio shortbreads, lemon laddoos and dark mango and ginger rocky road are effortless recipes if you’d like to make something yourself.

If time isn’t on your side this year, you could always fill a little gift box with mixed roasted nuts (sweet or savoury), shop-bought chocolates or even a fruit basket and tie it with a ribbon. The offering of something to eat and nourish is the message we’re trying to convey.

Snacks and party foods are vital

Diwali food is a snackish sort of affair. Crunchy, savoury, salty, spicy and sweet flavours are the beating heart of what we cook, eat and share.

Savoury options

I cook all the classics – including making my own chevdo – a savoury snack similar to Bombay mix. And, there are lots of options that are simple to make and great to share. Here are a few of my favourites…

Samosa swirl

This is a joy to make, since you can satiate your samosa cravings without any of the folding and deep frying it takes to make them. In this recipe, ready-rolled puff pastry does all the hard work for you.

You stir-fry onion, ginger and chilli and after a few minutes add coarsely chopped (defrosted) frozen veg and boiled potatoes and garam masala together with other seasonings. Once coated, you mash it all together until it’s smooth and cool it– chilling in the fridge prior to use.

Then, you spread it over a sheet of puff pastry which you then roll into a log shape, chopping in half and rolling both into thinner rope shapes. You then coil them around each other. Once baked it looks so impressive – despite being simple to make. It’s a real crowd pleaser.

Indian cheese ball

While you need to prep this the day before, it really is about as simple as it gets and when served, becomes a showstopping centrepiece. It’s a fab cheeseboard-style addition for parties.

You take cream cheese, finely-grated mature cheddar cheese, chilli flakes, coriander and mango chutney and mix them together in a large bowl until thick and creamy. You then wrap it in clingfilm in a ball shape and stick it in the fridge for a day or two to firm up.

When you’re ready to serve, you sprinkle Bombay mix and pomegranate seeds on a large plate and roll the cheese onto the mix making sure it’s evenly coated, then place a selection of crackers around it and serve. The key is to only add the Bombay mix right before serving to prevent it from turning soggy.

Sweet options

When you want to deliver the wow factor at Diwali use lots of embellishments, including edible silver and gold foils, sugar decorations, dried edible flower petals, dried fruits and nuts. They’ll add both flavour, texture and a touch of glamour.

Spices like saffron, cardamom, nutmeg, aniseed and mace are typically used for flavouring Indian sweets and food colours or natural food dyes can be used to make dishes look as vibrant as possible.

I’m a fan of taking traditional sweet dishes, which are full of nostalgia and giving them a modern twist, they’re a bit of me, really! I’ve created the following which taste as good as they look…

Saffron, pistachio and white chocolate Viennese biscuits

These are a beautiful gift for boxing up and sharing with friends and family. They require few ingredients to make but you will need a piping bag and nozzle. You sift flour, custard powder, icing sugar, salt and saffron into a bowl, then add your butter and mix until you’ve got a soft, sticky dough. You then pipe it onto a baking tray and bake. Once cooled you add your toppings.

The key is that before you begin, you must make sure the butter is extremely soft or you may have difficulty squeezing the piping bag hard enough to extrude the dough. If this happens, don’t worry. Simply leave it out on the counter in a warm place for it to soften further before piping.

Lemon laddoos

Said to be the god Ganesha’s favourite treat, laddoos are always served during Diwali. If you’re preparing treats with younger family members, these are a good option because they’re super simple to mix and shape into balls.

I use custard creams in mine which I blitz in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs and then stir in milk powder. After putting that aside, I heat condensed milk, water and lemon zest in a pan until the mix starts to bubble.

I combine the milk mixture and biscuit crumb together and when cool, form it into 18 balls. Finally, I roll them in desiccated coconut. Alternatively, you could get creative and cover them in anything from colourful sprinkles to edible glitters and flower petals.

Gulab Jamun-inspired Monkey Bread

This is the ultimate sweet showstopper for any Diwali party. The classic version requires lots of effort – from making a complex milk dough and deep frying it, to making your own syrup. But this version, requires minimal fuss and still delivers on the key flavours of rosewater and cardamom and the texture of the pillowy-soft nuggets of bread.

After making your dough you divide it into small balls and dip into a mix of butter and rose water, before tossing and coating in brown sugar, you then place them all in a bundt tin. After letting them rise for 30 minutes and then baking, you turn the tin upside down on a plate and top the bready cake with pistachios and rose petals.

Published October 2024