Diwali Recipes

40+ Best Diwali Recipes

The festival of lights, Diwali is India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year, celebrated over 5 days in autumn. Diwali signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair – ideologies that are at the core of my family’s values. 

It is my favorite Indian festival and I have many fond memories of it growing up. My love for celebrating is a result of my mom’s passion for this holiday. 

Like my mom, I prepare for Diwali almost a month in advance. Making the special sweet and savory treats (also known as faral) used to be a daunting task when I started following mom’s recipes. However, over the years as I have learned the techniques of making each Diwali recipe and the process has become fun and enjoyable. Also, the end result of seeing my friends and family enjoy the special Diwali treats is very satisfying.

My mom was recently visiting from India and we had so much fun cooking together. I made it a point to learn our family recipes and her tips and tricks for Diwali sweets and snacks recipes including authentic Bhajani Chakli, Rose Coconut Karanji and Spinach Sev. 

The first sweet recipe we made was Shankarpali or Shakarpara, my kid’s favorite. When my boys were in elementary school, we loved celebrating Diwali in their classroom. We explained the story of Diwali, children painted and decorated clay diyas, and then everyone enjoyed these irresistible bite-sized sugar cookies.

We also made my mom’s Besan Ladoo which are creamy, melt-in-your-mouth dessert balls. They are one of the easiest Diwali recipes and are made with a handful of ingredients. These won’t last long in your house, and your kids will love you for packing this sweet treat in their lunch boxes.

After making all of the faral we move on to Diwali decorations. The boys have started to pick up on the tradition and enjoy decorating the house with lanterns and lights. After they are done the house looks so festive. And the best part is having it filled with family, friends and the aroma of the Diwali treats and other festive meals such as puran poli, mango shrikhand, and creamy rice kheer, just to name a few! 

I’m thrilled to share these Diwali recipes with you. I hope you enjoy these easy Indian sweet and savory snack recipes in your home as much as we do. 

May the divine light of Diwali bring into your life peace, prosperity, happiness, and good health. Happy Diwali and Enjoy!