Feast on the dazzling diversity of India’s culinary reach for Diwali and beyond.
By Swathi Reddy
Updated on 11/1/2021 at 5:37 PM
Indians may be known the world over for their vibrant and colorfully chaotic culture of celebration, but here’s the clincher: They do next to nothing without a glorious, dizzying array of feast-worthy food to tie it all together. And this is especially true for Diwali, the shimmering annual Hindu festival of lights which celebrates the triumph of good over evil, starting on November 4 this year.
Also known as Deepavali (“row of lights”), as the story goes, diyas (clay oil lamps) were lit many thousands of years ago to illuminate the city of Ayodhya to guide Lord Rama and his wife Sita back to their kingdom after a 14-year exile. Today, to observe the festival, many Indians light up their homes with diyas to attract the blessings of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of auspicious beginnings and remover of obstacles (particularly beloved by children for his seriously relatable sweet tooth). While deeper philosophical and spiritual sentiments are woven throughout regional Indian customs—ultimately it is about the emergence of light from a period of darkness, welcoming an onset of new beginnings.
So just how over the top is it? “Diwali is almost a culmination of bringing together the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. So if you include all of these, that is what Diwali is,” says Julie Sahni—the legendary Brooklyn-based doyenne of Indian cuisine and classically-trained chef, author, and culinary teacher. Renowned for introducing Americans to the foods of India, Sahni launched her eponymous cooking school in 1973, and is featured in the upcoming book, Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America, releasing later this month.
