Diwali, The Festival of Lights Brings Delicious Bites

Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, is one of the most celebrated festivals within the Hindu, Jain, and Sikh communities. From savory to sweet treats, millions of families look forward to celebrating and cooking up a storm in the kitchen for this auspicious time of year.

spread of diwali foods with diyas

Festive season calls for festive recipes, so we added a bit of a twist on some traditional savory and sweet dishes.

HOMEMADE PANEER

Learn how to make fresh paneer right at home. With this homemade paneer recipe, you can make any of our main dishes right from scratch!

Ingredients:

Preparation:

  1. In a large non-stick pot, bring the milk to a boil and reduce the flame to a simmer. Continue to stir the milk as it boils so it doesn’t stick or burn.
  2. As the milk simmers, line a colander in the sink with cheesecloth.
  3. Once the milk begins to simmer, add in the vinegar and mix it in well. Continue to simmer the milk for a few minutes until you see the milk beginning to split and curds begin to form.
  4. Turn off the stove and pour the contents into the cheese cloth lined colander.
  5. Rinse with a little water and squeeze out the liquid with the cheese cloth.
  6. If you are making a recipe that doesn’t call for blocks of paneer, step 6 will be your final step.
  7. If you are making a recipe that does call for blocks of paneer, twist the cheese cloth entirely and squeeze out any excess liquid. Leave the twisted cheese cloth in the colander for 10 minutes so remaining liquid continues to strain.
  8. On a plate or board, flatten the paneer, keeping it wrapped in the cheese cloth and place a heavy object like a heavy plate on top of it. Keep it in the refrigerator like that for about 2 hours to let it set.
  9. Remove from the refrigerator and cut it into cubes for recipes that call for cubes of paneer.

 

PANEER THREE WAYS

Paneer, which is a cheese that can easily be made at home with whole milk, is a common ingredient in many recipes. Try one of all of our top three paneer recipes to make for Diwali. Nothing more satisfying for us than creating dishes that the entire family will enjoy.

Tandoori Paneer Kebabs

skewers

Masala Paneer Street Tacos

paneer tacos

Chili Paneer Naan Pizza

naan pizza

APPETIZER

Our Masala Corn Cheese Toast will light up any Diwali party and is even a great recipe to make all year round.

Masala Corn Cheese Toast

Two whole and one half-cut masala cornbread cheese toast over a white table.

DESSERT

You can’t celebrate Diwali without sweet treats. As they say, it’s not officially Diwali unless happiness is in the air and sweets are everywhere! Here are two absolute must-make desserts.

Mango Kalakand

Delicious Indian mango kalakand squares on a silver plate, over a marble table.

No-Bake Mango Pie

no-bake mango pie