Tastes of Diwali

Diwali is a time of sharing, family togetherness, rangoli making, preparing a festive table and of course dressing up!

Diwali is always followed by our New Year, the day after, and so we visit the elders of the family on this day, for their blessings for the year ahead, as well as inviting friends and family home.

Rangoli - making a design on a board with vibrant coloured powders - goes hand in hand with Diwali. Traditionally rangolis are done at the entrance of the home (gharna aangane) but this is practically tricky in London, with smaller houses and colder weather meaning they can quickly be spoilt.

Bhel, a wonderful mix of ingredients and chutneys, has become our family Diwali dish over the years, made fresh each time so that it remains crunchy. My father is usually the chief mixer and creator, swiftly putting together all the ingredients in one bowl and mixing it, adding just the right amount of chutneys to make it sour, sweet and spicy! 

Here’s a slightly different version of Bhel that I make, with the addition of quinoa, making it more filling and of course healthy. I’ve also added watermelon here, adapted from a recipe in my cookbook, Saffron Soul, but this is totally optional.

Sweet potato and quinoa bhel

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, boiled in roughly double the quantity of water
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, chopped in small cubes and boiled until a little soft (around 10-15 minutes)
• 1-2 red onions, finely chopped
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
• few tablespoons roasted red pepper chutney (see below for recipe)
• few tablespoons coriander cashew chutney (see below for recipe)
• Few tablespoons yoghurt chutney (see below for recipe)
• few tablespoon imli (date and tamarind) chutney (see below for recipe)
• juice of 1 lemon
• seeds of 1 pomegranate
• 1 bowl of mamra, puffed rice and/or sev*
• 2 apples, chopped in cubes
• handful pomegranate seeds, for garnishing
• coriander leaves, chopped, for garnishing 

*if you don’t have this, use crushed nachos. Mamra, sev or nachos is to add the crunch to the bhel!

Method

When ready to serve and eat, mix together all the bhel ingredients with a few tablespoons of each of the chutneys below.

Add salt to taste, add a little more chutney if needed, and serve with garnishings of coriander leaves or crunchy sev.

Lots of layering, lots of colour and lots of texture!

Red pepper chutney

Roughly chop 2 red peppers, then roast in the oven or sauté in a pan.

Once cooked, blend the red peppers with:

• handful cashews (preferably soaked for 1 hour or overnight)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• half a glass of water (just enough to blend)

Coriander cashew chutney

Blend the following ingredients together:

• small bunch coriander leaves (with stalks)
• half a bowl of cashews (preferably soaked for 1 hour or overnight)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• juice of 1 lemon or lime
• 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar
• half a glass of water (just enough to blend) 

Yoghurt chutney

Spoon yoghurt into a small bowl, and mix with a few tablespoons of water to make it runny. Add half a teaspoon of chilli powder and salt to taste.

Imli chutney

This can be quite the process to make at home. The recipe is available in my book Saffron Soul, but it’s quite easy to find this chutney in supermarkets or online. If it is very thick, then just water down: you should be able to drizzle this chutney.