3 Different Diwali Dinner Menus
Diwali, festival of lights, is all about bringing families and friends together. And when your loved ones are around, you know there has to be delicious food to make it more joyful! Festive gatherings can get overwhelming when you have to plan everything. So let me help you lessen that burden with deciding on what to make for Diwali feast!
I personally like to serve 2-3 fun items for appetizers. Then for main course I like to add paneer dish, vegetable dish and lentil/beans dish. Rotis, naan, kulcha which I tend to just get pre-made and plain rice or biryani goes well with main course. And then end it with couple of amazing desserts which can be prep ahead!
Here is an option 1 for Diwali menu. Most of the recipes are linked below, and couple of things you can simply find on my Instagram @myvegetarianroots. And them being Festive Dabeli Board as well as Indian chopped salad with Papad!
Appetizers
Tiny little crispy savory chickpea flour balls coated with sweet and salty yogurt, topped with boiled potatoes, chickpeas, onions and drizzled with sweet and spicy chutney to make a perfect summer time chaat!!
flavored potato mixture pressed between buns, loaded with sweet, spicy, garlic chutney and garnished with spicy peanuts, pomegranate, onions, cilantro, thin sev.
Rice flour slowly added to the boiling mix of green chilli, cumin seeds and carom seeds until thick soft dough and then steamed.
Main Course
Rich creamy tomato based curry with soft paneer, flavored with delicate spices makes one of the most comforting vegetarian curries of all time!!
Mix of cauliflower, potatoes, peas, cherry tomatoes, onions are coated with extremely flavorful oil and spice mix and then roasted/baked to perfection!
Extremely comforting, perfectly flavored and textures dal fry made with assorted lentils and basic spice blend.
Creamy whole black beans (whole urad) and red kidney beans (rajma) curry simmered in butter, cream and very subtle spices on low heat.
Light fluffy cumin rice made with long grain basmati rice, salt, cumin seeds and ghee in an Instant Pot just like restaurants style!
Dessert
Homemade Indian style condensed milk like dessert made with milk, dry figs, cashews along with some subtle sweet dry spices!!
Eggless Indian shortbread biscuits made with all purpose flour, almond flour and with hint of rose and coconut.
Here is an option 2 for Diwali menu. Most of the recipes are linked below, and couple of things you can simply find on my Instagram @myvegetarianroots. And them being Lachcha Onions as well as Beetroot Raita!
Appetizers
Pan fried samosa tikki topped with chana masala, sweet & spicy chutney, yogurt, crunchy onions, tomatoes, sev, cilantro
Slathered with spicy goat cheese and topped with Indian street style chana dal, loaded with juicy sweet and sour peach, crunchy veggies, just right amount of spices with lemon and cilantro!!
Spicy tangy savory coconut filling is coated with mild potato layer and deep fried to perfection, one a kind Surati street food that is a must try!
Main Course
Delicately flavored peas and fenugreek leaves curry that is creamy dreamy comforting hug to your belly!
Dish that is a combination of Gujarati lasaniya bataka and Kashmiri dum aloo, Creamy garlicky baby potatoes cooked in an immensely delicious curry!
Grilled/roasted minced eggplant cooked with herbs and spices
Mix of basmati rice, refreshing hariyali paneer, and bunch of veggie along with yogurt, mint, kasuri methi and spices!
Dessert
A fusion dessert that is delicious combination of sweet Surati sweet Ghari, made with mixed ground nuts, milk mawa, ghee and sugar that is baked in puff pastries and topped with ooey gooey glaze.
Super moist basundi cake is an Indian flavored Tres Leches Cake. It is loaded with very popular Indian dessert basundi (homemade evaporated milk), condensed milk and whipping cream with nuts cardamom and saffron!!
Here is an option 3 for Diwali menu. Most of the recipes are linked below, and couple of things you can simply find on my Instagram @myvegetarianroots. And them being Lachcha Onions as well as Crunchy Veggie Raita!
Appetizers
Buttery crumbled paneer cooked with fresh herbs and spices, mixed with creamy savory cheese and served it as dip with buttery garlic naan dippers!
A Gujarati delicacy made with chickpea lentils and basic spices. This soft and grainy textured goodie is a great balance of spicy, sour and sweet flavors that just melts into your mouth.
Spicy shallow fry potato tikki, loaded with spices, cilantro, curry leaves, crunchy lentils, bunch of chutneys, onions, and pepper jack cheese
Main Course
Bright green creamy spinach curry made with lots of fiber, delicate spices and either spiced up paneer or curried tofu
Spiced up scrambled tofu with added cottage cheese to make protein rich creamy bhurji that will take you back to the street foods of India.
Garlicky Okra with Potatoes cooked with fenugreek seeds and garlic along with onions and spices, make a perfect masala okra fry!!
Mix of basmati rice, tandoori paneer, tandoori onions and veggie mix along with yogurt, mint, kasuri methi, saffron and whole lot of spices. Everything is layered up and cooked inside a dutch oven to make a perfect vegetarian biryani!
Dessert
Level up your store bought cake mix with one of the very famous Indian beverage Falooda flavors along with basil/chia seeds, vermicelli, dry fruits and rose syrup along with fresh cream frosting!
I also like to serve some munchies for fun. Mainly dry Indian snacks you find at Indian grocery stores. Mahiya, chorafali, chakri, papdi gathiya, kaju katli, peda, spicy nuts all are some good options. For condiments I love serving sweet, spicy, galicky chutneys as well as Indian style Pickled jalapeños.
I hope you find this Diwali menu helpful. If you end up making any of these recipes, leave me a comment blow or tab me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots. I would love to get feedback from you!
Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali!