It’s finally Diwali time and I couldn’t be more excited. Without a doubt, Diwali is my most favourite Indian festival.
The lights filled the streets, rangolis, card parties and whatnot, but one thing that I love most about it is the food. We all know that no Indian festival is complete without good food and Diwali is no exception.
Back in India, my Mum would always prepare a grand meal on Diwali and then serve it in those big thalis. I always try and follow the traditions and make sure that I cook something special, but this year I went a step further and prepared a Grand Diwali Thali with Shan Foods.
For the thali I decided to make Punjabi Chole, Aloo Bhaaji, Dal Tadka, Vegetable Dum Biryani, Cucumber Raita, Badam Kheer, Gulab Jamun, Popadum and Chapati. I was really excited to prepare this Grand Thali and had so much fun while cooking all the dishes. So, I thought why not share some recipes that I cooked with you all. Keep reading for the recipes and to know how to make most of Diwali at home click here.
Punjabi Chole
This is my mother’s recipe and every time I am craving Punjabi Chole made by her, this recipes comes in handy. Whenever I cook this I make sure that I send her a picture.
Punjabi Chole
Equipment
- Blender
- Pan
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 2 chopped Onions
- 3 chopped Tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Shan Chana masala
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala
- 1 tbsp Coriander powder
- 2 cups soaked & boiled Chickpeas
For garnishing
- 1 Lemon
- Chopped Coriander
Instructions
- Heat oil in the pan and add cumin seeds. Cook the cumin seeds for 1-2 minutes and add ginger-garlic paste.
- After the ginger-garlic paste is well cooked and is slightly golden in colour add chopped onions.
- Once the onions are light pink in colour add chopped tomatoes, salt, Shan chana masala and cook for few minutes. Add garam masala & coriander powder and let it simmer for some time.
- The next step is to keep the mixture aside and let it cool for sometime. Once it has cooled down, pour the mixture into a blender and blend it to make the gravy.
- Put the gravy back on the flame and add soaked & boiled chickpeas into it. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.
- Your Punjabi Chole are ready. Garnish with lemon juice and coriander and serve with chapati
Vegetable Dum Biryani
Vegetable Dun biryani is one of my favourite Indian dishes, because it has lots of veggies. For this one, I added a little modern twist to the traditional dum biryani recipe.
Vegatable Dum Biryani
Equipment
- Pan
- Oven
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon Jeera
- 1 chopped Onion
- 1 chopped Tomato
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Shan Biryani masala
- 1 chopped Potato
- 2 bowls chopped Mixed vegetables
- 1 bowl Yogurt
- 4 cups Boiled rice
For garnishing
- Fried onion
Instructions
- Heat cooking oil in the pan and add jeera. Cook the jeera for 1 minute.
- Add chopped onions and cook them until they turn light pink in colour.
- Once the onions are done, add chopped tomatoes and stir for few minutes.
- After the tomatoes become soft, add salt, Shan Biryani masala and mix together.
- Add chopped potatoes & mix vegetables to the mixture and cook for 10 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are cooked, add yogurt and mix everything together nicely.
- Now that everything is ready, take a glass bowl and add a layer of rice, then top it with a layer of biryani mixture and then complete it with a third layer of rice.
- Cover the bowl with foil and cook in oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Your Dum Vegetable Biryani is ready. Garnish with fried onions and serve.
Badam Kheer
Kheer is that one Indian dessert that I can never say no to. Even if I am full, I manage to make room for kheer. So, making kheer for the Diwali thali was a must.
Badam Kheer
Equipment
- Pan
Ingredients
- 1 litre Milk
- 1 packet Shan Badam kheer mix
- 1 bowl Boiled rice
For garnishing
- Chopped pistachios
- Rose petal
Instructions
- Put milk in a pan and add Shan Badam kheer mix to it and mix them together.
- Add boiled rice and cook for 10-15 minutes. Make sure you are stirring it frequently.
- Once done, pour the kheer into a large bowl, garnish with chopped pistachios, rose petals and serve.
I hope you like the the recipes and all the things I prepared for the grand Diwali thali. I would love to see your thalis, so don’t forget to share them with me on Instagram.
