Every year, millions of lamps are lit across India in a shared affirmation that darkness, however deep, need not prevail. This is the enduring promise of Diwali, a celebration of light, hope, renewal and the triumph of good over evil. It is a time when homes are illuminated, prayers are offered, relationships are strengthened and new beginnings are welcomed. Yet beneath these familiar expressions of celebration lies an extraordinary diversity of beliefs and customs. Diwali is not simply one story observed in one way, but a festival through which generations and communities have expressed their understanding of faith, prosperity, remembrance and righteousness.
Also known as Deepavali, from the Sanskrit expression meaning a row of lamps, the festival generally falls in October or November. In 2026, the principal Diwali celebration falls on Sunday, 8 November. Families clean and decorate their homes, offer prayers, exchange gifts and welcome relatives and friends. Beyond traditional diyas, homes are adorned with rangolis, floral torans and decorative lanterns, while candles and electric lights have become familiar features of contemporary celebrations. Fireworks have also been associated with Diwali for centuries, although their widespread use in households developed later as manufactured firecrackers became more accessible. Diwali is not confined to one evening but forms part of a wider sequence of observances with distinct religious and regional meanings.
In much of northern India, Diwali recalls the return of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana to Ayodhya after exile and Rama’s victory over Ravana. In recent years, Ayodhya has witnessed renewed festive fervour, particularly following the consecration of the Ram Temple in January 2024. Its Deepotsav celebrations have brought fresh prominence to the tradition of welcoming Rama’s return, with millions of lamps illuminating the banks of the Sarayu. In 2025, more than 26 lakh diyas were lit in a record-breaking display, showing how an ancient narrative continues to inspire collective expressions of faith.
The worship of Goddess Lakshmi, associated with prosperity and abundance, is central to Diwali in many households. In many northern and western Indian homes, she is worshipped alongside Lord Ganesha, whose association with wisdom, auspicious beginnings and the removal of obstacles reflects the belief that prosperity should be accompanied by sound judgement and the ability to overcome challenges. Together, their worship signifies the importance of welcoming prosperity with wisdom and ensuring that good fortune is guided by righteous actions. In parts of southern and western India, Naraka Chaturdashi recalls Krishna’s defeat of Narakasura. Gujarat welcomes its traditional New Year, while Bengal’s new-moon night is marked prominently by Kali Puja. References in early medieval literature and the eleventh-century writings of al-Biruni indicate that festivals of lamps were already established long before the modern celebrations took shape. Their customs evolved across regions and centuries, which is why Diwali cannot be traced to one universally accepted beginning.
The wider festive period includes Dhanteras, Naraka Chaturdashi, Lakshmi Puja and subsequent observances such as Govardhan Puja, Annakut and Bhai Dooj. Jains commemorate Mahavira’s attainment of nirvana, while Sikhs observe Bandi Chhor Divas, associated with Guru Hargobind’s release from imprisonment. These are distinct traditions rather than different accounts of one event. Their diversity is also reflected in kitchens, where certain foods become offerings, others mark a particular morning, and many are made for visiting guests. Cooking often begins before the main festival, filling homes with the aromas of roasted flour, hot ghee and spices, while recipes become occasions for working and spending time together.
In northern India, the Diwali thali often begins with offerings. Kheel, puffed paddy, and batashe, light sugar confections, are associated with Lakshmi Puja, sometimes accompanied by khaand ke khilone, figures moulded from sugar. Their presence recalls seasonal markets filled with these delicate treats. For guests, families prepare methi mathri, flaky discs of wheat flour, ghee, ajwain and dried fenugreek, fried slowly until crisp. Namak pare, cut into strips or diamonds and seasoned with pepper or carom seeds, make another savoury accompaniment.
Their sweet counterpart, shakkarpare, consists of fried dough coated with crystallised sugar. Some households prepare balushahi, a flaky, deep-fried sweet dipped in syrup, while Punjabi festive assortments may include pinni, made with roasted flour, ghee, jaggery or sugar and nuts. These foods are not exclusive to Diwali, but their preparation in large batches gives them a special place in the annual round of visits and exchanges. The work of kneading, shaping and frying becomes part of the celebration. What arrives at a guest’s home as a small box of food may represent an entire afternoon of shared preparation.
Few regions demonstrate this better than Maharashtra, where faral refers to an assortment of sweet and savoury foods prepared for Diwali. Work often starts days in advance. Bhajani chakli begins with roasted rice and pulses ground into flour. Its seasoned dough is pressed into spirals and fried until crunchy. Poha chivda combines thin flattened rice with peanuts, roasted gram, curry leaves, chillies and spices, producing a lighter mixture offered by the handful. Kadboli, thick rings of spiced dough, adds yet another texture to the platter.
The sweet side of faral is equally intricate. Karanji encloses coconut, sugar or jaggery, nuts and cardamom within a folded pastry, its crescent edge sealed before frying. Anarsa demands advance preparation, with soaked rice dried and ground, then worked with jaggery to form discs sprinkled with poppy seeds. Shankarpali, cut into small diamonds, may be sweet or savoury. Chirote, delicate layered pastries often dusted with sugar, reveal the skill behind seemingly simple festive treats. Faral preparation brings generations together, with different family members handling different stages. Someone roasts the flour, another rolls the pastry, and the youngest may be entrusted with arranging cooled snacks in tins. The assortment is offered as a gesture of welcome rather than reserved for a single ceremonial meal.
Across Gujarat, the festive assortment changes, but the practice of making snacks that keep well continues. Mathiya, thin discs made from moth-bean flour and other flours, are rolled and fried until brittle. Chorafali, prepared with gram and urad flours, puffs into crisp strips finished with chilli and seasoning. Suvali, a delicate fried wheat-flour crisp, also appears in traditional assortments. These are particularly welcome during visits surrounding Diwali and the Gujarati New Year, when tins of homemade snacks are opened for guests. The season also brings Chopda Pujan in many business households, when account books are ceremonially worshipped as families seek an auspicious start to the new financial year.
Among sweets, ghughra is a crescent pastry filled with combinations of semolina, coconut, nuts and sugar. Mohanthal is made by roasting gram flour slowly with ghee and combining it with sugar syrup and cardamom to produce a rich, grainy confection cut into squares. Alongside crisp farsan, these sweets form a distinctive festive spread, often prepared and shared before the festival itself.
Goa offers one of Diwali’s most distinctive breakfasts. The festival is closely linked here with Krishna’s victory over Narakasura, recalled through local rituals and the destruction of demon effigies. Following the early-morning celebrations, many Hindu households serve fov, flattened rice prepared in several ways. Batat fov combines softened flakes with potato, coconut, chilli and coriander. Rossantlem fov uses coconut milk and jaggery for a sweet preparation, sometimes scented with turmeric leaf. Other variations include kalayle fov, mixed with coconut and jaggery, and taakantle fov, dressed with buttermilk. One ingredient thus yields quite different festival foods according to family custom. Unlike sweets prepared mainly to distribute to visitors, these variations are closely connected to the specific rhythms of a Goan Diwali morning.
Further south, Tamil Nadu’s Deepavali often begins before sunrise with an oil bath, new clothes and homemade bakshanam, festive sweets and savouries. Adhirasam, made from rice flour and jaggery syrup, is shaped into discs and fried, leaving a slightly chewy centre. Ukkarai combines cooked lentils, jaggery, ghee, coconut and cardamom into a moist, crumbly sweet. Around Kanyakumari, munthiri kothu brings together roasted pulses, coconut, sesame and jaggery in small balls dipped in batter and fried.
Savoury preparations are just as carefully made. Thenkuzhal, a type of murukku, is pressed from rice-and-urad-flour dough into crisp coils, while ribbon pakoda emerges from a different press as broad, spiced strips. Omapodi consists of fine gram-flour strands flavoured with carom seeds, sometimes incorporated into Madras mixture with peanuts and fried lentils. Some families also prepare Deepavali legiyam, a spiced mixture of dry ginger, pepper, jaggery and ghee, traditionally taken in small quantities before rich festive foods. Breakfast customs vary considerably between households. The familiar contrast between carefully shaped savouries and jaggery-rich sweets reflects the labour that precedes the early-morning celebrations.
Neighbouring Karnataka shares techniques while retaining its own favourites. Kajjaya, related to adhirasam, is a rice-flour and jaggery sweet fried into golden discs, while Mysore pak derives its richness from gram flour cooked with sugar and ghee. Savoury kodubale is shaped into seasoned rings, and nippattu into crisp, flat crackers often flavoured with peanuts, chillies or curry leaves. Both are convenient to prepare ahead for relatives and neighbours, and their crispness depends on the thickness of the dough and the patience of the person frying them.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ariselu belongs to the same family of rice-and-jaggery sweets, demonstrating how a culinary technique takes different names across linguistic regions. Bellam gavvalu, small shell-shaped dough pieces, are fried and coated in jaggery syrup. Their ridges are traditionally made by pressing dough against a textured surface. Chekkalu, crisp rice-flour discs flavoured with chilli or cumin, and jantikalu, fried spirals of seasoned dough, supply the savoury counterpoint. Kajjikayalu, sweet stuffed pastries, complete the assortment.
Eastern India gives the season different religious meanings. In Bengal, where Kali Puja is prominent on the Diwali new moon, offerings and gatherings may include narkel naru, coconut balls cooked with jaggery or sugar. Crisp, salted nimki balances the sweetness, while rice-based payesh may be prepared as an offering. These foods are not exclusive to Kali Puja, and practices vary between households and temples. Their significance lies in their place within an act of devotion, where a familiar sweet can become an offering before being shared with family.
In Odisha, Diwali includes remembrance of ancestors through Badabadua Daka, during which families traditionally raise burning jute stalks while invoking those who came before them. Festive foods may include kakara pitha, fried semolina pastries filled with sweetened coconut, and arisa pitha, golden discs of rice flour and jaggery. Manda pitha, steamed rice dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery, may also appear in family preparations. Here, food can connect present-day celebration with ancestral memory.
Hospitality extends to what is poured into a cup. Masala chai accompanies savoury snacks in northern and western homes, while badam milk or kesar doodh, enriched with almonds, saffron and cardamom, may be offered to guests. In southern households, strong filter coffee is a familiar companion to bakshanam. None is exclusive to Diwali, and no single beverage defines it. Their value lies in the conversations they accompany while another plate is passed around.
In December 2025, Deepavali was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognising a living tradition passed between generations. That recognition reminds us that culinary heritage cannot survive through admiration alone. Recipes endure when someone learns how long to roast flour, when an elder demonstrates how to seal a karanji, or when a child shapes an imperfect first chakli. This Diwali, as we light lamps and share festive food, let us make room for younger hands in our kitchens. A tradition is carried forward not simply when its dishes are served again, but when another generation knows how, and why, to prepare them.
The writer is Secretary, Cuisine India Society; Views presented are personal.