From making a ghevar-style cake in the UK to gorging on grandmom’s cashew barfi, five Mumbai chefs recall their warmest Diwali food memories
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When I was 12, I found a malpura recipe and made it the next year: Chef Atul Kochhar
My most memorable meal on Diwali is poori and pumpkin curry that my mum and dad would make. I loved eating this with mango pickle. Apart from sweets, kichri (Kedgeree) cooked using rice, lentil and root vegetables, was something I always looked forward to. Also, as children, we would make Malpura (malpua) during Diwali.
Chef Atul Kochhar
When I was 12 years old, I had seen a recipe in a newspaper, saved the clipping and tried it the following year. It’s a simple recipe made with plain flour, semolina, milk, green cardamom powder and some yoghurt. We always served it with a thin sugar syrup made from rose water, sugar, saffron and cardamom. It can be served with ice cream or reduced milk rabri.
The house would smell of ghee, dry fruits, rose: Chef Vicky Ratnani
I had some of the most memorable Diyaris (Sindhi: Diwali) while growing up. We lived in a 25-member joint family in Shivaji Park and the whole house would celebrate the festival with much fervour.
Chef Vicky Ratnani
Three must-eats were Sindhi specialties Sai Bhaji (made with spinach and split Bengal gram) with Bhuga Chawal (brown rice), dry fruit mithai and home-made chikki. My grandmother used to make cashew barfi and different savouries too. The whole house smelling of ghee, dry fruits, sugar syrup, cardamom and rose is something that I’ll never forget.
I would indulge in besan laddoos and shrikhand: Patissier Toshin Shetty
While studying in London, Diwali was always a festival close to my heart. I was away from home for my studies but during Diwali I would make it a point to be home. All my memories revolve around sweets — the ghughras (coconut pastry) my mother used to make and indulging in besan laddoos and shrikhand.
Patissier Toshin Shetty
My fondness for the creamy texture of shrikhand is what has inspired the Saffron and Marigold Macroons — saffron infused white chocolate and cream cheese ganache that gives a feel of shrikhand, making it a perfect sweet for this season.
My sisters and I would steal shankarpare and karanji: Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi
As a child, my first kitchen memory was helping my mother make karanji, stuffing them with coconut, raisins and nuts. I would help her out because I knew that I would get to eat one of them every day till Diwali ended. She would make large quantities of sweets about 20 days before — we would then exchange them with neighbours.
Nothing was bought from outside. Another sweet I loved, and often stole and ate, was shankarpare, coated with sugar. We used to have it with tea in the evening. These sweets had a great shelf life. Although we were often told not to overeat, my sisters and I would steal some without my mother knowing about it! Now, I make a healthier version of shankarpare, Multigrain Flaxseed Namak Paarey.
Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi
When I went home recently, I took some of the paarey for my mother and she loved it. It is quite the circle — earlier, mothers would take pride feeding their kids, now they take pride in eating what their kids make for them.
My friends were crazy about my version of ghevar: Pastry chef Sanjana Patel
While growing up, I spent most Diwalis with friends at a boarding school in Ooty and later, at the University of Warwick in the UK. At the university, I made a special Diwali cake (in pic) that my friends loved. It was a version of the traditional Rajasthani ghevar that I had learnt from my grandmother.
I stuffed it with cream cheese mousse, saffron and topped it with caramelised almond granola. My friends were crazy about it because it had a nice crunchy base. Over the last few years, I have been celebrating the festival with my parents and in-laws.
Pastry chef Sanjana Patel
A tradition that my mother and I follow is making savoury Punjabi-style mathri with a variety of pickles. We also make a sweet version that I top with fondant glaze and caramel sauce. My father loves gifting it to his office staff.
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