There is a particular kind of kitchen that only exists for a few days each year. Every surface is in use. Someone is stirring something that cannot be left alone. The smell changes every hour. Diwali cooking is not efficient cooking, and that is exactly why it works as a way to spend time together, it asks something of everyone in the room.
These five dishes are traditional, regionally rooted, and genuinely worth making at home rather than buying. Each one has a reason for being on the table beyond habit.
