The festival of light! Traditional ceremonies, celebrations, colourful outfits, family feasts, rangoli and lots of light. One of my favourite times of year that I always look forward to. This year I hosted for all the family and it was just like I remember from when I was a child.

My dad was a very sociable person so for me growing up Diwali was always about family gatherings, my aunts uncles and cousins all together enjoying the festivities. Mum would spend days prepping as my dad was a huge foodie, a tradition that I’ve carried forward and love so much – cooking for my family. We would all just get together eat all day, play games, light fireworks and all the kids anxiously waited for the envelopes filled with money as we wished the Elders ‘happy new year’.

My fondest memory is going shopping with my dad prior to Diwali and ended with precious moments. I was the ultimate daddy’s girl and it was a tradition that dad would take me shopping to pick up something new for me to wear on Gujarati new year!

As food goes there was so much variety as everyone had a favourite dish. Nothing was too much effort to make as it was a time of year when you expect a FEAST! I’ve always been a big fan of tangy and spicy food so ‘bhel puri’ was a must mum had to make for me.. and even now you’ll always find a ‘chaat’ dish if I’m hosting.

This year I cooked up a New Years Feast, we started with snacks in the kitchen, my all time favourite pani puri. The kitchen in my home seems to be the perfect spot for social gatherings, the open plan allows me to cook and host whilst everyone crowds round to chat and eat!

Diwali dinner was sat around a large table perfectly set so everyone could eat and chat across from each other. An evening full of fun and laughter!

A spread of rich, colourful Indian curries, salad, rice and nann and lots of extra sides. Pasta for the kids and sparklers for fun after….Something for everyone.

Lighting the way into the new year!