Diwali Decorations, Desserts, Snacks…

‘Diwali is NOT an important festival for Bengalis, so why do you get so excited?’ asks my husband.

I tell him ‘Well, you know, my parents used to travel during Durga Puja so we celebrated Diwali with close family members only. Few days before Diwali my uncle used to buy me crackers which I roasted in sun. I used to decorate the entire home with candles. Mom used to make lavish spread and during evening we burnt crackers and lit up those candles. After that we sat down to eat and enjoyed a  hearty meal with good laugh.’

Diwali meant much more than Durga puja to me.

From my childhood, I had a knack of designing and decorating home. When I spent my life with my parents I decorated my home at Kolkata. After coming to states, I decorated my student apartment with Dollar Store supplies. {Yes, grad students in US don’t have much money, so don’t judge.}

After getting job, I started investing on Diwali decors slowly and in 4 years I have a significant collections of Diwali decors from Pier 1, Homegoods, Antique Stores. The thing is, I don’t like colorful, bling-y products so it’s a tad bit hard to shop for me. I like white and golden when it comes to home décor, so I invest some golden and earth colored props and perk them up with white flowers. Brass items in this post are from Kolkata though.

Everyone has their own way of decorating their nest. And this is mine. Hopefully you can enjoy this home tour of mine.

You must be thinking; she only decorates those corners of her home. Well, we live in 1-bedroom 823 square feet condo so we don’t get too much space to decorate. I like cozy, compact home because every time I enter it gives me a warm embrace.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I just love my den.

On the eve of Diwali I prepared two Indian desserts and a savory snack. Stay tuned for the next post for the recipes.

Malpua – Sweet Potato Pancake soaked in thick sugar syrup.

Rose Sondesh – Soft with a subtle hint of rose sondesh prepared from fresh homemade cottage cheese.

Potato Tikki – Vegan and Gluten free potato patties with a pea filling.

How are you celebrating and decorating? Share with me at Instagram.