How can Diwali be complete without some Diwali Snack? You did not think mum was going to create desserts only for Diwali, right? So we made the DIWALI GRAZING BOARD (under 30 minutes!!!) in partnership with @dahlicious.
We took two classical Indian street food and transformed them into grazing boards. Indian #chaat is a medley of multiple flavors.
- Papdi and Sev adds crunchiness
- Boiled potato acts as a vessel to absorb flavors from chutneys.
- Tomato, Onion, Green Chile adds freshness, crunchiness, and heat
- Green chutney adds freshness, and tamarind chutney adds the needed tang.
- Cilantro adds the needed flavor and freshness.
Yogurt plays a significant role in Indian street food. So I have taken Dahlicious plain lassi added spices such as roasted cumin, black salt, sugar, salt, chile powder, etc., to make it chaat ready. It does save a lot of time, and this grazing board comes prepared in under 30 minutes. But, of course, we are never satisfied with one recipe! So we added Dahi Vadas to our grazing board. You can serve them in individual bowls around the table or keep a big one for people to take a few as they go.
Although one doesn’t need a recipe for creating this bright Diwali Grazing board – I will give you a rough idea to make this simple. First, pick up a bag of Papdi and Sev from your local Indian Store. While you are there, you can pick up the tamarind chutney and green chutney as well. Now back home a day before your party – boil the potato and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. It is better to prepare ahead. Soak the chickpeas and whole green lentils in water. They need to be sprouting. Then, 30 minutes before serving, chop all vegetables – onion, tomato, green chile, and cilantro on the day of your party.
A lot of people (I know) go above and beyond with Diwali Snack Ideas. Well, good for them. I used to feel terrible about that, but I learned that enjoying these parties is more important than cooking in the kitchen against your wishes under social pressure.
I noticed simple food, drinks, + unique decoration make any party shine indeed. We are not religious, and Bengalis never celebrate Diwali – so we keep these decorations religion agnostic.
- Crate & Barrel, West Elm carries excellent serving board options that you can use to make this grazing board. You can also look at your local thrift store + Etsy to find unique serving platter options.
- In terms of food, we prefer
- (Semi-Homemade) Snacking board
- Dahi Vada
- Desserts – https://www.storyofcooks.com/peanut-katli-and-ladoo/ and more.
- Mango Lassi Cocktail
- Diwali is never complete without candles. Although most of my brass candles are from India – I have sourced a few earthen ones from Atlanta – link to the Store.
- We have sourced yellow, burnt orange flowers from Trader Joe’s here. And if you are lucky, you can get marigold there too. At our building, we are not allowed to burn incense – however, you can pick some mild sandalwood incense from an Indian store to get into the Diwali mood.
- I find Bollywood music cheapens this festival – so I opt for Karnataki (or Indian) instrumental music along with silk clothes for us.
Chaat Grazing Board
Ingredients
1 bag Papdi (check notes below)
- 2 days before
2 tablespoons green lentil, washed and soaked in ½ cup water for two days
¼ cup dried chickpeas, soak in 1 cup water overnight
- 1 day before
½ cup boiled potato
¼ cup overnight soaked chickpeas
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cumin
- 30 minutes before serving
½ of a large onion, finely chopped
1 large tomato, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
2 green chiles, finely chopped
¼ cup tamarind chutney
¼ cup green chutney
½ cup fine sev
1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup Dahlicious plain lassi
- Spice Mix for Dahlicious Lassi
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon rock salt
¼ teaspoon chaat masala
chile powder to taste
¼ teaspoon ground roasted cumin
salt to taste
Directions
- 2 days before
- Wash green lentils thoroughly. Soak in ½ cup water for two days, changing the water after one day. Green lentils should be sprouting the Day you are serving. You can omit this step if you wish to.
- 1 day before
- Boil potatoes in a saucepan. You do not need to peel in advance. Let it cool and store in a pyrex container with a lid. It would be best if you refrigerated the boiled potatoes.
- Wash soaked chickpeas under running water thoroughly. Add soaked chickpeas, 2 cups water, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a saucepan with a lid. Please bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce the temperature to low and cook it for 30-45 minutes or until they are soft but retaining the shapes. You can also use store-bought canned chickpeas washed thoroughly under water.
- In a small thick bottom pan, roast two teaspoons of cumin until it is fragrant. Take it off the heat and let it cool. Using a coffee/spice grinder, ground into a fine powder.
- Day of serving
- Peel and cut potatoes into small cubes using hands. You can use the knife if you wish to.
- Arrange everything neatly on a serving platter.
- In a bowl, add Dahlicious Lassi and spices (rock salt, chaat masala, chile powder, roasted ground cumin). Mix thoroughly. Add salt according to taste. Transfer this to a nice serving bowl and put that in the center of your grazing board.
- ENJOY!
