Diwali, "the festival of lights," is one of the most important Hindu holidays.  Every year it falls on a different date sometime between October and November because the date is calculated based on the Hindu calendar.  Diwali is a celebratory time when people light candles and firecrackers, clean and decorate their homes, buy and wear new clothing, buy and give presents, and enjoy feasts of food.  Of course, as with all holidays, eating sweets is a big part of celebrating Diwali!  This year I decided to take a traditional Indian sweet and put a spin on it with American fall flavors.

Laddoo is a traditional spherical-shaped Indian sweet.  Laddoos are generally made of some combination of flour, ghee (butter), and sugar.  Often other ingredients are also added to the mixture, such as spices, raisins, and nuts.

One of my favorite types of laddoo is a Besan Laddoo.  Besan is flour made from chickpeas (bonus!  these laddoos are gluten-free!) which is easily found in any Indian store or most grocery stores.  I have very vivid memories of being a little girl and eating besan laddoos made fresh by my mother and grandmother in the dining room of our house; I have always loved the nutty taste and smooth texture of a besan laddoo.  In lieu of traditional Indian spices, however, I decided to update the besan laddoo with a beloved American flavor combination--cinnamon and brown sugar!   

Today was an incredibly grey and rainy day--to the point where we had a tornado warning and I had to hide in a stairwell for 15 minutes--which made me want to cook something comforting.  I had a few vegetables from the farmer's market and decided to combine them with chicken to create a curry dish that I could just eat with a spoon.  I can't overstate how perfect this dish was on such a gloomy day!

The base of the curry is a combination of coconut milk and tamarind.  The two ingredients work perfectly together:  the rich creaminess of the coconut milk is balanced out by the sour and tangy taste of tamarind.  The combination of coconut milk and tamarind is popular in Kerala, a coastal state in southern India.  Fish is eaten frequently in Kerala because it borders the sea, but I chose to use chicken this time.  You can easily make this a vegetarian/vegan dish too--just omit the chicken and add more vegetables!

It is finally fall!  It has been feeling cooler the past few weeks, but fall officially began a few days ago.  I love the cool mornings and evenings, and the sunny but mild afternoons.  I am one of those people who perks up at the idea of pumpkin-flavored everything, but moreso for homemade pumpkin bread and pumpkin ravioli than a pumpkin-spiced latte.  To me, there is really no better way to celebrate the start of fall than to combine beautiful winter squash with warm and comforting soup!

I adapted this recipe from one in the book The Kind Diet.  I am attempting to be a vegan for an upcoming ten-day religious holiday and was looking for good vegan recipes. This soup recipe is fantastic because it is incredibly filling from the combination of lentils and butternut squash.  It is also packed with all the nutrients you need--fiber, magnesium, potassium, and Vitamins A, C, and E from the butternut squash; protein, fiber, folate, and iron from the lentils; calcium and iron from the spinach; the anti-oxidant lycopene and Vitamin C from the tomato; and of course, the many health benefits of spices like turmeric and cinnamon.  This soup is an absolute health bomb!

My apologies for the delay in posting since the last recipe; my husband and I were on an incredible three week vacation.  We saw beautiful places, experienced rich cultures, and--most importantly--ate exquisite foods.  Now that we are back home, though, we are trying to erase the sins of one too many Nutella crepes!  My solution: Sriracha turkey kheema!

Kheema is often called the Indian version of the sloppy joe.  It consists of minced meat and peas cooked in tomatoes, onions, and a variety of spices.  It is a perfect option when you are trying to eat less carbohydrates.  Kheema is often made using mutton, but I made it with ground turkey to keep it healthy.  You can also use ground chicken if you prefer!  

A few weeks ago, I hosted my first three-course Indian food dinner party!  It was a lot of work for a newbie like me, but it was much appreciated by our non-Indian guests.  To make my life a little easier, I thought about sticking with easy desserts, like fruit.  Then I thought about making kheer, a dessert I have always loved and which is not difficult to make!

Kheer (also known as payasam in South India) is a type of rice pudding.  It is usually flavored with saffron, almonds, pistachios, and/or cardamom.  Kheer has a milkier texture and is not as thick as American rice pudding.  If you ever have last-minute company, I highly recommend preparing kheer as dessert because it does not take a long time to make and is liked by most people.  Our dinner party guests absolutely loved it!