Light Up Your Life With These 13 Diwali Recipes by Top Chefs

Diwali – also known as the festival of lights – is an interfaith festival celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. In Australia alone, more than one million people will come together to celebrate during the Hindu Lunar months of Ashvin and Kartik, which generally fall across October and November.

In 2025, festivities begin with Dhanteras on October 18 and conclude with Bhai Dooj on October 23. Other key events include Choti Diwali and Lakshmi Puja on October 20. While celebrations differ between communities, food plays a central role as people gather to give thanks and offer prayers for good health and prosperity.

From Masterchef winner Justin Narayan’s family recipe for samosas to a Kashmiri-inspired tamarind eggplant dish by Rosheen Kaul, not to mention Helly Raichura’s divine payasam (a creamy, cardamom-scented pudding), these recipes by top chefs are the perfect addition to any Diwali feast.

Justin Narayan’s samosas

The first time Masterchef winner Justin Narayan was invited into “the octagon” – his mum and grandma’s kitchen – was for a samosa -making session. He quickly found his place in the three-generation production line, chatting, folding and sneaking tastes of the spiced filling. Narayan’s hot tip? These samosas freeze beautifully, making them the perfect snack to have prepared for unexpected guests. Serve hot with chutney or tomato sauce spiked with Tabasco.

Meera Sodha’s baked butter paneer

This spice-packed paneer recipe doesn’t actually contain butter – double cream is what gives the rich red sauce its edge. But Meera Sodha says you can add a big slab of butter to the finished sauce if you’re a purist. What started as a scribble of words in a little orange notebook quickly became Sodha’s fourth cookbook, Dinner. The collection of 120 recipes was published as a love letter to Sodha’s favourite meal.

O Tama Carey’s Lankan chilli crunch

This chilli crunch condiment is the perfect thing to batch and gift to friends and family. Or use it to level up simple meals of eggs, veggies, meat and more. It’s a winner from Carey’s book, Lankan Filling, which is teeming with Sri Lankan-inspired recipes and menu favourites from her soulful Sri Lankan diner, Lankan Filling Station.

Meera Sodha’s sticky mango and lime paneer naans

Another winner from Sodha’s latest cookbook – these sweet-but-savoury paneer-packed naans are a 30-minute showstopper. With “very little cooking to be done here,” Sodha sees this meal as an interactive dinner party dish or simply a weeknight wonder. You can always swap out naan for a different flatbread if you like.

Shiyamalee Somaweera’s red lentil curry

The Somaweera family runs Citrus, an all-you-can-eat Sri Lankan restaurant in Melbourne’s inner north, known for its hearty curries. This creamy red lentil dish comes to life with chilli flakes, curry powder (Shiyamalee likes to use a brand called Wijaya) and paprika, as well as cumin seeds, curry leaves, pandan leaf and cinnamon. Eat it alone or take a cue from her and serve alongside sauteed greens; a fish, chicken or beef curry; coconut sambol; and classic condiments and rice.

Sarina Kamini’s dal makhani

Dal makhani is a comforting classic. For cookbook author and teacher Sarina Kamini, dal makhani is a “sometimes dish,” owing to its richness. When you make it from scratch – soaking the lentils and beans overnight, slowly simmering them with ghee, butter and cream – this simple recipe delivers an extraordinary depth of flavour.

Rosheen Kaul’s tamarind eggplant

This Indian-style tamarind eggplant hails from the Kashmir Valley, where Rosheen Kaul’s father was born. Batons of golden fried eggplant are coated in a rich, flavourful and acidic gravy, which is best consumed with plenty of hot rice and braised dark leafy greens known as haq. Kaul loves Kashmiri cuisine for its unique amalgamation of influences and flavours from Central Asia, Persia, China and the Indian subcontinent.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s stuffed aubergine in curry and coconut dal

In this Ottolenghi recipe, eggplant rolls are stuffed with paneer and cooked in coconut dal that doubles as a sauce but is a delicious recipe in its own right. If you want to take things a step further, make your own paneer following his recipe here.

Helly Raichura’s Payasam

Payasam is a creamy, cardamom-scented pudding made with rice, milk and jaggery. It’s often offered to gods (Helly Raichura traces its ancient origins all the way back to the Mahabharata) – and loved by many. If you’ve had the pleasure of dining at Raichura’s Carlton North fine diner Enter Via Laundry, you’ll know about her love of sweet treats. This recipe hits the mark, whether you choose to serve it warm or cold.

Helly Raichura’s rose shrikhand with fermented blueberries and lace cookies

A staple of Gujarati cuisine, shrikhand is a sweetened hung yoghurt often served as part of a traditional thali – no meal is complete without a dollop. In summer, it’s topped with mango; in cooler months, with badam, pista and kesar – the holy trinity of dessert flavours. Here, Helly Raichura uses sour blueberries, fragrant rose and crisp lace cookies for a modern, textural twist on the classic dessert.

O Tama Carey’s chocolate and kithul fudge sundae

The beloved Sydney chef reimagines the classic chocolate fudge sundae with her signature Sri Lankan flair. Blending chocolate, cardamom, and smoky kithul treacle, she layers creamy ice-cream, salty peanuts, and toasted coconut for a dessert that’s equal parts sweet, spiced, and textural – “a sundae that now suits me just fine.”

Hetal Vasavada’s puran poli swirl bread

Cookbook author and Masterchef USA alum Hetal Vasavada grew up in New Jersey, surrounded by her Gujarati family. For her, Diwali was always perfumed with the warm, sweet aroma of puran poli – a traditional flatbread stuffed with spiced chickpeas and jaggery. In this recipe from her cookbook Desi Bakes, Vasavada reimagines the classic as a comforting treat, perfect for slow, post-celebration mornings.

Hetal Vasavada’s Shrikhand yoghurt cake

“My house always had leftover shrikhand... after a big family dinner, especially after Diwali,” Hetal Vasavada writes in Desi Bakes. Vasavada has since found the perfect solution: turning leftovers into a moist, fragrant yoghurt cake with a tangy shrikhand glaze and a sprinkle of pistachios. It’s a clever way to give new life to a familiar favourite. Mini bundts make it easy to share, or you can go large for a show-stopping centrepiece.

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