As vibrant colors from changing leaves of the fall foliage decorate the nation, it is yet another reminder that Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, is quickly approaching. The holiday is the mark of the Hindu new year, and it is a time to illuminate the home with lights and candles, feast with family and friends, and crack firecrackers late into the night. This year, Diwali falls on Sunday, November 12, but festivities kick off weeks in advance. Here is how some of the nation’s top Indian chefs and hospitality pros celebrate the holiday.

Chintan Pandya, Dhamaka - New York, NY

Chef Chintan Pandya’s Diwali celebrations are fueled by his childhood memories of growing up in India and enjoying savory snacks, mithai, and a variety of chaat with family and friends. Prayers are followed by fireworks, games, and a feast made up of pani puri, bhel, and dahi wada; samosas and kachoris; and ample mithai, like pista barfi, kaju katli, and soan papdi. When it comes to the preparations, Pandya prefers to stick to tradition. “I am a purist and never tinker around with classics.” The decorated chef shares another tradition he fiercely maintains is that his entire family gathers together, just as they would at Thanksgiving, and he is particularly excited about the upcoming festivities. “This year is special as my brother is traveling from India with his family to celebrate with us.”

Shiva Patel, Da Gama - Houston, TX

Chef Shiva Patel hopes to one day take over the tradition of hosting her family’s annual Diwali celebration, but until then, festivities are headquartered at her parents’ house. The children of the family help decorate the sidewalks with chalk and rangoli (colored powder), while the inside of the home is adorned with diyas and strings of marigolds. “We can tell that the festivities are starting when Mum begins to make fresh ghee.” Patel says they enjoy an epic vegetarian feast of Gujarati dishes. There are various vegetable shaak, daal, pickles, roti, steamed rice, and a dozen different types of sweets – many made with the fresh ghee. For her part, Patel prepares savory snacks like chevdo, a crunchy mix of fried lentils with nuts, dried fruit, fried spetzel-like chickpea flour sticks and puffed rice. She also takes pride in helping her mother make gajar ka halwa. “I love watching her make it and tasting the warm, sweet jam-like flavors throughout each phase of the preparation,” she says adoringly. “To make it right takes a bit of time and patience, but the outcome is divine.”

Aarthi Sampath, Moonlight Flavor - New York, NY

Food, fireworks and family are at the foundation of a great Diwali, and New York City chef Aarthi Sampath makes it a mission to have all three – even if that means traveling half-way around the world to Mumbai to ring in the celebration. “My Diwali tradition is to be with my parents, as I live away from them. That is non-negotiable.” The family’s preparations include visiting the market for flowers, diyas (oil lamps) and rice flour tinted with color to decorate the home with. During Diwali, she and her mother take the opportunity to experiment with making traditional South Indian or North Indian snacks and sweet treats. They have tried their hand at kachoris, a fried pastry with a lentil filling; and beet halwa karanji, a sweet Maharashtrian pastry filled with coconut, jaggery and nuts. Sampath’s favorite is chivda, a savory mix of flattened, dried and crisped rice, peanuts, curry leaves, chilies, turmeric and coconut, that her mother makes every year. “The main reason I love this dish is because chivda is my association with Diwali,” she says. “The minute I see the flattened rice being dried out in the sun, I know it's Diwali.”

Surbhi Sahni, Tagmo - New York, NY

For chef Surbhi Sahni, founder of New York City restaurant and mithai shop, Tagmo, Diwali is a particularly special time to make confections. “Sweets are such an important part of Diwali,” she says, recalling the many times her family would get together to prepare ladoos by hand, decorate them on stainless steel trays, and exchange platters with neighbors and friends. She recalls two types of mithai that were almost always made: besan ladoos, made of gram flour, and panjeeri ladoos, made with whole wheat flour, cashews, sunflower seeds and lotus root. She maintains the tradition by making ladoos available at Tagmo, which are wildly popular during Diwali, but she admits she likes to have fun with her offerings too. “We mix in American traditions and do lots of flavors of barfi – chocolate, raspberry, Oreo, caramel. It keeps things interesting.” Despite it being the busy season at Tagmo, Sahni finds time to host a potluck Diwali gathering in her home each year, during which she and her friends celebrate with sparklers.

Meherwan Irani, Chai Pani - Asheville, NC

Born to a Hindu mother and Parsi father, chef Meherwan Irani admits his family was not devout in their religious practice, but even so, Diwali was the most anticipated holiday of the year. “Diwali celebration transcends all religions, kind of like Christmas does in America.” He remembers the excitement in the air leading up to the day, with the crackle of firecrackers and bounty of sweet treats, like gulab jamun and kheer, everpresent. In his celebrations today, Irani likes to prepare sooji halwa, a sweet mixture of semolina with raisins and cashews, as his mother did when he was younger. He also makes biryani, a special dish of chicken and rice that requires thoughtful preparation and is often reserved for special occasions. “The layering of rice, meat, whole aromatic spices, fried onions, yogurt and saffron, is an art form that has been perfected over hundreds of years,” he explains. “And the fact that it's a multi-day, time-consuming process gives the dish an extra specialness.”

Sujan Sarkar, Indienne - Chicago, IL

With restaurants Indienne in Chicago and BAAR BAAR in New York and Los Angeles, Sujan Sarkar spends ample time in the kitchen, and things are no different during Diwali. "Generally, I spend Diwali cooking a special menu at the restaurant for my guests.” During the festive season, he enjoys making khichdi, a popular Indian comfort dish traditionally made with rice, lentils and spices. At the restaurant, he amps his khichdi up with butternut squash and different types of millet, and presents it with tomato pickle and black rice papad. Admittedly, Sarkar has a fierce sweet tooth, so desserts are plentiful. Among his favorites are the jalebi churro, inspired by his love of both jalebi and churros, and the chenna-pora cheesecake, which is a cross between an Orissa-style baked cheese pudding and a classic New York-style cheesecake. “Overall, I like to keep the flavors as traditional as possible, but I’ll add seasonal ingredients and adapt popular sweets from the city where my restaurants are located.”

Anita Jaisinghani, Pondicheri - Houston, TX

One of chef and cookbook author Anita Jaisinghani’s fondest memories of celebrating Diwali in India with her family is of the seven-vegetable stew with puris (deep fried bread, made from whole-wheat flour) that her mother made every year. “My mother would do a Laxmi puja in the evening, and my brothers and I would impatiently sit through it, as kids do, and wait for her to finish so she could start frying the puris!” Jaisinghani laughs. As an adult, she has kept up her mother’s Diwali tradition by making a new version of the stew each year, incorporating different ingredients like nuts, beans and meat into the creamy, tomato-based curry, and offering it as part of a special thali at Pondicheri during the holiday season.

Sana Javeri Kadri, Diaspora Co. - Oakland, CA

Sana Javeri Kadri, who splits her time between Oakland, California and Mumbai, India, has spent the last few years ringing in Diwali in the states, playing host to friends and members of her Diaspora Co. team. She incorporates the popular trends observed during her visits to India into her Diwali celebrations. “The Indian gin movement is incredible right now,” she explains. “I bring back different gins, and I set up a G&T bar, where we can make our own cocktails.” She cites small batch Indian brand, Pumori Gin, as one of her favorites for its spice-forward flavor. Kadri also designates Diwali as the one time a year she makes samosas. “I go ham on my fillings,” she admits, explaining that she draws inspiration from Indian street vendors who come up with the wackiest fillings. “They are wildly ingenious. I think I have seen every kind of samosa at the different street vendors.” Her favorite concoction thus far is a salsa matcha chipotle pumpkin samosa, which packs a creamy mixture with a fiery punch into a crusty shell.

Raghni Naidu, Naidu Wines - Sonoma, CA

Raghni Naidu, founder of Naidu Wines in Sonoma, enjoys combining old and new traditions by pairing her family’s set Diwali menu with different varietals of Naidu wine. “The highlight of the meal in our house is always Hyderabadi mutton biryani,” she says. The special occasion dish varies in its ingredients from region to region, with the Hyderabadi style of biryani prepared by marinating the meat and then slowly cooking it together with rice and fried onions. She remarks the Naidu Estate Pinot Noir is a suitable pairing. “The notes of rose, pomegranate and pepper come together wonderfully with the biryani and its various accompaniments.” As part of her Diwali dessert spread, Naidu always has a large platter of chum chum, a spongy, cylindrical-shaped sweet with a milk-based, or khoya, stuffing. “I love pairing the chum chum with our Greachche Blanc,” she says. “Its tropical notes of papaya, pear and jasmine round out the creaminess of the khoya, and its slight minerality and acidity go beautifully with the lovely texture this dessert has.” Beyond the harmonious blending of flavors, Naidu boasts that pairing her wines with her favorite Diwali dishes is a full circle moment for her as it encapsulates the very essence of the wine journey she is on.

Related Content:

Halwa Tastes Like Sweet Nostalgia

Diwali Isn’t a Lavish Celebration for Everyone — But It Can Always Be Joyous

Delicious Recipes That Are Perfect for Any Diwali Celebration