Festival or not, tandoori food is always a hit. From spicy Tandoori Aloo Boats to wonderfully fragrant Saunfia Paneer Tikka – cooking in a tandoor offers you plenty of fancy options. You can also make delicious breads like an Amritsari Aloo Kulcha or a Bakharkhani and of course succulent kebabs. A gas oven tandoor from Wonderchef will make making all of these much simpler.

Green chana, boiled corn and fruit chaats are chatpata, healthy, light and also a breeze to make. Pieces of roasted khichia masala papad and biscuit corn sev puris are great party food and a welcome change from other high calorie chaats. A must try is bhakarwadi chaat, made with readymade crisp bhakarwadi and tantalizing chutneys.

Festivals also bring along fasts, but food for fasts need not be boring. Have fun with traditional fasting ingredients like sago, sweet potatoes and amaranth. Try sabudana laddoos, sago potato rolls and sweet potato kheer. Puris made with kootu ka atta or buckwheat flour with boiled potatoes, green chillies and black salt are robust and delicious. Omit the potatoes in this recipe and make a thin batter with the flour for some yummilicious gluten free buckwheat pancakes!
 

During the Ganpati festival in Maharashtra the sweet tooth gets a soul satisfying experience with coconut filled modaks - both steamed and fried. Sweet soft stuffed chana dal pancakes called puran poli, best enjoyed with a dunking in hot ghee is slightly high in calories yet a nutritious addition to the dessert menu.
 

The popularity of Bengali mishti is universal. Right from soft juicy rossogullas, chumchums, rasmalais and payesh made from chenna to classic sweetened yogurt mishti doi and its several flavoured variants – the options are never ending. Take your pick!
From more recipes and trivia around the colourful festivals that India celebrates browse through sanjeevkapoor.com