Indoor lamps, floating candles & more: This Diwali, give your home a stunning makeover
Diwali decoration ideas that you can easily try out.
By ET Online |
Agencies
Sprinkle flowers on floating diyas to get maximum aesthetic appeal.
A common mistake all of us make on Diwali is focussing too much on how our attire looks and way too little on our humble abode. More often than not, decorating houses on Diwali takes a backseat and we end up spending less time buying stuff that would make our rooms look festival-ready.
If you are looking for some last-minute home decor ideas and don’t know where to begin, fret not. We have prepared a comprehensive guide on minimalist Diwali decor ideas that will make your life much, much simpler.
1. Lights, lights everywhere!
Lights will guide you home: Experiment with fairy lights this Diwali by making DIY lamps. Indian households have an old tradition of decking up the balconies with lights but rarely do they experiment with indoor lighting. This Diwali, create your own indoor lamps by painting discarded plastic bottles and adding fairy lights in them.
Place the lamps indoors, preferably next to plants for bright and cheerful vibes. 2. Aromatic floating candles
Using hanging candles is probably the most underrated and unexplored decor idea, yet the one which works the best. This festive season, buy aromatic tealights and put them in vases and bowls filled with water to enhance the aesthetic appeal of your house.
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What’s more? You can put marigold flowers around the vases and bowls and create a mini-rangoli on the side. That will indeed be a visual treat for the eyes.
3. Wall art for the win!
If you are into artistic paintings, Diwali is the day to experiment and put those paintings on display. Be it the Tanjore paintings or the Warli art wall hangings, as long as the painting is traditional and Indian, it will go well with the rest of Diwali decor.
4. Vibrant bedsheets for your room
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No matter what color the walls of the room are, it is the bedsheet on the mattress that decides the overall look. So, go for bold, bright and colourful covers that will give your room a happy and festive vibe.
5. Fresh flowers for festive vibes
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Be it lillies, lilacs or blood-red roses, flowers play a key role in house decor. Put them in vases and flower pots and place them at strategic positions in your household. What’s more? You can sprinkle flower petals on your rangoli, serving trays and entrance to give them a more festival appeal.
A Sweeter Diwali For All: This Year, Feast On Jalebis, Apple Halwa & Rabri Ghewar
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Diwali is here and it's the perfect time to feast on mouthwatering sweet treats. Laddus, barfis and halwas are set to take a bigger place on the dining table. However, this year, try a quirky combination of desserts to give your guests a tongue-tickling treat to enjoy.
Here's a round-up of delectable recipes by top chefs to make your Diwali sweeter than ever.
Diwali is here and it's the perfect time to feast on mouthwatering sweet treats. Laddus, barfis and halwas are set to take a bigger place on the dining table. However, this year, try a quirky combina..
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Ingredients
Maida: 1 kg Atta: 100 gm Ghee: 100 ml Ghee: 6 kg Mould: As per choice Sugar: 3 kg Water: 1200 ml Gulab jal: 10 ml Milk for rabri: 5 l Water: 1650 ml Water: 2 l Milk: 1 l Ice: 1 kg Pista: 50 gm Silver work Kesar: 1 gm Citric acid: 1 tsp
Method - In kadai take 100 gm ghee - Mash it with hand by adding 20 gm maida and atta mixture - Add 30 ml water in sequence and prepare the batter - When the batter ready, add 1 litre milk and 1 kg ice - Add 2 litres of water - In kadai add 4.5 kg ghee and heat it till it gets completely hot - Add 50 ml batter step by step - When ghewar is get ready add 50 gm ghee to the side of the kadai - Remove this from kadai - Make the rabri by adding 250 gm sugar to 5 litre milk in kadai - Stir continuously till it gets thick, to 1.5 litre - In a separate bowl, add 1200 ml water and sugar - Cook it on a low flame till it gets ready - Add citric acid after it's ready - Cool the syrup for 30 minutes
(Courtesy: Royal Kitchen of Ranbanka Palace, Jodhpur)
Black sesame seeds(Ellu): 1/2 cup Palm jaggary(Karuppatti): 1/2 cup Fried channa dal(Pottukadalai): 1/4 cup Dry ginger powder(Sukku Thool): 5 gm Water: 1/4 cup
Method
- Dry roast sesame seeds until it pops up - Make sure not to burn it - Cool down and then transfer to a mixie jar - Grind finely and transfer it to a mixing bowl - Add fried chana dal(Pottukadalai) to the same jar and grind to fine powder - Mix both ground stuffs well using fingers - In a kadai, take 1/2 cup of grated palm jaggery (Karupati) and add 1/4 cup of water to it - Add a generous pinch of dry ginger powder (sukku thool) - Allow it to boil well until the karupati dissolves fully and bubbles up - Switch off the flame when it looks like thick honey - Filter it and start adding to the powder mix - Pour incrementally and mix evenly with a spoon - Take a pinch and roll into a ball - It will look glossy and won’t take a perfect shape - Make the balls and put it in a plate - Leave it open for 10-20 minutes - Now, take each ladoo and roll again between palms
(Courtesy: Chef Arun Kumar, Chef de Cuisine, Elior India)
Thick yoghurt: 1 cup Thick coconut milk: 1/2 cup Low fat cream: 1/4 cup Homemade condensed milk: 1/4 cup Organic jaggery: 1/4 cup Milk chocolate/dark chocolate: 1/4 cup
Ingredients for Apple and Cinnamon Halwa
Apples (grated): 2 Condensed milk: 1/4 cup Sugar: 2 tbsp Cinnamon powder: 1/4 tsp Clove powder: One pinch Cardamom powder: 1/4 tsp Raisins: 2 tbsp Ghee: As required
Method for Bhapa Misti Doi
- Melt the jaggery on stove top - Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds - Mix it with the jaggery to melt it completely - Take yoghurt, coconut milk, homemade condensed milk, low fat cream and whisk them well - When the jagerry and chocolate mixture is lukewarm, add to the yoghurt mix and whisk everything well until properly combined, smooth and creamy - Take oven safe bowls and pour the yoghurt into them - Place the pots on a tray - Fill the tray with hot water so that the bottom of pots are immersed in water - Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is firm - Allow it to come down to room temperature then refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving
Method for Apple and Cinnamon Halwa
- Grease a pan with ghee and fry the raisins - Remove and keep to the side - Combine apples, cinnamon powder, clove powder, and cardamom powder in the same pan - Cook, stirring continuously, on low flame - Add sugar and condensed milk - Stir on low flame until it thickens - Smear a plate with ghee and transfer the cooked halwa into it - Flatten it gently and top up with fried raisins - Let it cool - Slice into preferred shapes - Serve thereafter - Now place a spoon of apple halwa on top of baked Bhapa misti doi and serve.
Bottle gourd grated(noodle length): 200 gm Sugar: 100 gm Rose water: 10 ml Chopped nuts: 20 gm Water: 75 ml
Method for the Crème Anglaise
- Place the milk, rabri, vanilla pod and seeds into a saucepan and bring to the boil - Turn off the heat - Place the egg yolks and caster sugar into a bowl and whisk until pale and creamy - Pour a dash of the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk to combine, then slowly pour in the rest of the milk, whisking all the while - Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer - Stirring frequently, cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture is fine
Method for Lauki ke Lacche
- Put water, sugar and grated bottle gourd in a pan and let it cook on low flame - Once bottle gourd is cook increase the flame and cook till water is evaporated - Off the flame and finish with rose water and chopped nuts - To serve put the rabri mixture in a glass and top with lauki ki laccha
(Courtesy: The Imperial, New Delhi)
Ingredients for the Crème AnglaiseMilk: 150 mlRabri: 150 mlVanilla pod, split, seeds scraped: 1Egg yolks (free-range): 4Caster sugar: 40gSaffron: 1/2 gmIngredients for Lauki ke LaccheBottle gourd gra..
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Ingredients
Bread slices: 15 Milk (boiled and cooled): 4 cups Water: 2 cups Sugar: 2 cups Cardamom powder: 1/2 tbsp Cashew nuts (coarsely chopped): 20 gm Raisins: 20 gm Saffron strands soaked in lukewarm milk Ghee and oil for frying Sabhudhana papad Jaggery syrup: 50 ml
Method
- Trim the sides of bread slices and place them loosely on a plate - Separately fry cashews and raisins in ghee until light brown - Use the same pan to deep fry bread slices - You can use half oil and half ghee to deep fry bread slices - Be careful not to burn the bread slices as this may give bitter taste to the sweet - Make sugar syrup by combining sugar and water - Bring this to boil and add cardamom powder - Simmer till it reaches one thread consistency - In lukewarm milk soak these deep fried bread slices - Add above sugar syrup to this and mix well - On low flame leave this to thick - Add saffron and stir in between until ghee/oil starts to leave the sides of the vessel - Turn off the flame ad garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins - You can serve this warm or cool - This will stay fresh up to a week, when stored in a clean and dry air tight container in refrigerator - Fry papad and top with double ka meetha and jaggery syrup and enjoy the crisp
All purpose flour: 1 cup Yogurt: 1/2 cup Oil for deep-frying Sugar: 2 cups Water: 2 cups A pinch of saffron Green cardamom: 6 Strained local yogurt: 1 and half to 2 cups Milk (warmed): 2 tbsp Sugar: 1/4-1/2 cups (or as per taste) A pinch of nutmeg A pinch of cardamom powder
Method for Jalebi
- In a large bowl, whisk refined flour, yogurt and sufficient water to a smooth, pancake batter-like consistency - Cover and keep in a warm place to ferment for 24 hours - Before cooking the next day, whip the batter again for a few minutes - Heat sufficient oil in a pot on medium heat to 325 degrees - Pour some batter into a pastry bag with a small straight tip - Squeeze round spirals into the hot oil and deep fry, turning them over gently a few times, until they are evenly golden and crisp - Drain and soak in cardamom sugar syrup for 2-3 minutes - Take them out of the syrup and serve hot - Make as big as possible
Method for Green Cardamom Syrup
- Combine ingredients in a small pot and cook on medium/low heat for 30 minutes - Strain out cardamom and cool
Method for Yogurt pudding
- Mix ingredients in a large bowl, chill - Now arrange all of them on top of jalebi like pizza and serve
(Courtesy: The Imperial, New Delhi)
IngredientsAll purpose flour: 1 cupYogurt: 1/2 cupOil for deep-fryingSugar: 2 cupsWater: 2 cupsA pinch of saffronGreen cardamom: 6Strained local yogurt: 1 and half to 2 cupsMilk (warmed): 2 tbspSugar..
