Complete Guide to Diwali 2022 - Pooja preparations, Gifting Ideas, Recipes & More

The most exciting part of the year is finally here as we are inching closer to Diwali. Diwali or Deepavali is one of the grandest festivals celebrated with great fervour and enthusiasm in all corners of India. This stunning festival marks the victory of good over evil and people celebrate the return of Lord Ram after defeating Ravana. Families and loved ones unite together for Diwali preparations, decorate the house with diyas for Diwali, exchange best Diwali gifts and enjoy Diwali Special food. 

In this complete guide to Diwali 2022 we’ll try to make your Diwali preparations easy. We’ll explain how to make a Diwali preparation list, how to do Diwali Pooja Preparations, how to decorate your house with Diwali home décor, Diwali gifting ideas and also share some healthy Diwali Sweets recipes and Diwali Snack Recipe. Make this Diwali a little different. Choose health over indulgence. Instead of gifting regular sweets or chocolate gift something special or customised for your loved ones. Celebrate #IssDiwaliDilSe

Diwali preparation list

Diwali is right around the corner and there is so much preparation to finish. From your attire to home décor to gifts there’s always something we leave for the last minute. This Diwali preparation list will ensure you don’t miss out on anything before the big day!

1. Deep Cleaning of House 

Is any celebration complete without a thorough cleaning of the house before? According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha visit clean and well-decorated homes. Homes are also deep cleaned before Diwali to ward off any evil eyes and spread light and positivity. Whether you’re religious or not, decluttering your home is a mindful exercise and helps plan for the celebrations better!

2. Get your Wardrobe ready

Diwali is a 5-day festival and more than one occasion to dress up right in your ethnic glam outfits. Get your wardrobe ready for Diwali before the festival starts so that you are ready with your complete look with outfits, jewellery and makeup. 

3. Get your Home Décor and Lighting items

Deepavali is the festival of lights – so don’t forget to buy the diyas, lighting oil, candles, fairy lights, flowers, home décor items and rangoli powders. Keep these décor and lighting essentials handy so that you can avoid any last-minute rush. 

4. Puja Samagri 

On Diwali, we worship Ma Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. For Diwali Pooja Preparations, get your pooja samagri ready. Items like a wooden chowki, a red or yellow piece of new cloth to cover the chowki, Lakshmi and Ganesha idols, kumkum, chandan, haldi, roli, brown coconut, flowers, akshat, incense sticks, kalash, brass or earthen lamps, ghee for the lamp, gangajal, are all essential pooja samagri for Diwali. Apart from these you also need to get sweets and fruits for the pooja. 

Diwali Home Décor Ideas

With Diwali, comes a grand display of lights, colours and home décor across all households in India. Diwali is a festival that symbolises the victory of good over evil, thus Diwali decoration consists of a lot of bright lights and colourful decorations to celebrate positivity. Here are some Diwali Home Décor ideas to brighten up your space. 

1. Rangoli

Rangolis and Diwali go in tandem. Decorate a colourful rangoli outside your main door and decorate it with diyas and candles. You can also add flowers to your rangoli.

2. Diwali Lights décor outside home

Light up the outdoors with colourful lights for Diwali. If you have a balcony, hang curtain lights or fairy lights. Use made-in-India LED lights to make your space brighter.

3. Flower Decoration for Diwali at home

 Flowers and decorations with flowers bring that essential Indian touch to any festival. Make DIY flower corners in your home with marigold garlands. You can even use paper flowers of different shapes and colours to brighten up the decoration. 

4. Diwali Home Décor Ideas for your living room

Diwali is the time to revel with your friends and family and host parties in your home. Decorate your centre table with diyas, candles and flowers. Make floral theme photo booths in your living room for your Instagram photos. A perfect Diwali theme décor with flowers and diyas will bring a festive feel to your photos. 

5. Wall hangings for Diwali 

Ethnic wall hangings and torans on your door bring out the festive Indian look in your spaces. Decorate your rooms and living rooms with ethnic or handmade wall hangings. 

Diwali Gifting Ideas

A big part of Diwali preparations is choosing Diwali gifts for friends and family. There are so many Diwali gifting ideas today that you might feel clueless. But it is always better if you take a little care in choosing Diwali gifts and make them special for the receiver. General gifts like sweets and chocolates are so regular that they might be passed around from one home to another because everybody is gifting them. 

A gift is your way of showing love and appreciation – be it for a friend, a family member or your employees. An act of love when chosen carefully will be retained and cherished by the receiver, like how you will always cherish handmade Diwali greetings cards. Celebrate #IssDiwaliDilSe and make a conscious decision to spread positivity and thoughtfulness. Choose Diwali gift hampers that are free of toxicity, healthy and useful for your loved ones. Here are some thoughtful Diwali gifting ideas that are heartfelt and will celebrate your love and affection towards the receiver. 

#1 Customised Diwali hamper with organic foods

Gift your loved ones the Shaandaar Diwali Hamper that contains organic healthy foods like yummy Jaggery with Sesame Makhanas, healthy Jaggery Coated Walnuts, Honey and scented soy candle, making it the perfect Diwali-themed hamper which is healthy. The beautiful hamper box is reusable and handmade by artisans around the country. 

#2 Customised Diwali Gift Hamper

Everyone loves snacking during Diwali but not always is the snack healthy. This Diwali bring the change and shift to baked snacks instead of fried ones. Gift the specially curated Thoda Sa Namkeen Diwali Hamper by I Say Organic which contains snacks that are healthy. 

This hamper can be customized and contains Baked Namak Para, Baked Methi Mathri, Chakli, namkeens and much more.

#3 Specially curated savoury hamper

There is nothing like a customized hamper for your friends and family. For the ones who love savouries instead of sweets gift the Dildaar Diwali Hamper with a selection of products like Coffee, Cashews, Cookies and Makhanas that have distinct flavours and are made with healthy ingredients. This hamper contains Organic Peanut Butter, Jaggery with Sesame Makhana, Choco Almond Cookies, Organic Roasted Cashews with Black Pepper, and French Press Arabica Coffee. To bring in the festive touch the hamper also contains Scented Soy Candle. 

Diwali Recipes – Healthy Diwali Sweets, Diwali Snacks and Diwali Dinner Recipes

Here are some Diwali Sweets Recipes that are made with organic ingredients and are super healthy.

#1 Dates & Anjeer Laddoo

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups of chopped dates
• 1 cup of dried figs or anjeer
• 1 cup of chopped mixed dry fruits (cashew, almond, pistachio)
• 1/4th cup desiccated coconut
• 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
• 25 ml pure cow ghee

Method: 

1. Blend dates and anjeer in a blender
2. Dry roast mixed dry fruits in a pan for 3 minutes
3. In the same pan dry roast desiccated coconut and sesame seeds
4. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom vessel and sauté the dates and fig mix for 5 mins on    medium heat
5. Now add roasted nuts, coconut and sesame seeds and mix till everything comes together
6. Grease your palms with ghee and make small laddoos once the dough has cooled
7. Roll them in desiccated coconut and sprinkle sesame seeds before serving

#2 Healthy Peanut Laddoo with 3 ingredients

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw peanuts
• ¼ cup powdered jaggery
• 1 tablespoon melted ghee

Method: 

1. Dry roast raw peanuts in a heavy bottom pan till peanuts turn crunchy on low heat for 4-5 mins
2. When cool rub the peanuts in your palms to peel off their skin.
3. Grind the peeled peanuts in a coarse powder for 1 min
4. Add jaggery powder and ghee and grind again to a fine texture
5. Make laddos from the mixture, store them in a tight jar

#3 Sugar Free Chocolate Sandesh

Ingredients:

• Milk 500ml
• Lemon juice – 1and ½ tablespoon
• Cocoa powder - 1 teaspoon 
• Chocolate chips - 1 tablespoon 

Method:

1. Boil milk and reduce the temperature. Add lemon juice to curdle milk and make paneer
2. Wash and hang the milk solid/paneer in muslin cloth for 15 mins to drain excess water
3. Knead the paneer on a plate for 4-5 mins
4. Add cocoa powder while kneading 
5. Heat a non-stick pan and stir this mixture for 3 mins or till you see the texture turn smooth
6. Take off heat and add chocolate chips
7. Make round balls out of the mix and garnish with chocolate chips.

Diwali is nothing without snacking and munching

Here are some Diwali Snack Recipes that are super healthy and not fried! 

#1 Baked Multigrain Nan Khatai

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup ghee 
• ¼ cup powdered jaggery
• pinch of elaichi powder
• pinch of nutmeg
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon each of ragi flour, jowar flour, bajra flour, powdered oats
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• sliced almonds, for garnish

Method:

1. Combine ghee and powdered jaggery in a mixing bowl for 2 mins
2. Add elaichi and nutmeg powder
3. Add all the multigrain flour to the wet ingredients and mix
4. Add baking powder and baking soda and knead it into a soft dough
5. Cover and refrigerate for 30 mins
6. Separate dough into 8-10 small balls, place them on a lined baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven for 25-30mins at 180°C 
7. Let them cool on a wire rack to make them crisp
8. Garnish with sliced almonds

#2 Air Fryed Methi Mathri

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Cup Suji
• 3 Tbsp Dry Kasuri Methi
• 2 Tbsp Ghee
• 1/2 Cup Water – for dough
• 2 Tbsp Ajwain 
• 1 pinch Turmeric Powder
• 1.5 Tbsp Salt to taste

Method:

1. Pulse all the dry ingredients in a food processor
2. Add water to make dough
3. Divide dough into small parts 
4. Roll them like a cookie and make marks with a fork
5. You can either bake them in the oven for 15 – 20 mins at 180°C or air fry them
6. Pre-heat air fryer at 180°C for 2 mins 
7. Lay out the rolled mathris in the basket and air fry for 10 mins or until they turn golden

#3 Diwali Paneer Tikka Recipe

Ingredients :

• 200g Paneer cut into small square pieces
• Curd 2 tablespoons
• Green chillies – 2 chopped
• Himalayan pink salt to taste
• Buckwheat flour or Kuttu atta 2 tablespoon
• Grated ginger 
• Ghee – 1 teaspoon

Method :

1. Mix curd, Himalayan pink salt, chopped green chillies and grated ginger, kuttu atta, ghee in a mixing bowl.
2. Put the square paneer pieces in the bowl and coat them well in the mixture. 
3. Refrigerate the marinated for an hour or more.
4. Bake or grill the paneer pieces on skewers as per your liking. 

Enjoy this wonderful festival of Diwali with your family and friends. These 5 days of Diwali sees us in designer wears, sharing best Diwali gifts and putting up the brightest Diwali Home Décor.  Take care to share thoughtful handmade gifts on Diwali because you are celebrating #IssDiwaliDilSe.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Is it a custom to give gifts on Diwali?

Diwali gifts are a big part of the celebration. With so many Diwali Gift Ideas like new clothes, jewellery, sweets and diyas (traditional oil lamps) there are various ways of showing appreciation and love. The significance of giving gifts is to show love and honour to those you hold dear.

Q2. What gift should be given on Diwali?

Traditional Diwali gifts include sweets and dried fruits. But meaningful tokens of appreciation are loved and cherished by receivers. Gift them mithai or snacks that are healthy and made from organic ingredients and skip the regular. For example, gift a customized hamper with roasted makhanas instead of a fried snack, jaggery coated nuts instead of a sugar-coated snack. 

Q3. How can I make Diwali Binging healthy?

Diwali is the time for parties and get-togethers. Munch on baked snacks and sugar-free sweets to make your Diwali binging healthy. Replace sugar with natural flavourings and sweeteners like dates or jaggery. Always keep in mind the portion size. 

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