Diwali snacks recipes | 100 Diwali special recipes

Diwali snacks recipes – Wishing all the readers A very Happy, prosperous and safe Diwali. This year Deepavali or Diwali will be celebrated on 14th November 2020. This is one of the festivals that holds lot of prominence in the Indian Hindu community. Goddess Lakshmi, the mother of Love, health, prosperity and wealth is worshiped with much devotion and grandeur on this day. Diwali is celebrated for 3 to 5 days through out India based on the region & customs.

This is the time of the year when most people spend time with their family members, extended families, relatives and friends. Festivals are incomplete without delicious & toothsome foods especially when we spend time with our loved ones. If you are new to planning Diwali menu & wondering..

What can we make for Diwali?
Here is the list of traditional snacks made for Diwali

• Murukku
• Chakli
• Namak para
• Medu vada
• Chivda
• Aloo bhujia
• Sev
• Samosa
• Dahi vada
• Nippattu and many more.

However I have so many Diwali snacks listed here in this post. I have categorized the entire collection to different sections so it is easier for you to choose.

Some of these can also be served as a starter or appetizer in your Diwali meal. I have also listed some popular Indo-Chinese dishes which are great to serve as Diwali party snacks.

You can find a collection of 100 + Diwali sweets recipes here

Do use good quality oil as the shelf life of the snacks depends on the kind of oil used. Avoid reusing oil.

Diwali snacks (dry snacks)

These snacks can be made well ahead of time, a few days before the festival. They keep good for about 2 weeks at room temperature if stored in airtight steel or glass jars.

1. Butter murukku is a popular South Indian snack made with butter, rice flour, besan/ gram flour and basic spices. Butter murukku is a lighter version of the traditional urad dal chakli. This recipe will give you light, crispy and delicious butter murukku.

2. Thattai recipeThattu vadai or Thattai are crisp fried rice crackers from Tamilnadu cuisine. These are eaten as a snack with tea and is mostly made during festivals.

3. Ribbon pakoda or ribbon murukku are flat ribbon shaped murukku hence the name. These are quite popular in tamil nadu and andhra pradesh. Ribbon pakoda are super quick to make compared to the other murukku varieties as the dough need not be shaped to individual portions.

4. Murukku, murukulu or chakralu is a traditional snack made with rice flour and urad dal flour. These are crispy, light, aromatic and delicious. The taste and aroma of these are different from the other murukku varieties due to the addition of urad dal flour. These can be made with store bought flour.

5. Sev is the North Indian name to Omapodi or  Sanna karapusa. Sev is usually used as a topping in chaats and breakfasts recipes like poha or upma. It can also be eaten alone as a snack. These can be flavored and spiced with carom seeds or ajwain.

6. Chakli is usually made in regions of Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra. These are made without the addition of urad dal flour hence they taste different from the others.

7. Sweet murukku is a traditional sweet snack made using plain murukku and jaggery syrup. These are known as manoharam in tamil and bellam kommulu in telugu. If you have kids at home, then this is a must try.

8. Karasev is the south Indian name to besan sev. It is a tea time crunchy snack made with gram flour, rice flour, spices and is flavoured with garlic. These are very aromatic and will be loved by most people.

9. Nippattu is yet another delicious, crunchy snack from Karnataka much similar to the thattai from Tamilnadu and chekkalu from Andhra pradesh. These are uniquely flavored with the addition of peanuts, fried gram and curry leaves.

10. Chekkalu are the andhra style thattai flavored with ginger, curry leaves and green chili paste. Traditionally chekkalu were made with fresh milled rice flour but can be made with store bought flour as well.

11. Namak para is a favorite with kids and are usually prepared during festivals or school holidays. These are also known as savory diamond cuts or nimki. Traditionally these were made with maida but I have shown with atta/ wheat flour in this post.

12. Shankarpali also known as sweet diamond cuts are a crispy deep fried sweet snack made during festivals.

13. Poha chivda is a Indian style trail mix made using flattened rice or parched rice, nuts and other basic ingredients like spice powders. This post shows how to make chivda in 2 ways – Pan roasting and deep frying.

14. Oats chivda is a savory mixture or snack made of parched rice, rolled oats , peanuts and spice powder. Oats chivda is quick to make, healthy and delicious to enjoy with your evening tea.

15. Roasted Cashews make for a guilt-free Diwali snack. These protein-packed crunchy masala roasted cashews are extremely addictive and can be made with zero oil. I have shared the instructions to make roast them in oven and air fryer. However you can also fry these to make crunchy fried cashews.

16. Peanut chikki is Indian style traditional peanut brittle made with jaggery. This post shares lots of tips & tricks to make the best peanut chikki at home. These make a great Diwali snack as they are healthy and refined sugar free.

17. Aloo bhujia is a snack made with boiled potatoes, gram flour and spices. These crunchy fried potato snack is great to serve on its own or with some masala tea. It also goes well as a topping over chaat snacks like aloo chaat, ragda, bhel puri etc.

18. Peanut masala is a snack made by coating peanuts with chickpea flour and spice powders. These can be and fried or baked.

19. Jowar pops – This recipe explains how to make spiced Jowar pops at home. These are a low fat whole grain snack that’s great for peope of all age groups.

Eggless baked snacks

These are made without refined flour. They can also be baked in a kadai or cooker if you don’t have an oven.

Nankhatai are Indian eggless cookies made with flour, ghee, sugar and cardamom powder. These can be made with whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour or gram flour.

Ragi biscuits are a variation of nankhatai but made with finger millet flour. These can also be made with jaggery. Try out these for a healthy option.

Chocolate chip cookies are the easiest to make at home. These are made with whole wheat flour. However for the bakery style cookies, replace the wheat flour with all-purpose flour.

Diwali Snacks – Vada varieties

These recipes can be made for breakfast, brunch or snack. These can be served with a chutney.

Medu vada are known as garelu, uddina vada, vadai in other regional languages. This post shares how to make fluffy & crispy vada by making batter in mixer grinder.

Dal vada recipe are made of urad, chana dal and moong dal. These are aromatic, crispy and taste delicious. These can be offered to the deities during puja. Dal vada can be served with any chutney.

Masala vada or chana dal vada is a popular lentil snack from south Indian cuisine. They masala vada are made using bengal gram,chilies, spices and herbs. It is a street food and is also made in most South Indian homes. Masala vada is served with a chutney.

Instant sweet paniyaram also known as nei appam made with whole wheat flour, jaggery and coconut. These are not deep fried but made in paniyaram pan. In many homes, nei appam is offered to Goddess Laxmi during Diwali.

Rava vada is an instant no soak, no grind snack that you can easily make during Diwali. It is just made by mixing ingredients to make a thick batter and then portions of these are deep fried.

Perugu vada are Andhra style thayir vada or dahi vada. This recipe will help you make soft perugu vada with a melt-in-the-mouth texture. In South Indian states these vadas are made during Diwali to serve as a snack.

Sabudana vada are a deep fried snack made with tapioca pearls, peanuts and potatoes. These are usually made during religious Hindu fastings. Sabudana vada can also be had for a evening snack with green chutney.

Cabbage vada are made with ground lentils, cabbage and spice powders. These turn out too good and aromatic. They are great to have when you have guests home or during festivals.

Dahi vada are deep fried lentil balls soaked in curd/ yogurt and topped with various sweet and sour chutneys. A generous amount of spice powders are sprinkled. This is enjoyed for a snack or as a starter.

Batata vada are spiced potato balls dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried. These are served as a snack and sometimes stuffed in Indian bread known as pav.

Sweet corn vada are a quick to make snack for a festive meal or snack.

Tirupati vada made using whole urad dal, pepper, cumin and salt. These are easy to make and the batter can be made ahead and refrigerated.

Bonda varieties

These can be served as a starter, before the main course in the festive meal or as tea time snacks.

27. Punugulu made with idli dosa batter are a common snack in most telugu speaking homes. These are Andhra’s favorite and popular street food also known as punukkulu. These can be made with either left over dosa idli batter or can be made with fresh ground batter.

28. Urad dal bonda – minapa punugulu are a quick snack you can make to offer during puja. I usually make these instead of the medu vada as these are quick to make.

29. Mysore bonda are yet another popular deep fried snack food from Karnataka cuisine. These are served with some chutney or sambar for evening tea.

30. Veg bonda are deep fried snack with spiced mixed vegetable stuffing. These are quite popular in karanataka tiffin centers. They are eaten as a tea time snack with tea.

31. Aloo bonda is a varitation to the batata vada from maharashtra. These are popular in karanataka and eaten as a snack. To make these spiced potato balls are dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried.

Goli baje also known as Mangalore bajji are soft and spongy fritters made with all-purpose flour, spices and herbs. These are an instant snack and are eaten with chutney.

Samosa cutlets tikkis kababs

Dahi kabab are shallow fried kababs made using yogurt and Indian cottage cheese or paneer. These are one of the best vegetarian kababs that are crisp from outside and soft inside.

Punjabi samosa are crisp fried Indian snack with spicy potato peas filling. These are very popular not only across India but also around the globe. Samosa is served with green chutney or mint chutney.

Aloo tikki are Indian style potato patties that are served as a snack or eaten as a patty in a burger. These are best served with mint chutney or dahi chutney. These are shallow fried however they can also be baked in oven.

Hara bhara kabab are spinach patties made with mixed vegetables. These make a healthy snack and can be enjoyed or as a patty in veg burger or in a roti roll.

Veg cutlet are made with veggies like potatoes, peas, beans and carrots. These are pan fried, air fried or baked. These are healthy & use very less oil.

Corn cutlet – Quick corn patties made with sweet corn, potatoes and spices. These are pan fried and can be made with very little effort. These can also be air fried or baked in the oven

Paneer cutlet is a great snack to serve anytime with green chutney or any sauce. We love to top these cutlets with some tamarind chutney, green chutney and garnish with sev.

Pakora varieties

These are good to enjoy as a snack any time. These are very quick to make and can be made instantly when you have a unexpected guests home.

Onion pakoda is the king of all pakoras. These crisp fried fritters are addictive and make a great snack any time. In this post I have shared how to make the best crisp and delicious pakoras at home.

Moong dal pakoda make for an easy Diwali snack. To make these moong lentils are soaked for a short time and ground to a batter. Then portions of these are deep fried or air fried until crisp. The batter can be prepared ahead and refrigerated.

Falafel recipe Vegetarian Chickpea fritters from middles eastern cuisine. Falafel are served with tahini sauce or stuffed inside pita bread and served.

Corn pakoda recipe Quick Sweet corn fritters made with Indian spices and gram flour. They make a great starter or a snack even for parties.

Mirchi bajji recipe Easy mirchi bajji or mirapakaya bajji are batter fried chilies that are popular in south India. These are served as a snack or a side in a meal.

Veg pakora are quick deep fried fritters made with gram flour also known as besan and mix vegetables. These are great to use up the left over veggies in your refrigerator.

Cauliflower pakoda are a quick deep fried snack from India. These are usually enjoyed with a cup of tea or coffee for a evening snack.

Palak pakoda recipe Spinach pakora or palak pakoda are Indian style spinach fritters. These are crunchy and can be had as a starter or snack.

Pakodi are the Andhra style variation of the popular Onion pakoda.

Aratikaya bajji are Andhra style crispy raw banana fritters. These are most commonly eaten during festivals and Diwali is no exception. These can also be included in your Diwali meal as a side.

Aloo pakora are a snack made with raw potatoes. Slices of raw potatoes are dipped in pakora batter and deep fried. These are good to serve with a spicy chutney.

Cabbage pakoda is a family favorite during festivals. This is great for those who do not eat onions during the festive days. These are super crunchy and aromatic.

Paneer pakora is a popular evening snack from North Indian cuisine.  It is made by batter frying Indian cottage cheese aka paneer. These turn out delicious and mildly spicy. Paneer pakora are usually served with green chutney or red chilli chutney.

Paneer popcorn is a quick crunchy snack made similar to the chicken popcorn. Paneer is batter coated and then rolled in bread crumbs. Then deep fried till crunchy. These can also be baked or air fried.

Diwali snacks – Chaats & others

Aloo chaat is a simple pan fried potato chaat. Super quick to make even for a crowd as the potatoes are pan fried. Potatoes can also be air fried or grilled to make this chaat.

Pav bhaji is a popular street food made with a mixed veggies and is served with eggless pav. In many regions of India, it is custom to cook some food during Diwali with 7 to 9 different kinds of seasonal winter veggies. This is one dish can be made with so many veggies. Instant pot & stove top instructions are included.

Ragda pattice is a delicious snack meal where crisp potato patties are served with white pea curry, garnished with chutneys, sev, onions and tomatoes. This post shares how to make these easily including chutneys.

Bhel puri is a street style snack made with puffed rice. In this post I have shared how to make the best at home with easy chutneys which you can make ahead and store.

Churumuri or masala mandakki is a popular puffed rice snack from Karnataka. It just takes about 10 minutes to make this and needs no fancy ingredients or chaat chutneys. Many households make this as an evening Diwali snack.

Mandakki oggarne or puffed rice upma is another popular Karnataka street food. It is made during Diwali in many households in Karnataka and is served with mirchi bajji.

Papdi chaat is one of the popular street snacks of India. Crisp fried discs topped with potatoes, chutneys, curd and various spice powders.

Sev puri is one of the street foods of India made with small crisp puris, boiled potatoes and chutneys. This recipe helps to make the best sev puri at home. 

Corn chaat is another quick snack made with boiled sweet corn, Indian cottage cheese (paneer) and fresh veggies. A dash of chaat masala is added for flavor.

Jhal muri is a puffed rice snack made without the use of any chutneys.

Indian-Chinese snacks/ appetizers

Gobi manchurian is one of the most popular vegetarian manchurian dish from Indian chinese cuisine. Fried cauliflower in dunked in slightly sour, sweet and hot manchurian sauce. Gobi manchurian can be served as a starter or as a side with noodles or fried rice.

Veg manchurian is one of the popular manchurian recipes from Indo chinese cuisine. Mixed veg balls are dunked in sweet, sour and hot sauce. This can be enjoyed as a starter or as a side with noodles or fried rice. You can bake these or deep fry them.

Chili paneer is yet another popular Indo-chinese dish made by tossing crispy paneer in delicious spicy, sweet and tangy red chilli sauce. You can also grill, bake or air fry paneer before instead of shallow frying.

Paneer Manchurian is similar to chilli paneer but is added to the most popular Manchurian sauce.

Spring rolls are an easy snack made with frozen spring roll wrappers, veggies like cabbage, bell peppers and carrots. These make an awesome party snack. I have shared 2 versions of the filling along with the option to bake them.

Diwali party snacks/ appetizers

Gobi 65 is a South Indian snack made with cauliflower, flour, spices and herbs. This post also includes instructions to make them in a oven without having to deep fry. It can also be served as a starter or as a side in a meal. This recipe yields a Andhra style spicy gobi 65.

Potato wedges make for a great Diwali party snack. This post shares 3 ways to make spicy crispy potato wedges. They can be baked, air fried or deep fried.

Paneer kofta made with grated paneer, potatoes, ground spices and herbs. These paneer koftas can be fried, baked or air fried. Serve them as a snack with green chutney or top with tamarind chutney, green chutney and garnish to make a delicious paneer kofta chaat.

Crispy corn is a popular snack made with sweet corn, flour and spices. These make a great snack but is best served hot. Please refrain from making this in large batches/quantities. Make them in smaller batches. These can also be air fried and baked in oven.

Cheese balls made a great party snack. If you are having kids, then they will love these on the Diwali snacks menu. These can also be baked or made in paniyaram pan.

Paneer tikka is the king of grilled vegetarian Indian appetizers. These easy restaurant style tandoori tikka skewers can be made on stove top, in oven or in air fryer. I have the instructions for all of the methods.

Mushroom tikka will be a great one if you plan to include some healthy food on your festive menu. Enjoy them as a snack with green chutney or roll them in any Indian flatbreads to make kathi rolls.

Paneer 65 is a South Indian restaurant style snack or appetizer where crisp fried paneer chunks are tempered in a spicy yogurt masala. To make it healthy, you can also bake or air fry the paneer.

Poori is a puffed fried bread made with wheat flour. It is one of the most made foods during Diwali in many regions. It is with a potato sabzi or curry, kurma, chana masala.  It is eaten anytime of the day, as a breakfast, snack or as a part of meal.

Bhatura and chole is a popular North Indian fried bread commonly eaten with a spicy chickpea curry. I have shared 2 easy versions of making bhatura in this post.