Diwali in the Big Apple

Diwali fireworks at South Street Seaport, New York City.

Diwali had become a well-entrenched event on New York City’s multicultural calendar, it was erased some time ago.For the sixth year in a row, city officials marked the day by suspending alternate side parking, perhaps the ultimate acknowledgement that your ethnic holiday has arrived. Around town recently, there were daylong street fairs, special menus at Indian restaurants and events for children.

By far this season’s largest was the Association of Indians in America 24th annual Diwali celebration at South Street Seaport on October 2.  More than 200,000 people attended the event, which started at noon and had confetti of entertainment:  two stages showcased performances, including Indian cultural and folk dances, and Bollywood dancing. Water Street was lined with 20 food vendors selling small plates of delicious Indian favorites like samosas and chole bature (curried chickpeas with fried puffy bread). The evening culminated with a 20-minute fireworks show. Local politicians stopped by to pay homage to the city’s Desi denizens.

The Asia Society had a Diwali Family Day on October 22. The three-hour event, in its ninth year, had more than 200 participants. Children made diyas (oil lamps lit on the holiday) and rangoli (folk art) and watched kathak dance performances.

Junoon, the recently Michelin-starred upscale Indian eatery in the Flatiron neighborhood, is offering a four-course menu through this coming Sunday. Special dishes include butter garlic langoustine, paneer in a garlic-breadcrumb crust with chili jam, lamb shanks in a dried red chili sauce and coconut rice pudding with red wine roasted figs. Owner Rajesh Bhardwaj and his team decorated the restaurant with more than 200 diyas and candles, some four feet high.

I normally celebrate Diwali by going to my parents’ house in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and doing a puja, which includes my husband, 3-year old daughter and younger sister. Then, my dad’s parents, whom I call dadaje (grandfather) and dadema (grandmother), as well as aunts, uncles and cousins, come over for a home-cooked Indian vegetarian dinner which ends with everyone eating far too much of my dadema’s almond burfi, a rich sweet confection she makes only for this occasion.This year, however, we’re breaking from tradition by celebrating at my apartment in New York City.

Making Indian food isn’t my strong suit so I’m having a Punjabi cook from Queens prepare a meal of sarso ka saag (mustard greens), daal (lentils), paneer stir-fry, mixed vegetable curry and raita (yogurt). For dessert, even though we’ll have assorted cookies from Payard, a popular French bakery, there is no letting go of my dadema’s burfi.And, to teach my daughter’s classmates about this festival of lights, another Indian mom and I will spend an hour with the preschoolers Wednesday. We will have the children paint diyas, give them shakarpara (deep fried flour pieces coated in sugar) to eat and read “Lighting a Lamp,” which tells the story of the holiday.