Diwali 2011

It's been a few weeks, but I wanted to post some pictures of Diwali. We went to visit some friends and then had a quiet celebration at home. No firecrackers! The first two decorations are from the local Indian grocery store.

Sid's mom and sister brought us the string of lights. I'm leaving them up because Christmas isn't that far away.
(Actually, all of the decorations are still up. Maybe they'll come down after New Years Day?)

Some offerings for Lord Ganesh and Goddess Lakshmi.

These little clay lamps filled with oil are called diya. Diwali is known as "the festival of lights". Though pretty, these lights made me extremely nervous because we left them burning unattended while we went out to visit friends. I was filled with dread most of the way home because several fire trucks with their sirens blaring passed us on the way home. We were lucky and nothing got set on fire! 

We wrapped this string around each other's wrists seven times. 

Diwali wouldn't be complete without special sweets, known in Hindi as prasad. 

Clockwise from the top left, these treats are kaju phool (meant to look like a little flower), milkcake (very rich and buttery), soan papdi (a flaky sweet with almonds and pistachios, hint of ginger), and besan ladoo (crunchy and made from chickpea flour). All are fantastic, but there is one I like more than all the others. Full disclosure: I did not make any of them. We bought them at the store. Oh, and we got this awesome spice storage container that has made cooking at dinnertime so much easier and more enjoyable!