Diwali

We have Indian friends who are kind enough to invite us to their home for Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.  Traditionally, it is a vegetarian meal and Nemala cooks everything from scratch God bless her.  It takes her two days.  It sounds simple but if it sall made from scratch, it takes time.  She served things like spinach paneer, palak paneer (cheese), potatoes (aloo), rice, dal makani (yummy, yummy dal), curried vegetables (cauliflower and eggplant), and homemade pakora and paratha.  She made some heavenly appetizers, one khatta dholka, is a mashed rice and lentil cake that had the texture of a firm polenta with a curry leaf topping.  I need to learn how to make that one but it takes two days because it has to ferment and then the next day it is steamed.  For dessert she makes these very interesting sweet, they kind of look like dippin dots but I believe they are made from rice. She also makes a halwah, which is a sort of a sweet puddings but it has a silky smooth consistency.  It is more like a think puree.