<div class='bc_element' id='bc_element1' style='width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p class="no-margin startPlaceholder">The first thing to disappear at a Diwali party is often something you didn’t cook. You’ve spent an afternoon getting the chole right, and there’s already a small crowd around the bowl of chivda your cousin brought. Meanwhile, someone who grew up eating tamarind rice is explaining to a friend why they went back for more before they’d finished their first plate. That’s the kind of table worth setting for twenty. Give people a few dishes they’ll recognize, a few they’ll want to ask about, and enough room on the plate to try both. If one guest grew up with Tamil Deepavali sweets, another remembers Punjabi family dinners, and another is coming to their first Diwali party, you don’t need three menus. A well-chosen buffet gives everyone a place to start. This one is vegetarian. Punjabi chole anchors dinner, Telugu-style pulihora brings the tang of tamarind, and Tamil-style green beans poriyal adds a lighter bite. Put out Maharashtrian chivda and Tamil thenkuzhal while people arrive, then bring out a few sweets with distinct flavors and textures. The menu borrows from several regional kitchens; your family’s must-have dish still gets first claim on the table. <b>What to Serve and How Much to Make </b> These quantities are for twenty guests eating buffet style, with several dishes on each plate. If you add another substantial main, make a smaller batch of chole or skip the plain rice. You’ll have plenty of food and one fewer pot to manage. As guests arrive. Put out 4 to 5 cups of Maharashtrian chivda, a seasoned flattened-rice mix, and 20 to 24 small pieces of thenkuzhal, a crisp Tamil rice-flour snack. A little closer to dinner, bring out the paneer tikka. Three pounds of paneer will give you about 45 to 50 pieces. Serve them with lime wedges and 1½ cups of mint chutney. For the main buffet. Plan on about 12 cups of Punjabi chole, chickpeas simmered with tomatoes and spices; 9 cups of cooked Telugu-style pulihora, rice seasoned with tamarind and curry leaves; and 7 to 8 cups of Tamil-style beans poriyal, chopped green beans tossed with coconut. Round out the spread with 5 to 6 cups of cooked plain basmati, 5 cups of cucumber raita, and 14 to 16 full-size naan or rotis cut in half. With chai. Set out three sweets: Tamil adhirasam, Telugu kajjikayalu, and Gujarati mohanthal. Aim for 12 to 14 small tasting portions of each so guests can try a couple or go back for the one they liked best. <b>Open With the Snacks You’d Be Happy to Eat Standing Up </b> Put the chivda and thenkuzhal out before the first guest rings the bell. Chivda belongs to the Maharashtrian tradition of faral, the sweet and savory foods made and shared around Diwali. Thenkuzhal is a familiar Deepavali snack in Tamil Nadu. Both are worth buying from an Indian grocer or sweet shop: they’re ready to serve, and you can set out small bowls while you’re still finishing dinner. If your family has a favorite chakli or someone makes Telugu jantikalu, swap that in for the thenkuzhal. One good crunchy snack beside the chivda is enough. Bring out the paneer closer to dinner. For three pounds of paneer, whisk about 1½ cups thick plain yogurt with 3 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste, 2 tablespoons neutral oil, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 2 teaspoons garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder to taste, and salt. Coat the pieces and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Broil in a single layer on a lightly oiled, broiler-safe metal tray, turning once and watching closely as the edges brown. Serve with lime wedges and mint chutney. If your broiler fits only one tray, put the first batch out while the second cooks. There’s no reason to hold the hot tray in the kitchen until every piece is done. <b>Make the Chole the Day Before </b> For a generous pot, start with six 15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed. Cook three large chopped onions in about ¼ cup neutral oil until well browned. Stir in 3 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste, then add two 14½-ounce cans of crushed or diced tomatoes and about 3 tablespoons chole masala to start. Spice blends vary, so taste before adding more. Cook until the tomato mixture thickens, then add the chickpeas and enough water to make a spoonable gravy. Simmer for about 30 minutes, crushing a ladleful of chickpeas against the side of the pot to give the sauce body. Adjust the salt and finish with lemon and cilantro before serving. Chole is the dish to make ahead because it reheats well and frees up your biggest burner on party day. If your family expects rajma, dal makhani or a particular chana recipe, let that be the main instead. A dish someone already knows how to make for a crowd is a better choice than a new recipe you’ll have to troubleshoot with twenty people on their way over. <b>Give the Rice and Vegetables Their Own Flavor </b> Pulihora is a festive rice dish in Telugu cooking, and the tamarind makes it a bright counterpoint to the chole. Start with 3 cups uncooked rice, which should give you roughly 9 cups cooked. For an approachable home version, heat neutral oil in a small pan and add 2 teaspoons mustard seeds. Once they begin to pop, add a handful of curry leaves, 2 or 3 dried red chilies and ½ teaspoon turmeric. Stir in tamarind paste loosened with a little water and simmer briefly. Tamarind products vary considerably in strength, so fold the seasoning into the rice a little at a time. Taste for salt and tang before adding the rest. Roasted peanuts are a welcome addition if they suit your guests; otherwise, leave them out or offer them separately. For the beans poriyal, use about 2½ pounds of green beans, trimmed and chopped. Fresh beans from your regular grocery store work well, and plain frozen cut green beans are a practical backup. Cook until just tender and drain well. Heat a little oil, pop 2 teaspoons mustard seeds, add curry leaves if you have them, and toss in the beans with salt and about 1 cup unsweetened grated coconut. Frozen grated coconut from an Indian grocery store saves time here. Keep this dish mild, and set a hot pickle on the side for anyone who wants it. Plain rice and raita help round out the plate. For about 5 cups of raita, stir together 4 cups plain yogurt, 1½ cups grated cucumber squeezed dry, 1 teaspoon roasted ground cumin and salt to taste. Make it earlier in the day and refrigerate it. Buy the naan or rotis, and have one person warm them in batches. Twenty people don’t need to watch you make twenty rotis. <b>Let the Sweets Tell a Few Different Stories </b> Choose sweets that give people something to compare. Adhirasam is a Tamil Deepavali sweet made with rice flour and jaggery, with a pleasantly chewy center. Kajjikayalu are crisp Telugu sweet turnovers; fillings vary, but coconut and sugar or jaggery are common. Mohanthal is a rich Gujarati sweet made with besan, or gram flour, and ghee. Cut larger pieces in half and arrange each kind on its own plate. If someone in your family makes a beloved Bengali sandesh or insists Diwali needs kaju katli, swap it in for one of the three. You’ll still have a varied dessert table. Put out chai and a plate of crisp local apples or pears alongside the sweets if you’d like something fresh. If you buy from a sweet shop, ask about ingredients and storage when you order. Keep the labels or take a photo, especially when several sweets look alike or the shop uses nuts across its kitchen. <b>Make the Last Hour Easier on Yourself </b> The day before, cook the chole, buy the sweets and snacks, and find the actual bowls, trays and serving spoons you’ll use. On the morning of the party, make the raita, cut the green beans and mix the paneer marinade. In the final hour, your main jobs are reheating the chole, finishing the rice and beans, broiling the paneer and warming the bread. Give someone else the bread and ask another person to take charge of drinks. Those two jobs are easy to hand over and surprisingly distracting when they’re both yours. Set out small batches and replenish them from the kitchen. USDA guidance calls for holding hot food at 140°F or above and cold food at 40°F or below. Refrigerate perishables within two hours out of temperature control, or one hour if it’s above 90°F. Divide leftover rice and chole into shallow containers so they cool promptly. Write menu cards the way you’d explain the dishes to a friend: “Pulihora: tangy tamarind rice” tells a first-time guest more than a name alone. Ask about allergies before shopping, check packaged foods and bakery items, and give each dish its own utensil. If someone is vegan, check the breads and packaged snacks as well as the cooked dishes. Oil-based chole, rice and poriyal can make a satisfying plate on their own. Once the first round of paneer is out, make yourself a plate. Sit near the person who brought a sweet you’ve never tried and ask what their family calls it. You can always warm another basket of bread later. <b><i>Diwali Feast for 20: Menu Checklist </i></b> ☐ Arrival snacks: 4 to 5 cups Maharashtrian chivda and 20 to 24 small pieces of thenkuzhal. ☐ Starter: 3 pounds paneer for about 45 to 50 pieces of tikka, plus lime wedges and 1½ cups mint chutney. ☐ Main: About 12 cups Punjabi chole. ☐ Seasoned rice: About 9 cups cooked Telugu-style pulihora. ☐ Vegetable side: About 7 to 8 cups Tamil-style beans poriyal. ☐ To serve alongside: 5 to 6 cups cooked plain basmati, 14 to 16 full-size naan or rotis cut in half, and 5 cups cucumber raita. ☐ With chai: 12 to 14 small tasting portions each of Tamil adhirasam, Telugu kajjikayalu, and Gujarati mohanthal.</p> <span></div>