Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is set to take place on 12 November this year, with the entire festival lasting for five days from 10–14 November. The most festive day, which is also called Diwali, takes place in the middle of the five-day festival, the dates of which are determined based on the Hindu lunisolar calendar. The vibrant and festive celebration symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.

Some of the popular treats that are typically served at Diwali include jalebi (deep fried spirals of sweet dough, which are then soaked in syrup), burfi (sweet fudgy square-shaped treats typically made using milk and a variety of different flavours), and gulab jamun (a classic Indian sweet made using flour and ghee that is deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup) among others.

Restaurants and bakeries are already starting to prepare for their Diwali celebrations. Helly Raichura (owner and chef at the Melbourne-based restaurant Enter via Laundry) and Kay-Lene Tan (executive pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel) are teaming up to enable customers in Melbourne to celebrate Diwali over the course of three days (9–11 November). The celebratory feasts will be held at Helly’s restaurant Enter via Laundry, and are steeped in the traditions that she grew up with in Gujarat in India’s west.

The vegetarian Gujarati menu that Helly and Kay-Lene have put together features many Diwali classics and is likely to be a big celebration of the holiday.