Issue #14 of the Chai Bhai newsletter. The Diwali edition. Light a diya first.
Five Days, Five Cups
Diwali is not a single day. It is a five-day festival, each with its own ritual significance, and each — if you are doing it properly — with its own chai moment.
Dhanteras (Day 1): The festival of wealth and prosperity. Families purchase gold, silver, or new utensils on this day. The traditional chai on Dhanteras is served in a new cup or vessel, bought specifically for the occasion — a domestic renewal that starts with the chai.
Chhoti Diwali / Narak Chaturdashi (Day 2): The day of oil baths before sunrise and the lighting of the first diyas. The pre-dawn chai on this morning — made before the household stirs, in the dark kitchen, before the oil lamp is lit — is one of the most contemplative of the year.
Diwali (Day 3): The main day. Lakshmi puja in the evening, the lighting of thousands of diyas, fireworks, and the sharing of mithai with neighbours. The chai is served continuously — with every box of sweets brought to the door, with every visiting relative. This is social chai at its most intense.
Govardhan Puja / Annakut (Day 4): Food offerings to Lord Krishna. In many communities, the chai on this day is made with extra cardamom and offered first at the home shrine before being drunk.
Bhai Dooj (Day 5): Brothers visit sisters, who perform a protective ceremony (tilak) and are given gifts. The chai on Bhai Dooj is made by the sister for the brother — a domestic expression of the bond being celebrated.
Chai and Mithai: The Perfect Pairings
The sweets of Diwali — mithai — are rich, concentrated, and intensely sweet. Chai is the necessary counterpoint: its slight bitterness and spice cut through the sweetness and reset the palate between pieces. This is not incidental; it is the purpose.
Gulab jamun with elaichi chai: The rosewater-soaked fried milk dumplings are the most intensely sweet common mithai. The cardamom in the chai amplifies the rose notes while the tea tannins prevent the sweetness from becoming cloying.
Kaju katli with plain chai: The elegant diamond of cashew fudge is subtle enough that a heavily spiced chai would overpower it. A plain Darjeeling or light Assam is the pairing — let the nut speak.
Besan ladoo with adrak chai: The chickpea-flour ball, rich with ghee, needs the sharpness of ginger chai. The meeting of savoury-sweet ghee and peppery ginger is exactly right.
Barfi with masala chai: The condensed milk fudge in all its variations (coconut, pistachio, chocolate) holds up to a full masala blend without being overwhelmed.
The Diwali Chai Recipe
For the main Diwali evening, when guests arrive and the diyas are lit:
Diwali Masala Chai (serves 8 — make a large pot):
- 1 litre whole milk + 400ml water
- 4 tsp Assam CTC
- 10 green cardamom pods, cracked
- 1 tsp saffron steeped in 2 tbsp warm milk
- 8 slices fresh ginger
- 2 small cinnamon sticks
- A pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated)
- Jaggery or sugar to taste — at least 4 tsp
Add the saffron milk at the end, after straining. The saffron turns the chai a faint gold — appropriate for a festival of light.
“Every Diwali, someone in a house somewhere in India is making chai in the kitchen while the diyas burn outside. That person is the anchor of the celebration. Be that person.
Next month: the art of the chai break — why slowing down is the most productive thing you can do.
Subh Deepawali. Chai piyo, zindagi jiyo.
— Chai Bhai