Farsi puri recipe belongs to the big family of Gujarati snacks and snacking culture, where these small, flat, savoury crackers are made to be eaten plain, dunked in tea, or crushed over chaats like bhel puri and sev puri rather than filled or topped with anything, like the case of the papdi chaat. This cracker is the main character, not the supporting act, so its entire appeal rests on getting the dough right as well as the frying. The dough of this Navratri special farsi puri recipe is a simple mix of flour, fine rava for extra crunch, crushed black pepper, cumin, ajwain, salt and a generous two tablespoons of ghee, rubbed into the dry ingredients before any water goes in. That ghee does a lot of work aside from the flavour. It coats the flour particles and shortens the gluten strands, which is part of what gives farsi puri its characteristically brittle, almost flaky bite rather than the softer chew of a regular puri.

Durga Puja 2026 starts with Maha Shashthi on 16 October, and for Bengali households that means mishti season is already in full swing. Mishti goja suits the occasion, with its flaky glory and many-layers. It is made from flour and ghee, fried until golden and then soaked in sugar syrup. It's as a festival sweet in general, popular at Diwali, Holi and Raksha Bandhan, and it's also the kind of treat that turns up at fairs in Bengal alongside jalebi, omriti and bonde, so it is perfect for a Pujo sweet spread. What sets this mishti goja recipe apart is the layering, for which the dough needs to be made a certain way. The dough mixed and kneaded into a stiff, crumbly mix of maida, a little baking soda and plenty of ghee, hand rubbed until it looks like breadcrumbs, then mixed with water. It should be hard, with cracks, unlike the smooth, elastic dough of a puri. The dough is patted into a circle, cut in half, and each half is cut again into quarters. The four pieces are stacked and pressed back into a ball, and repeating this four or five times builds the layers. The more layers there are in the mishti gojas, the flakier and crisper the goja becomes after frying, and those layers also help the sweet absorb syrup evenly. After the last round, the dough is spread into a square about a quarter to half an inch thick and cut into squares or rectangles. It's the stage worth slowing down for if the goja is meant for a Durga Puja 2026 sweet box.

Indian tofu recipes come in myriad varieties, and tofu tikka masala is one hearty preparation, inspired by the classic paneer tikka masala recipe. This tikka masala recipe is the star of the curries as it is a little rich, fragrant, and a bit spicy at the same time. For the tikkas, you can either bake marinated tofu in the oven, air-fry, or pan-fry on the stovetop. To make a tikka masala, a spicy sauce is made, and these oven-baked tikkas go into it. Moreover, the tikkas are so delicious and can also be served as an appetiser. Each protein piece in the masala gravy has charred spots and is super tender on the inside with a significant smoky flavour. It is an indulgent weeknight dinner recipe that features a pure harmony of perfectly balanced flavours.