"Delicious Diwali Lights, Clothing, Food!" 

"May Lakshmi" — the Hindu goddess of prosperity — "bless you with good fortune."

"May Diwali’s light brighten your day."

Members of the Indian community will exchange these greetings, most likely in one of the 14 languages of India, when Diwali (aka Deepavali or Dipavali), the festival of lights, begins Oct. 24. Diwali lasts five days and is arguably the most wonderful time of the year for the millions of people across the globe who practice the Hindu, Sikh and Jain religions.

“Diwali is like Christmas, people put up lamps in their houses but they also do fireworks like we do on the Fourth of July,” Dinesh Sanghavi said.

To prepare for the holiday, Indian families clean and decorate their homes and dress up in traditional garb: saris for women and kurtas for men. Every Diwali celebration includes an elaborate spread of Indian sweet and savory treats.

And that's where the Milwaukee area plays a role.

The city has become a national force in the Indian food world, thanks to Dinesh Sanghavi and his wife, Bharti. Their business, Indian Groceries & Spices in Wauwatosa, has grown from small beginnings to rank among the biggest suppliers of Indian goods nationwide. 

Bharti Sanghavi shares traditional holiday recipes along with everyday favorites in her book “Beyond the Curry with Bharti.” She also offers hands-on guidance through monthly cooking classes May through October at the store, at 10701 W. North Ave,

Growing up in a big Indian family, Bharti Sanghavi was the family sous chef.

“Being the second youngest of eight children, I was assigned the job of chopping, shredding and slicing in the kitchen. Feeding such a large family was a great feat, and we took cooking very seriously. Every meal was homemade every single day; we hardly went out to eat,” she said.

When she was 16, circumstances forced her early promotion  to head chef.

“My mother broke her toe, and my grandmother came over to help. I thought she was there to do the cooking, but to my surprise, she made me the head chef while gently giving me instructions. Within two weeks I not only became a good cook, but I developed the confidence to cook pretty much anything,” Bharti Sanghavi said. “My older brothers who had dedicated their lives to teasing me were now impressed with what I could do in the kitchen. ... "

"As I got older, I kept returning to my true love of cooking by taking regional cooking classes until I could cook all types of Indian cuisine,” she said.

When Bharti Sanghavi arrived in Milwaukee in the 1970s, she faced a challenge: finding ingredients for Indian cooking.

“I came to the U.S. in 1976 newly married and on my own for the first time. The availability of Indian groceries and products was slim to nonexistent,” she said.

But her groom was working to face that challenge. Motivated by need, Dinesh and his older brother had opened a tiny store, near the Mitchell Park Domes on National Avenue, in 1972.

The Sanghavi brothers practice the Jain religion, one of the three major religions of India (Hindu and Sikh are the other two). Jain and Sikh adhere to strict vegetarian diets. 

“As Jains, we believe in vegetarianism. We also don’t eat root vegetables or eggs,” Dinesh Sanghavi said. “We couldn’t find good vegetarian food in Milwaukee, so we drove a Chevy Vega to New York to get it.

 “I was a chemical engineer, and my brother, Shirish (who died five years ago), was a mechanical engineer."

The Sanghavi brothers kept their day jobs while Shirish Sanghavi’s wife, Premila, ran the store. “We got the idea to import, then we got our first container on the lake in Milwaukee’s port,” Dinesh Sanghavi said. “And we started getting merchandise directly from India.”

Fast forward 50 years, and the store now occupies a sprawling 25,000-square-foot space in Wauwatosa. In 2000, the Sanghavis launched an ecommerce business, which grew out of their then teen son’s school assignment.

“My son Neil set up a website for the store as a project at Nicolet High School,” Dinesh Sanghavi said.

That project has grown to become ishopindian.com, now a global destination that bills itself as the largest online store for all things Indian. Members of the Indian community, vegetarians and foodies appreciate the availability of  items such as the bestselling basmati rice, several types of ghee, a huge selection of chai teas and prepared foods, made in an Oak Creek facility.

More:Sweet holiday: Hindu festival Diwali marked by bright lights and treats

Diwali, like most holiday celebrations, calls for advance preparation. On the big day, the focus is a special afternoon meal. 

“Diwali starts the few days before when people clean their houses and decorate and make their homes beautiful,” Bharti Sanghavi said.

A yogurt-based dish, shrikhand, features prominently.

“We use yogurt because we don't want to boil milk … it's not auspicious. I’m from the west part of India; not boiling milk is a tradition in our community, and it’s pretty common throughout India,” she said.

The rich yogurt also gets extra sweetness and flavor, with nuts, sugar and cardamom, she said. 

For the Sanghavi family, it wouldn’t be Diwali without ghughara, a pastry  filled with almonds and pistachios. The recipe gets rave reviews.

“Anyone who tastes our recipe says, ‘This is the best ghughara I’ve ever eaten,' ” Bharti Sanghavi said.

A variety of special dishes are often part of the feast, including date and nut bars and lentil crispies. 

Dinesh and Bharti Sanghavi aren’t on the TV show "Indian Matchmaking," but they probably should be. In the mid-1970s, he requested a leave of absence from his engineering job.

“I told my boss at Johnson Controls that I was going to India to find a bride, and I would be back in four to six weeks,” Dinesh Sanghavi recalled.

But the process took a bit longer.

“My family started putting matrimonial ads in the papers. They set up interviews, and I went to 50 of them” he said. “I kept extending my (work) leave.”

Two and a half months later, Dinesh ended his search. “I was number 51,” Bharti Sanghavi recalled.

How many potential grooms had she met during her matchmaking process? “Dinesh was Number 3,” she admitted, with a chuckle.

On Feb. 7, 1976, the couple were married and came to Milwaukee to live happily ever after … and very well fed.

These bars are made from dates, cashews, almonds and pistachios without added sugar. . They make great power bars. This recipe is from "Beyond the Curry with Bharti," by Bharti Sanghavi.  

Recipe tested by Pete Sullivan

Mix all nuts, and dry roast in a medium pan over medium heat on the stovetop for four or five minutes, stirring occasionally so they toast evenly. Set aside

In a small pan, saute dates for 2 minutes over medium heat. They will melt into a thick pulp.

Remove dates from heat, and add nuts. Mix well.

Brush a cutting board and rolling pan with ½ teaspoon ghee. Make a smooth ball from date and nut mixture and roll into a ½ inch thick square sheet on the cutting board. 

Brush ghee on top of mixture. Let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cut into 1½ by 1½ inch squares.

Store in refrigerator. Serve at room temperature.

Note: Ghee is clarified butter that is sold at Indian markets and at many other grocers. It can be made at home by melting butter until the milk solids separate and come to rest on the bottom of the pan; pour off the clarified liquid butter, leaving the solids behind. Allow to cool and solidify. 

Chorafali is a traditional Diwali festival snack. Originating from the Indian state of Gujarat, chorafali is highly anticipated on the Diwali table, since it’s usually made once a year. Chorafali are light and fluffy snacks that melt in your mouth. This recipe is a personal recipe from Bharti Sanghavi.

Recipe tested by Pete Sullivan

In a small pot, bring ½ cup water, salt, baking soda and oil to a boil. Turn off heat. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours. Little by little, add hot water mixture, mixing with a spoon. Add another 2 tablespoons of room-temperature water to make a firm dough.

Knead dough with a little oil on a flat surface. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the chile powder and black salt to garnish the finished chips later.

Halve the rested dough so kneading is easier. Knead one portion for a few minutes until the dough's color lightens. 

Roll dough into a rope about 7 inches long and cut into even 7 equal pieces. Roll each piece with a rolling pin until it's 5 inches wide. Cut into ½-inch-wide strips.

Heat 1 to 2 inches of oil in a wok or heavy medium pot to 375 degrees. Place 2 or 3 strips into the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. It will take a few seconds for them to puff up after adding them to the oil. Remove, using a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle a bit of red chile powder and black salt on top.

Serve at room temperature. Store in airtight jars for 3 to 4 weeks.

Note: The flours and other ingredients are available at south Asian markets, including Indian Groceries & Spices.