Ravinder Bhogal’s turnip sabzi . Photograph: Dan Jones/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Thea Hudson. View image in fullscreen Ravinder Bhogal’s turnip sabzi . Photograph: Dan Jones/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Thea Hudson. Food Tandoori celeriac, kale saag paneer and turnip sabzi: Ravinder Bhogal’s vegetarian recipes for Diwali A Diwali feast full of light, love and lipsmacking deliciousness
Ravinder Bhogal Wed 4 Nov 2026 07.00 CET Share Prefer the Guardian on Google D iwali, the celebration of light, arrives just as we need hope. It marks the triumph of good over evil and reminds us that light will prevail. It’s a time for sensory overload – fireworks, colour, partiesand food, which is traditionally vegetarian. And this isn’t difficult, because Indian cooking naturally brings plants to the centre of the table in smart ways. Wishing you a very happy Diwali: may the year ahead be full of light, love and delicious things!
Turnips have a dowdy reputation, but cooking them with spices to lend some interest gives these plain Janes of the vegetable world a sexy makeover. Panch phoran is an Indian five-spice mix; if you can’t find it, you can make it yourself with equal parts fennel seeds, cumin, black mustard seeds, nigella seeds and fenugreek seeds.
2 tbsp ghee 1 tsp pa nch phor an 10 fresh curry leaves 1 red onion , peeled and very finely chopped 3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled 2 garlic cloves 1 green chilli 1 tbsp tomato puree 100g passata ½ tsp turmeric Sea salt 2 tbsp light brown sugar 1kg turnips , cut into 1cm cubes Juice of ½ lime Finely chopped coriander Chapa ti , to serve
Melt the ghee in a wide pan or casserole over a low heat, then add the panch phoran. When that starts to splutter, add the curry leaves and onion, and saute over a low heat until the onions are caramelised.
Meanwhile, put the ginger, garlic and chilli in a food processor, blend to a fine paste, then add to the pan and cook until soft and fragrant. Add the tomato puree, passata and turmeric, season with salt and sugar, and cook on a medium heat for six minutes, until jammy.
Add the turnips and 30ml water, stir to coat the turnips in the masala, then cover and leave to cook on a low heat for about 15 minutes, until the turnips are tender. Pour over the lime juice, sprinkle over the coriander and serve with chapati.
View image in fullscreen Ravinder Bhogal’s tandoori celeriac with coriander and peanut chutney. Celeriac’s sweet, earthy flavour and robust texture stand up to this spice-laden marinade and zesty chutney.
Prep 15 min Marinate 4 hr Cook 45 min Serves 6 3 fat garlic cloves , peeled and grated 2½cm piece fresh ginger , peeled and finely grated 2 green bird’s eye chillies , very finely chopped Sea salt 1 tbsp kashmiri red chilli powder , or paprika 1 tsp cumin seeds , toasted and roughly crushed ½ tsp ground cardamom ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 pinch ground cloves 1 pinch saffron strands , soaked in 2 tbsp warm water Juice of 1 lime , plus wedges to serve 200g Greek yoghurt 1 large celeriac (about 900g), peeled and cut into thick steaks 30g melted ghee Chaat masala , to finish
For the chutney 100g fresh coriander, including stalks 25g fresh mint leaves 2 tbsp peanuts , soaked in hot water for 30 minutes 1-2 green chillies Juice of 1 lime 1 tsp caster sugar Chaat masala , to taste Sea salt , to taste 75ml ice-cold water
To make the chutney, put everything in a food p…