# Sweets for Diwali

**Canonical URL:** https://sweeties.net/wiki/sweets-for-diwali/
**Source:** sweeties.net, online pick and mix sweet shop

## Summary

Diwali sweets, or mithai, from barfi to laddu, shared at the festival of lights. What they are made of, the silver leaf question, and allergy points.

## Description

Diwali, from the Sanskrit Dipavali, meaning a row or series of lights, is the Hindu festival of lights, also celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It is widely linked with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. Food is a major part of it, with families feasting and sharing mithai.
The sweets
Mithai is the general word for the sweets of the Indian subcontinent. Many Indian sweets are fried, and many are made with sugar, milk or condensed milk, flavoured with almonds and pistachios, spiced with cardamom, nutmeg or cloves, and decorated with nuts or with gold or silver leaf.
Barfi. A milk based sweet with a consistency like fudge, eaten throughout India and Pakistan and served at festivals such as Diwali and Holi: see fudgeLaddu. A round sweet made from various ingredients bound with sugar syrup or jaggery. It has been described as "perhaps the most universal and ancient of Indian sweets", and laddus are served at celebrations, especially those linked with the god Ganesha.
The silver leaf question
The shining silver on many sweets is vark, a very thin leaf of silver. It was traditionally made by pounding silver between layers of ox gut or cow hide, because the leaf separates more easily from animal tissue than from paper. Because of concerns among the vegetarian population of India, manufacturers have moved to modern methods, beating the silver between treated paper or polyester sheets instead. There have also been concerns about purity and hygiene, as not all vark is pure silver. If it matters to you, ask the maker how theirs is made.
Allergy points
Milk. Many mithai are made with milk or condensed milk: see milk in sweetsNuts. Many are flavoured or decorated with almonds and pistachios: see which sweets contain nuts?
When you give a box of sweets as a Diwali gift, it helps to say what is in them, or pass on the label.
In our pick and mix
For a sweet box to share, we sell SW044 by the 100 g, alongside the rest of our pick and mix, and every card opens up to show the full ingredients and allergens. For more gift ideas, see sweet hamper ideas

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