It was the love of food that made Maneet Chauhan a successful chef, but it’s the same career that took her away from her homeland. After moving to the USA to get admitted to the Culinary School of America, Chauhan lost her link to the festival of Diwali, a celebration very significant to her Indian culture and also to her childhood memory of foods. Now settled in the USA, chef and TV star Maneet Chauhan proudly holds the badge of honor of being Indian. She keeps those memories and connections alive by celebrating Diwali at home, with all the authentic traditions and the dishes her mother used to prepare for the occasion.

The Family on Diwali

Maneet Chauhan left her hometown in Jharkhand, India to study the culinary arts in America. Now, she and her husband, Vivek Deora, live in Nashville, with their son Karma and daughter Shagun. After years of assimilating into the western culture, Chauhan is back to relishing her roots and also wants her children to be aware of their cultural origins. She created her own Diwali traditions and started to host Diwali parties along with her husband for their friends and families, both Indians and Americans. They decorate their home with traditional rangolis, candles, and fresh marigolds, polish the pious silverware, prepare Indian dishes, and put up DJ and Mehendi stalls for the party.

The Idea Behind

It’s important for Maneet Chauhan to keep her Indian traditions alive and to give her non-Indian friends a glimpse of the fun festivities of Diwali, the biggest holiday of the year for the world’s second-largest populated country. Her Diwali house parties are her way to get everyone together and appreciate each other’s cultural traditions while having fun. There can be a lot of nuances to putting everything together for one to two days, but when people start to come with smiling faces and leave with wider laughs, Chauhan knows all her efforts are worth it. She believes that there’s no better way to get to know and appreciate each other than eating, dancing, and enjoying each other, even with cultural differences.

The Dishes to Feast

Of course, the Diwali party of celebrated chef Maneet Chauhan isn’t complete without her own homemade foods. Chauhan cheerfully admits that she often goes overboard while presenting a delectable Indian feast for her Diwali parties. She generally starts with Chicken Tikka Masala Samosas, which she first created for her kids. There are also Masala Mixed Nuts to snack on. This seasoned and fried nut mix is a favorite childhood snack of Chauhan. For dinner, the guests feast on Tandoori Pomfret, a richly marinated flaky fish, prized in India. The center of the meal is Laal Maas with Sweet Saffron Zarda Pulao, a Rajasthani goat meat and rice dish inspired by Chauhan’s mother’s cooking. To finish with a sweet note, Chauhan presents Marigold Pooris with Rose Halwa, a Diwali-special dessert creation. Chauhan also encourages everyone at her party to eat with their hands like a traditional Indian. The guests generally oblige, as the foods turn out to be finger-licking good!

There’s nothing better than opening up a fresh bag of chips, right? They’re crunchy, salty, and perfect for every occasion. Of course, we can barely imagine a scenario where somebody doesn’t eat a whole bag of chips in one go, but if you are someone who can’t eat a full bag of chips in one sitting, then you’ve probably developed your own hack over the years. Whether you use a chip clip to keep the bag shut or a rubber band to tie it closed, we bet it’s nothing compared to this incredible potato chip bag hack.

Run Out of Options

Yes, if you’re a chip clip fan, you probably have a few of them lying around the house — but they are pretty easy to misplace. While we would be inclined to scoff the whole bag in this scenario, we understand that some people can’t eat as much as we do, which is why you might want to learn this new hack that doesn’t require any special tools. It was first brought to our attention on Twitter by Top Chef television host, Padma Lakshmi, and there’s no doubt about the fact that it blew everyone’s minds.

A New Development

It seems as though Padma was also blown away by the new trick that she learned, as she decided to caption her video tutorial with the question, “How am I just finding out about this now?” In this video, Padma uses this hack to close her half-eaten bag of Fritos, and all you have to do is fold the two sides of the bag as far down as they will go, to create a triangle at the top of the packet. Then, roll up the bottom of the triangle until you create your very own pocket that you can then stick the point of the triangle into. Then, roll the whole bag down.

This potato chip bag hack has completely changed our lives!