In celebration of Diwali, Emirates is marking the Hindu festival onboard flights to and from India, from 28 October to 4 November. Diwali delicacies will be served in all classes and select lounges to customers travelling between Dubai and Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Cochin, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
Customers celebrating Diwali on these routes will be treated to a selection of sumptuous Diwali sweets onboard, while customers relaxing in Emirates’ Lounges will enjoy traditional fare and Diwali-themed cocktails and mocktails.
Premium Economy and Economy Class customers can savour a traditional treat of motichoor laddu with their hot meal – deliciously sweet and juicy laddus deep fried and simmered in blended cardamom and saffron. First and Business Class customers will also be offered a Pista roll, ground cashew nut with a decadent fudge of spices, pistachios and edible silver leaf.
Customers can spend their festive flight being entertained with up to 215 Indian movies on Emirates’ award-winning ice, including new and classic Bollywood hits, and Indian regional movies available in 9 languages – Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Bengali and Gujarati. Viewers can get into the Diwali spirit with box office hits like Jawan, Tiger 3, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and inspiring movies like Dhak Dhak and Ghoomer. There is a special collection of Yash Raj Films, Bollywood’s ‘father of romance’ and over 45 albums and playlists of Indian music.
In the Emirates First Class Lounges of Dubai, customers can savour firangi chaat – aloo tikki, mint and tamarind chutney, spiced yoghurt, pomegranate jewels and crispy kale, followed by a zaatar kebab with kashmiri pulao, cashew sauce and kachumber salad, and a succulent lamb rogan josh – slow cooked lamb shank dressed with fried onion and cashew nuts. Desserts include sweet treats of ghewar infused with saffron milk, angoori rabadi, gulkand kulfi, stuffed gulab jamun, kesari rasmalai and malai cham cham. A special Diwali cocktail is available called Reborn – a spicy mix of gin, lime juice, spiced jamun syrup and ginger ale, as well as a refreshing mocktail Iced Masala, made with milk, masala chai, cardamon powder and black tea.
In the Emirates Business Class Lounges of Dubai, customers can also enjoy vegetable samosa, Amritsari chole, green plantain tikki, and dal kachori complemented with sweetened yoghurt, boondi, pomegranate jewels, mint and tamarind chutney, as well as Diwali cocktail Tamarind Cooler, made with rum, lime juice, tamarind paste, sugar syrup and mint leaves.
In the Emirates Lounges of Cape Town and Johannesburg where there is considerable Indian diaspora, travellers can feast on more ladoo, the beloved jalebi – spiral shaped sweets made with flour and yogurt, and burfi, a signature Indian milk-based melt-in-the-mouth fudge.