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Diwali, widely known as the festival of lights, is a celebration of positivity over negativity. It stands as the most extensively celebrated Indian festival and has a similar vibe to the Western Christmas season. The occasion is linked to fireworks, bright colours, non-stop gatherings and tables creaking under the sheer weight of dishes and sweet treats. No Diwali is complete without containers of mithai and dehydrated fruits passed around kin and companions. In the UK, we keep those traditions alive, dressing up, attending religious sites, narrating ancient Indian stories to the little ones and, crucially, assembling with pals from all walks of life and faiths. In my view, Diwali represents togetherness and offering dishes that seems extraordinary, but won’t leave you in the culinary space for long durations. The pudding made from bread is my take on the decadent shahi tukda, while these ladoos are excellent for giving or to savor alongside some chai after the feast.

Simple Ladoos (Pictured Top)

Ladoos are some of the most famous Indian confections, comparable to gulab jamuns and jalebis. Envision a classic Indian halwai’s shop bursting with sweets of every shape, colour and size, all expertly crafted and generously laden with clarified butter. Ladoos commonly hold a prominent position, making them a popular choice of gift during auspicious occasions or for offering to Hindu deities at religious sites. This particular recipe is one of the simplest, needing only a few components, and can be prepared in minutes.

Prep 10 min
Cook 50 min plus cooling
Makes approximately 15-20

110 grams of ghee
9 ounces of chickpea flour
1/4 teaspoon of ground green cardamom
1 pinch saffron (optional)
2 ounces of assorted nuts, roasted and coarsely chopped
180-200g granulated sugar, to taste

Heat the ghee in a nonstick pan on a medium heat. Turn down the heat, add the gram flour and simmer, with constant mixing to integrate it into the heated clarified butter and to make sure it doesn’t catch and burn. Continue heating and mixing for half an hour to 35 minutes. Initially, the combination will appear as moist granules, but as you continue cooking and stirring, it will turn to a peanut butter consistency and give off a rich nutty scent. Do not attempt to speed it up, or neglect the mixture, because it can burn very easily, and the gradual roasting is essential to the distinctive, nutty taste of the confectioneries.

Take the pan off the heat, blend the cardamom and saffron, if included, then leave to cool until just warm to the touch.

Add the nuts and sugar to the chilled ladoo blend, combine well, then break off small pieces and shape with your hands into 15-20 spherical shapes of 4cm. Place these on a dish with some distance between them and leave to cool to normal temperature.

You can now serve the ladoos immediately, or store them in an airtight container and store in a cool place for about seven days.

Indian Bread Pudding

This is inspired by the shahi tukda from Hyderabad, a food that is commonly created by frying bread in ghee, then immersing it in a dense, creamy rabdi, which is created by simmering whole milk for hours until it reduces to a reduced quantity from the start. This adaptation is a more nutritious, simpler and faster option that requires a lot less tending to and allows the oven to handle the work.

Prep a quick 10 minutes
Cook 1 hr+
Serves 4-6

Twelve slices stale white bread, crusts cut off
100g ghee, or melted butter
4 cups of full-fat milk
A 397-gram tin thickened milk
150g sugar, or as preferred
a pinch of saffron, immersed in 2 tablespoons of milk
a quarter teaspoon of cardamom powder, or the seeds from 2 pods, crushed
a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg powder (if desired)
1.5 ounces of almonds, broken into pieces
1.5 ounces of raisins

Trim the bread into triangular shapes, coat nearly all but a spoonful of the clarified butter on each side of each piece, then set the triangular pieces as they sit in a buttered, roughly 20cm x 30cm, rectangular baking dish.

In a large bowl, beat the milk, sweetened milk and sugar until the sweetener incorporates, then mix in the saffron and its soaking milk, the spices including cardamom and nutmeg, if included. Transfer the milk blend consistently across the bread in the container, so each piece is saturated, then leave to steep for a short while. Set the oven temperature to 200°C (180°C fan)/390°F/gas mark 6.

Bake the pudding for half an hour or so, until the surface is golden brown and a pick stuck into the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining ghee in a small skillet on moderate flame, then sauté the almonds until lightly browned. Switch off the stove, add the raisins and allow them to heat in the residual heat, mixing continuously, for 60 seconds. Dust the almond and raisin blend over the pudding and present hot or cold, simply on its own or accompanied by vanilla ice-cream.