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Diwali, frequently referred to as the festival of lights, symbolizes the victory of positivity over negativity. It’s the most widely marked Indian festival and feels a bit like holiday festivities abroad. The occasion is linked to fireworks, bright colours, continuous festivities and dining surfaces groaning under the sheer weight of dishes and sweet treats. Every Diwali celebration is complete without boxes of sweets and dehydrated fruits exchanged between kin and companions. Across the United Kingdom, we keep those traditions alive, wearing traditional clothes, going to places of worship, sharing tales from Indian lore to the kids and, above all, assembling with pals from every background and religion. For me, Diwali represents community and distributing meals that appears unique, but won’t leave you in the culinary space for long durations. The bread pudding is my interpretation of the indulgent shahi tukda, while the ladoos are perfect to gift or to relish with a hot tea after the meal.

Effortless Ladoos (Pictured Top)

Ladoos are one of the most famous Indian confections, right up there with gulab jamuns and jalebis. Imagine a traditional Indian halwai’s shop filled with confectioneries of all forms, tint and measurement, all expertly crafted and abundantly coated with traditional butter. Ladoos commonly hold centre stage, establishing them as a top selection of present for festive events or for offering to Hindu deities at religious sites. This particular recipe is one of the most straightforward, requiring just a handful of ingredients, and can be prepared in minutes.

Prep a brief 10 minutes
Cook 50 minutes along with cooling
Makes 15 to 20

110g ghee
250g gram flour
¼ tsp ground green cardamom
a small amount of saffron (as an option)
50 grams of combined almonds and pistachios, roasted and coarsely chopped
180 to 200 grams of granulated sugar, to taste

Heat the ghee in a non-stick skillet on a medium flame. Reduce the temperature, incorporate the gram flour and cook, stirring constantly to integrate it into the liquid ghee and to ensure it doesn’t stick or scorch. Keep cooking and stirring for half an hour to 35 minutes. To begin with, the mix will resemble wet sand, but as you continue cooking and mixing, it will become similar to peanut butter and emit a delightful nutty aroma. Avoid hurrying the process, or neglect the mixture, because it can burn very easily, and the gentle heating is essential to the distinctive, nutty taste of the sweet balls.

Turn off the heat and take the pan, blend the cardamom and saffron, if added, then set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

Incorporate the nuts and sugar to the room temperature ladoo mix, combine well, then tear off small chunks and form using your palms into 15 to 20 balls of 4cm. Set these on a platter separated a bit and leave to cool to ambient temperature.

They can be served the ladoos immediately, or place them in a tight-lid jar and maintain at room temperature for about seven days.

Classic Indian Bread Pudding

This is inspired by the shahi tukda from Hyderabad, a dish that’s typically made by cooking bread in clarified butter, then immersing it in a dense, creamy rabdi, which is created by simmering whole milk for a long time until it thickens to a fraction of its original volume. My version is a more nutritious, simpler and faster option that demands minimal supervision and lets the oven do all the heavy lifting.

Prep a quick 10 minutes
Cook 1 hour or more
Serves 4 to 6

A dozen slices day-old white bread, edges trimmed
3.5 ounces of clarified butter, or heated butter
1 liter of whole milk
1 x 397g tin condensed milk
150 grams of sugar, or according to taste
a pinch of saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp milk
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom, or the seeds from 2 pods, crushed
a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg powder (if desired)
1.5 ounces of almonds, roughly chopped
40 grams of raisins

Cut the bread into triangles, spread all but a teaspoon of the clarified butter on each side of each piece, then set the triangular pieces as they fall in a greased, roughly 20cm x 30cm, oblong baking pan.

Using a big bowl, beat the milk, thick milk and sweetener until the sugar dissolves, then stir in the saffron and the milk it was soaked in, the spices including cardamom and nutmeg, if included. Empty the milk combination consistently across the bread in the pan, so each piece is saturated, then allow to soak for a short while. Heat the oven to 200 Celsius (180 fan)/390 Fahrenheit/gas 6.

Bake the pudding for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a skewer placed in the middle emerges clean.

Meanwhile, liquefy the rest of the clarified butter in a small skillet on moderate flame, then fry the almonds until golden brown. Switch off the stove, add the raisins and allow them to heat in the leftover temperature, stirring constantly, for a minute. Dust the almond and raisin blend over the dessert and serve warm or chilled, simply on its own or accompanied by vanilla ice-cream.