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Diwali, widely known as the celebration of illumination, symbolizes the victory of good over evil. It’s the most widely marked celebration across India and has a similar vibe to Christmas in the west. The occasion is linked to sparklers and fireworks, brilliant shades, continuous festivities and dining surfaces groaning under the substantial bulk of food and desserts. Every Diwali celebration is finished without packages of confections and dehydrated fruits passed around loved ones and relatives. Throughout Britain, the practices are preserved, wearing traditional clothes, attending religious sites, narrating ancient Indian stories to the children and, most importantly, assembling with pals from diverse cultures and beliefs. In my view, Diwali is about community and offering dishes that appears unique, but won’t leave you in the cooking area for extended periods. This bread-based dessert is my take on the decadent shahi tukda, while the ladoos are excellent for giving or to savor alongside some chai after the feast.

Easy Ladoos (Pictured Top)

Ladoos are some of the most famous Indian confections, right up there with gulab jamuns and jalebis. Picture an Indian halwai’s shop bursting with confectioneries of all forms, colour and size, all skillfully made and generously laden with traditional butter. These sweets frequently occupy the spotlight, rendering them a favored option of offering for propitious moments or for giving to gods and goddesses at places of worship. This version is among the easiest, needing only a few components, and can be prepared in minutes.

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

110 grams of ghee
250g gram flour
1/4 teaspoon of ground green cardamom
a small amount of saffron (optional)
2 ounces of assorted nuts, roasted and coarsely chopped
180 to 200 grams of granulated sugar, to taste

Heat the ghee in a non-stick skillet on a medium heat. Lower the flame, incorporate the gram flour and cook, stirring constantly to integrate it into the melted ghee and to ensure it doesn’t stick or scorch. Persist with cooking and blending for half an hour to 35 minutes. At the start, the mixture will look like moist granules, but as you continue cooking and mixing, it will turn to a peanut butter consistency and give off a rich nutty scent. Do not attempt to speed it up, or walk away from the blend, because it may scorch quickly, and the gentle heating is essential to the typical, roasted flavor of the confectioneries.

Remove the pan from the stove, blend the cardamom and saffron, if using, then set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

Incorporate the nuts and sugar to the chilled ladoo blend, stir completely, then break off small pieces and form using your palms into 15 to 20 balls of 4cm. Put these on a plate spaced slightly apart and allow to cool to room temperature.

They can be served the sweets promptly, or keep them in a sealed container and maintain at room temperature for about seven days.

Classic Indian Bread Pudding

This draws inspiration from Hyderabad’s shahi tukda, a food that is commonly created by sautéing bread in ghee, then soaking it in a thick, rich rabdi, which is produced by heating rich milk for a long time until it thickens to a small portion of its initial amount. This adaptation is a more nutritious, simpler and faster option that requires a lot less tending to and lets the oven do all the heavy lifting.

Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hour or more
Serves about 4-6 people

A dozen slices day-old white bread, edges trimmed
100 grams of ghee, or heated butter
1 litre whole milk
One 397-gram can thickened milk
5 ounces of sugar, or as preferred
1 pinch saffron, steeped in 30ml of milk
¼ tsp ground cardamom, or the seeds from 2 pods, crushed
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg (if desired)
1.5 ounces of almonds, coarsely chopped
1.5 ounces of raisins

Slice the bread into triangles, apply almost all except a teaspoon of the clarified butter on each side of each piece, then arrange the triangles as they sit in a buttered, roughly 20cm x 30cm, rectangular ovenproof container.

Using a big bowl, mix the milk, thick milk and sweetener until the sugar dissolves, then stir in the saffron and its soaking milk, the cardamom and nutmeg, if using. Empty the milk combination consistently across the bread in the dish, so everything is immersed, then let it sit for a short while. Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius (180 fan)/390 Fahrenheit/gas 6.

Heat the pudding for 30-35 minutes, until the upper layer is browned and a skewer placed in the middle emerges clean.

At the same time, heat the leftover ghee in a little pot over medium heat, then sauté the almonds until lightly browned. Switch off the stove, mix in the raisins and let them simmer in the remaining warmth, stirring constantly, for 60 seconds. Dust the almond and raisin blend over the dessert and present hot or cold, plain as it is or alongside a portion of vanilla ice-cream.