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Diwali, frequently referred to as the celebration of illumination, marks the triumph of good over evil. It’s the most extensively celebrated celebration across India and feels a bit like holiday festivities abroad. It’s synonymous with fireworks, vibrant hues, continuous festivities and dining surfaces groaning under the immense load of dishes and sweet treats. Every Diwali celebration is whole without packages of confections and dehydrated fruits exchanged between friends and family. Throughout Britain, we keep those traditions alive, putting on festive attire, going to places of worship, reading Indian mythology to the little ones and, most importantly, gathering with friends from all walks of life and faiths. Personally, the festival centers on community and offering dishes that seems extraordinary, but doesn’t keep you in the kitchen for hours. The pudding made from bread is my version of the decadent shahi tukda, while these ladoos are ideal for presenting or to savor alongside some chai after the meal.

Effortless Ladoos (Pictured Top)

Ladoos are one of the most famous Indian confections, alongside gulab jamuns and jalebis. Imagine a traditional Indian halwai’s shop filled with confectioneries of all forms, colour and size, all expertly crafted and liberally topped with ghee. Ladoos often take the spotlight, establishing them as a top selection of offering for propitious moments or for presenting to divine figures at places of worship. This adaptation is among the easiest, needing only a few components, and can be made in no time.

Prep a brief 10 minutes
Cook 50 minutes plus chilling
Makes 15 to 20

110g ghee
250g gram flour
¼ tsp ground green cardamom
a small amount of saffron (if desired)
50g mixed almonds and pistachios, heated and broken into pieces
180-200g granulated sugar, as per liking

Heat the ghee in a Teflon-coated pan on a medium flame. Turn down the heat, mix in the chickpea flour and cook, stirring constantly to combine it with the heated clarified butter and to ensure it doesn’t stick or scorch. Continue heating and mixing for 30-35 minutes. At the start, the combination will appear as moist granules, but with further heating and mixing, it will turn to a peanut butter consistency and smell wonderfully nutty. Do not attempt to speed it up, or walk away from the blend, because it may scorch quickly, and the slow roast is essential to the distinctive, nutty taste of the sweet balls.

Take the pan off the heat, mix in the cardamom and saffron, if added, then allow to cool until just warm to the touch.

Add the nuts and sugar to the cooled ladoo mixture, mix thoroughly, then break off small pieces and roll between your palms into 15-20 spherical shapes of 4cm. Place these on a dish with some distance between them and leave to cool to room temperature.

These are ready to be enjoyed the ladoos right away, or place them in a tight-lid jar and store in a cool place for as long as one week.

Indian Bread Pudding

This draws inspiration from 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 made by boiling whole milk for a long time until it thickens to a reduced quantity from the start. This adaptation is a more nutritious, simpler and faster option that needs much less attention and allows the oven to handle the work.

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

Twelve slices old white bread, crusts removed
100g ghee, or heated butter
1 liter of whole milk
One 397-gram can sweetened condensed milk
150 grams of sugar, or as preferred
a pinch of saffron, immersed in 2 tablespoons of milk
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom, or the contents of 2 pods, ground
¼ tsp ground nutmeg (as an option)
1.5 ounces of almonds, coarsely chopped
1.5 ounces of raisins

Slice the bread into triangles, spread all but a teaspoon of the ghee over both sides of each piece, then set the triangular pieces as they fall in a greased, roughly 20cm x 30cm, rectangular ovenproof container.

Using a big bowl, mix the milk, condensed milk and sugar until the sugar melts, then stir in the saffron and the milk it was soaked in, the cardamom and nutmeg, if using. Transfer the milk blend consistently across the bread in the pan, so everything is immersed, then let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Set the oven temperature to 200 Celsius (180 fan)/390 Fahrenheit/gas 6.

Cook the pudding for 30 to 35 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and a pick stuck into the center emerges clean.

In the meantime, liquefy the rest of the clarified butter in a small pan on a medium heat, then cook the almonds until lightly browned. Extinguish the flame, incorporate the raisins and allow them to heat in the remaining warmth, stirring constantly, for one minute. Sprinkle the nut and raisin mix over the dessert and offer heated or cooled, simply on its own or accompanied by vanilla ice-cream.