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Diwali, frequently referred to as the event of lamps, symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. This is the most widely marked festival in India and feels a bit like the Western Christmas season. Diwali is characterized by sparklers and fireworks, brilliant shades, continuous festivities and dining surfaces groaning under the substantial bulk of culinary delights and sweets. Every Diwali celebration is whole without containers of mithai and preserved fruits exchanged between loved ones and relatives. In the UK, the practices are preserved, wearing traditional clothes, attending religious sites, sharing tales from Indian lore to the kids and, most importantly, meeting with companions from diverse cultures and beliefs. In my view, Diwali represents community and distributing meals that feels special, but doesn’t keep you in the kitchen for hours. This bread-based dessert is my version of the decadent shahi tukda, while these ladoos are perfect to gift or to savor alongside some chai after the meal.

Easy Ladoos (Featured at the Top)

Ladoos are among the most iconic Indian sweets, right up there with gulab jamuns and jalebis. Picture an Indian halwai’s shop overflowing with sweets of every shape, tint and measurement, all skillfully made and generously laden with clarified butter. These sweets frequently occupy centre stage, making them a popular choice of gift during auspicious occasions or for offering to Hindu deities at places of worship. This particular recipe is among the easiest, requiring just a handful of ingredients, and can be prepared in minutes.

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

110g ghee
250g gram flour
1/4 teaspoon of ground green cardamom
1 pinch saffron (as an option)
2 ounces of assorted nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
180 to 200 grams of granulated sugar, to taste

Liquefy the clarified butter in a Teflon-coated pan on a medium flame. Turn down the heat, incorporate the gram flour and cook, stirring constantly to integrate it into the liquid ghee and to ensure it doesn’t stick or scorch. Persist with cooking and blending for half an hour to 35 minutes. To begin with, the combination will appear as moist granules, but as you continue cooking and stirring, it will turn to a peanut butter consistency and emit a delightful nutty aroma. Don’t try to rush things, or leave the mix unattended, because it might burn rapidly, and the gradual roasting is essential to the typical, roasted flavor of the confectioneries.

Turn off the heat and take the pan, stir in the cardamom and saffron, if included, then leave to cool until slightly warm when touched.

Add the nuts and sugar to the room temperature ladoo mix, combine well, then break off small pieces and shape with your hands into 15 to 20 balls of 4cm. Place these on a dish separated a bit and leave to cool to ambient temperature.

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

Traditional Indian Bread Pudding

This takes inspiration from Hyderabadi shahi tukda, a recipe that is usually prepared by frying bread in ghee, then soaking it in a thick, rich rabdi, which is made by boiling whole milk for an extended period until it condenses to a fraction of its original volume. This adaptation is a better-for-you, straightforward and speedy version that demands minimal supervision and enables the oven to take over the task.

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

A dozen slices stale white bread, crusts removed
3.5 ounces of clarified butter, or heated butter
1 liter of whole milk
1 x 397g tin thickened milk
5 ounces of sugar, or to taste
1 pinch saffron, steeped in 30ml of milk
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom, or the insides of 2 pods, powdered
¼ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
40g almonds, coarsely chopped
40 grams of raisins

Slice the bread into triangles, spread all but a teaspoon of the ghee on both faces of each piece, then set the triangular pieces as they sit in a buttered, about 8x12 inches, oblong baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the milk, thick milk and sweetener until the sweetener incorporates, then mix in the saffron and the liquid it steeped in, the cardamom and nutmeg, if using. Empty the milk combination consistently across the bread in the container, so each piece is saturated, then let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Set the oven temperature to 200°C (180°C fan)/390°F/gas mark 6.

Cook the pudding for 30 to 35 minutes, until the upper layer is browned and a skewer placed in the middle exits without residue.

In the meantime, melt the remaining ghee in a small skillet on moderate flame, then cook the almonds until golden. Extinguish the flame, mix in the raisins and let them simmer in the residual heat, stirring constantly, for a minute. Sprinkle the nut and raisin mix over the sweet dish and serve warm or chilled, simply on its own or alongside a portion of vanilla ice-cream.