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Diwali, often called the celebration of illumination, is a celebration of positivity over negativity. It’s the most widely marked celebration across India and has a similar vibe to the Western Christmas season. The occasion is linked to sparklers and fireworks, bright colours, non-stop gatherings and countertops straining under the sheer weight of culinary delights and sweets. No Diwali is whole without containers of mithai and preserved fruits passed around friends and family. In the UK, we keep those traditions alive, putting on festive attire, attending religious sites, sharing tales from Indian lore to the children and, above all, meeting with companions from every background and religion. Personally, Diwali represents unity and offering dishes that seems extraordinary, but doesn’t keep you in the culinary space for long durations. The bread pudding is my interpretation of the indulgent shahi tukda, while the spherical sweets are excellent for giving or to savor alongside some chai after the meal.

Effortless Ladoos (Shown Above)

Ladoos are some of the most iconic Indian sweets, comparable to gulab jamuns and jalebis. Imagine a traditional Indian halwai’s shop filled with confectioneries of all forms, colour and size, all professionally prepared and generously laden with ghee. Ladoos often take centre stage, rendering them a favored option of present for festive events or for giving to gods and goddesses at religious sites. This particular recipe is one of the most straightforward, calling for a small set of items, and can be made in no time.

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

4 ounces of clarified butter
250 grams of gram flour
¼ tsp ground green cardamom
a small amount of saffron (as an option)
2 ounces of assorted nuts, roasted and coarsely chopped
6-7 ounces of white sugar, as per liking

Melt the ghee in a nonstick pan on a moderate heat. Turn down the heat, add the gram flour and simmer, with constant mixing to combine it with the heated clarified butter and to prevent it from sticking or burning. Persist with cooking and blending for 30-35 minutes. At the start, the mix will resemble moist granules, but with further heating and mixing, it will become similar to peanut butter and give off a rich nutty scent. Do not attempt to speed it up, or neglect the mixture, because it might burn rapidly, and the slow roast is vital for the characteristic, nutty flavour of the ladoos.

Take the pan off the heat, blend the cardamom and saffron, if added, then set aside to cool until slightly warm when touched.

Incorporate the nuts and sugar to the cooled ladoo mixture, combine well, then pull apart little portions and roll between your palms into 15-20 spherical shapes of 4cm. Place these on a dish separated a bit and leave to cool to normal temperature.

These are ready to be enjoyed the ladoos immediately, or store them in an airtight container and maintain at room temperature for as long as one week.

Classic Indian Bread Pudding

This takes inspiration from Hyderabadi shahi tukda, a recipe that is usually prepared by cooking bread in clarified butter, then immersing it in a dense, creamy rabdi, which is produced by heating whole milk for a long time until it thickens to a reduced quantity from the start. The recipe here 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 60 minutes plus
Serves about 4-6 people

A dozen slices old white bread, edges trimmed
100g ghee, or melted butter
1 liter of whole milk
One 397-gram can condensed milk
5 ounces of sugar, or as preferred
1 pinch saffron, immersed in 2 tablespoons of milk
¼ tsp ground cardamom, or the seeds from 2 pods, crushed
¼ tsp ground nutmeg (as an option)
1.5 ounces of almonds, broken into pieces
40 grams of raisins

Cut the bread into triangles, apply almost all except a teaspoon of the ghee on both faces of each piece, then place the triangles as they sit in a buttered, approximately 20cm by 30cm, rectangular baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix the milk, sweetened milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then blend the saffron and its soaking milk, the cardamom along with nutmeg, if added. Empty the milk combination consistently across the bread in the dish, so everything is immersed, then leave to steep for 10-15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/390°F/gas mark 6.

Bake the pudding for half an hour or so, until the top is golden brown and a skewer placed in the middle exits without residue.

Meanwhile, liquefy the rest of the clarified butter in a small skillet on moderate flame, then fry the almonds until lightly browned. Extinguish the flame, mix in the raisins and let them simmer in the residual heat, blending steadily, for a minute. Dust the almond and raisin blend over the dessert and serve warm or chilled, simply on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.