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Diwali, often called the event of lamps, is a celebration of positivity over negativity. It’s the most extensively celebrated Indian festival and resembles the atmosphere of holiday festivities abroad. The occasion is linked to sparklers and fireworks, brilliant shades, continuous festivities and dining surfaces groaning under the sheer weight of dishes and sweet treats. No Diwali is whole without boxes of sweets and dehydrated fruits exchanged between loved ones and relatives. In the UK, these customs are maintained, putting on festive attire, going to places of worship, sharing tales from Indian lore to the children and, above all, gathering with friends from diverse cultures and beliefs. For me, the festival centers on community and sharing food that appears unique, but doesn’t require you in the kitchen for hours. This bread-based dessert is my interpretation of the decadent shahi tukda, while the spherical sweets are ideal for presenting or to savor alongside some chai after the feast.

Simple Ladoos (Pictured Top)

Ladoos are one of the most recognizable Indian desserts, alongside gulab jamuns and jalebis. Picture an Indian halwai’s shop filled with treats in various shapes, hue and dimension, all professionally prepared and liberally topped with traditional butter. Ladoos commonly hold centre stage, making them a popular choice of present for festive events or for presenting to divine figures at religious sites. This adaptation is among the easiest, requiring just a handful of ingredients, and is ready quickly.

Prep 10 min
Cook 50 minutes plus chilling
Makes 15-20

110g ghee
250g gram flour
1/4 teaspoon of ground green cardamom
a pinch of saffron (optional)
50g mixed almonds and pistachios, heated and broken into pieces
6-7 ounces of white sugar, according to preference

Melt the ghee in a nonstick pan on a moderate heat. Reduce the temperature, incorporate the gram flour and cook, stirring constantly to integrate it into the heated clarified butter and to ensure it doesn’t stick or scorch. Keep cooking and stirring for half an hour to 35 minutes. To begin with, the combination will appear as wet sand, but as you continue cooking and mixing, it will become similar to peanut butter and smell wonderfully nutty. Avoid hurrying the process, or neglect the mixture, because it might burn rapidly, and the gentle heating is critical for the characteristic, nutty flavour of the sweet balls.

Take the pan off the heat, 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 pull apart little portions 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.

You can now serve the ladoos immediately, or keep them in a sealed container and maintain at room temperature for as long as one week.

Classic Indian Bread Pudding

This takes inspiration from Hyderabad’s shahi tukda, a recipe that is usually prepared by sautéing bread in ghee, then immersing it in a dense, creamy rabdi, which is created by simmering 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 requires a lot less tending to and enables the oven to take over the task.

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 1 hr+
Serves 4-6

A dozen slices day-old white bread, crusts cut off
100g ghee, or liquid butter
1 litre whole milk
One 397-gram can sweetened condensed milk
150g sugar, or according to taste
a pinch of saffron, immersed in 2 tablespoons of milk
a quarter teaspoon of cardamom powder, or the contents of 2 pods, ground
a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg powder (as an option)
40g almonds, coarsely chopped
1.5 ounces of raisins

Trim the bread into triangular shapes, spread all but a teaspoon of the ghee on both faces of each piece, then place the triangles as they fall in a greased, roughly 20cm x 30cm, rectangular baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix the milk, sweetened milk and sugar until the sugar melts, then mix in the saffron and the liquid it steeped in, the cardamom and nutmeg, if using. Empty the milk combination evenly over the bread in the dish, so each piece is saturated, then allow to soak for 10-15 minutes. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6.

Cook the pudding for 30-35 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and a skewer placed in the middle exits without residue.

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, add the raisins and let them simmer in the residual heat, mixing continuously, for 60 seconds. Scatter the nut and raisin combination over the sweet dish and offer heated or cooled, just as it is or accompanied by vanilla ice-cream.