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Diwali, widely known as the event of lamps, marks the triumph of positivity over negativity. This is the most widely marked celebration across India and resembles the atmosphere of the Western Christmas season. It’s synonymous with pyrotechnic displays, brilliant shades, endless parties and tables creaking under the immense load of dishes and sweet treats. Every Diwali celebration is finished without packages of confections and dried fruit exchanged between kin and companions. Across the United Kingdom, these customs are maintained, putting on festive attire, going to places of worship, narrating ancient Indian stories to the little ones and, crucially, gathering with friends from every background and religion. In my view, Diwali represents unity and distributing meals that feels special, but doesn’t require you in the kitchen for hours. This bread-based dessert is my version of the rich shahi tukda, while the spherical sweets are ideal for presenting or to relish with a hot tea after the meal.

Easy Ladoos (Shown Above)

Ladoos are some of the most famous Indian confections, alongside gulab jamuns and jalebis. Envision a classic Indian halwai’s shop overflowing with treats in various shapes, tint and measurement, all skillfully made and liberally topped with clarified butter. These sweets frequently occupy a prominent position, making them a popular choice of gift during auspicious occasions or for offering to Hindu deities at religious sites. This particular recipe is among the easiest, calling for a small set of items, and can be made in no time.

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

4 ounces of clarified butter
250 grams of gram flour
¼ tsp ground green cardamom
a pinch of saffron (as an option)
50g mixed almonds and pistachios, roasted and coarsely chopped
180 to 200 grams of granulated sugar, as per liking

Liquefy the clarified butter in a Teflon-coated pan on a moderate heat. Reduce the temperature, mix in the chickpea 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 30-35 minutes. Initially, the mixture will look like wet sand, but with further heating and blending, it will become similar to peanut butter and smell wonderfully nutty. Do not attempt to speed it up, or leave the mix unattended, because it might burn rapidly, and the gradual roasting is vital for the distinctive, nutty taste of the sweet balls.

Take the pan off the heat, blend the cardamom and saffron, if included, 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 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 let them cool to ambient temperature.

These are ready to be enjoyed the ladoos immediately, or place them in a tight-lid jar and store in a cool place for up to a week.

Indian Bread Pudding

This takes inspiration from Hyderabadi shahi tukda, a food that is commonly created by cooking bread in clarified butter, then drenching it in a heavy, luxurious rabdi, which is produced by heating whole milk for an extended period until it condenses to a fraction of its original volume. The recipe here is a healthier, easier and quicker alternative that demands minimal supervision and lets the oven do all the heavy lifting.

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

Twelve slices old white bread, crusts removed
3.5 ounces of clarified butter, or melted butter
1 liter of whole milk
1 x 397g tin thickened milk
150g sugar, or as preferred
a pinch of saffron, steeped in 30ml of milk
¼ tsp ground cardamom, or the insides of 2 pods, powdered
¼ tsp ground nutmeg (if desired)
1.5 ounces of almonds, coarsely chopped
1.5 ounces of raisins

Trim the bread into triangular shapes, coat nearly all but a spoonful of the ghee over both sides of every slice, then arrange the triangles as they land in an oiled, roughly 20cm x 30cm, oblong baking pan.

In a large bowl, beat the milk, condensed milk and sugar until the sweetener incorporates, then stir in the saffron and its soaking milk, the spices including cardamom and nutmeg, if included. Transfer the milk blend evenly over the bread in the pan, so each piece is saturated, then leave to steep for a short while. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6.

Cook the pudding for half an hour or so, until the surface is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

In the meantime, liquefy the rest of the clarified butter in a small pan on a medium heat, then fry the almonds until lightly browned. Switch off the stove, incorporate the raisins and let them simmer in the remaining warmth, stirring constantly, for one minute. Scatter the nut and raisin combination over the sweet dish and serve warm or chilled, simply on its own or alongside a portion of vanilla ice-cream.