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Diwali, often called the celebration of illumination, is a celebration of light over darkness. This is the most broadly observed Indian festival and has a similar vibe to the Western Christmas season. Diwali is characterized by fireworks, brilliant shades, endless parties and dining surfaces groaning under the sheer weight of culinary delights and sweets. Not a single Diwali is complete without boxes of sweets and dehydrated fruits passed around friends and family. In the UK, we keep those traditions alive, wearing traditional clothes, visiting temples, sharing tales from Indian lore to the little ones and, crucially, meeting with companions from all walks of life and faiths. For me, the festival centers on unity and offering dishes that appears unique, but doesn’t require you in the cooking area for extended periods. The pudding made from bread is my take on the decadent shahi tukda, while the ladoos are ideal for presenting or to savor alongside some chai after the banquet.

Effortless Ladoos (Featured at the Top)

Ladoos are one of the most iconic Indian sweets, comparable to gulab jamuns and jalebis. Envision a classic Indian halwai’s shop filled with confectioneries of all forms, hue and dimension, all skillfully made and abundantly coated with clarified butter. Ladoos often take the spotlight, establishing them as a top selection of offering for propitious moments or for offering to Hindu deities at places of worship. This version is among the easiest, requiring just a handful of ingredients, and can be prepared in minutes.

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

110g ghee
250g gram flour
a quarter teaspoon of cardamom powder
1 pinch saffron (as an option)
50 grams of combined almonds and pistachios, roasted and coarsely chopped
180-200g granulated sugar, to taste

Liquefy the clarified butter in a non-stick skillet on a moderate heat. Reduce the temperature, mix in the chickpea flour and cook, stirring constantly to blend it with the heated clarified butter and to prevent it from sticking or burning. Persist with cooking and blending for half an hour to 35 minutes. Initially, the combination will appear as wet sand, but as you keep cooking and stirring, it will become similar to peanut butter and emit a delightful nutty aroma. Do not attempt to speed it up, or leave the mix unattended, because it can burn very easily, and the gentle heating is critical for the typical, roasted flavor of the ladoos.

Take the pan off the heat, mix in the cardamom and saffron, if using, then set aside to cool until moderately warm on contact.

Mix in the nuts and sweetener to the room temperature ladoo mix, stir completely, then tear off small chunks and roll between your palms into 15-20 spherical shapes of 4cm. Place these on a dish with some distance between them and let them cool to ambient temperature.

These are ready to be enjoyed the sweets promptly, or store them in an airtight container and store in a cool place for about seven days.

Indian Bread Pudding

This draws inspiration from the shahi tukda from Hyderabad, a dish that’s typically made by sautéing bread in ghee, then immersing it in a dense, creamy rabdi, which is created by simmering full-fat milk for an extended period until it condenses to a small portion of its initial amount. The recipe here 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 a quick 10 minutes
Cook 60 minutes plus
Serves 4 to 6

Twelve slices stale white bread, crusts cut off
100g ghee, or melted butter
4 cups of full-fat milk
1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk
5 ounces of sugar, or according to taste
a small pinch of saffron, steeped in 30ml of milk
¼ tsp ground cardamom, or the seeds from 2 pods, crushed
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg (as an option)
40 grams of almonds, broken into pieces
40 grams of raisins

Trim the bread into triangular shapes, spread all but a teaspoon of the clarified butter on each side of every slice, then place the triangles as they fall in a greased, approximately 20cm by 30cm, oblong baking pan.

Using a big bowl, whisk the milk, thick milk and sweetener until the sugar melts, then mix in the saffron and the milk it was soaked in, the spices including cardamom and nutmeg, if included. Transfer the milk blend evenly over the bread in the container, so it all gets soaked, then leave to steep for a short while. Set the oven temperature to 200 Celsius (180 fan)/390 Fahrenheit/gas 6.

Bake the pudding for half an hour or so, until the surface is golden brown and a pick stuck into the center exits without residue.

At the same time, heat the leftover ghee in a small skillet on moderate flame, then fry the almonds until golden. Turn off the heat, incorporate the raisins and let them simmer in the residual heat, blending steadily, for one minute. Scatter the nut and raisin combination over the pudding and offer heated or cooled, simply on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.