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Diwali, often called the celebration of illumination, marks the triumph of good over evil. It’s the most widely marked celebration across India and resembles the atmosphere of holiday festivities abroad. Diwali is characterized by pyrotechnic displays, bright colours, continuous festivities and tables creaking under the substantial bulk of food and desserts. No Diwali is finished without packages of confections and dried fruit passed around friends and family. Throughout Britain, we keep those traditions alive, putting on festive attire, going to places of worship, reading Indian mythology to the kids and, crucially, assembling with pals from every background and religion. Personally, Diwali is about togetherness and distributing meals that feels special, but doesn’t keep you in the kitchen for hours. The pudding made from bread is my interpretation of the rich shahi tukda, while these ladoos are perfect to gift or to relish with a hot tea after the meal.

Simple Ladoos (Shown Above)

Ladoos are among the most famous Indian confections, right up there with gulab jamuns and jalebis. Imagine a traditional Indian halwai’s shop filled with confectioneries of all forms, colour and size, all expertly crafted and abundantly coated with ghee. Ladoos commonly hold centre stage, establishing them as a top selection of offering for propitious moments or for giving to gods and goddesses at temples. This particular recipe is one of the simplest, requiring just a handful of ingredients, and can be made in no time.

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

110g ghee
9 ounces of chickpea flour
a quarter teaspoon of cardamom powder
1 pinch saffron (optional)
50 grams of combined almonds and pistachios, roasted and coarsely chopped
6-7 ounces of white sugar, according to preference

Melt the ghee in a nonstick pan on a moderate heat. Lower the flame, incorporate the gram flour and heat, while stirring continuously to integrate it into the melted ghee and to make sure it doesn’t catch and burn. Continue heating and mixing for 30 to 35 minutes. Initially, the mix will resemble moist granules, but as you continue 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 essential to the characteristic, nutty flavour of the confectioneries.

Remove the pan from the stove, blend the cardamom and saffron, if included, then set aside to cool until moderately warm on contact.

Mix in the nuts and sweetener to the room temperature ladoo mix, mix thoroughly, then break off small pieces and roll between your palms into 15-20 x 4cm balls. Set these on a platter with some distance between them and let them cool to normal temperature.

They can be served the ladoos immediately, or store them in an airtight container and keep at room temperature for as long as one week.

Classic Indian Bread Pudding

This takes inspiration from Hyderabadi shahi tukda, a food that is commonly created by frying bread in ghee, then soaking it in a thick, rich rabdi, which is made by boiling whole milk for hours until it reduces to a reduced quantity from the start. The recipe here is a better-for-you, straightforward and speedy version that needs much less attention and allows the oven to handle the work.

Prep 10 minutes
Cook 1 hour or more
Serves 4 to 6

A dozen slices day-old white bread, crusts removed
100g ghee, or melted butter
1 litre whole milk
1 x 397g tin condensed milk
150 grams of sugar, or according to taste
a pinch of saffron, steeped in 30ml of milk
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom, or the seeds from 2 pods, crushed
¼ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
1.5 ounces of almonds, roughly chopped
40 grams of raisins

Slice the bread into triangles, coat nearly all but a spoonful of the clarified butter on each side of every slice, then arrange the triangles as they land in an oiled, about 8x12 inches, rectangular baking dish.

Using a big bowl, whisk the milk, condensed milk and sugar until the sweetener incorporates, then blend the saffron and the liquid it steeped in, the spices including cardamom and nutmeg, if included. Pour the milk mixture consistently across the bread in the pan, so it all gets soaked, 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 30 to 35 minutes, until the surface is golden brown and a skewer placed in the middle emerges clean.

Meanwhile, liquefy the rest of the clarified butter in a small pan on a medium heat, then cook the almonds until golden. Turn off the heat, add the raisins and allow them to heat in the remaining warmth, stirring constantly, for a minute. Sprinkle the nut and raisin mix over the pudding and serve warm or chilled, plain as it is or accompanied by vanilla ice-cream.