🔗 Share this article

Diwali, frequently referred to as the festival of lights, marks the triumph of good over evil. It’s the most widely marked festival in India and feels a bit like holiday festivities abroad. It’s synonymous with pyrotechnic displays, bright colours, continuous festivities and dining surfaces groaning under the immense load of dishes and sweet treats. No Diwali is finished without boxes of sweets and dried fruit passed around kin and companions. Throughout Britain, these customs are maintained, 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 community and sharing food that feels special, but doesn’t keep you in the kitchen for hours. The pudding made from bread is my version of the indulgent shahi tukda, while these ladoos are excellent for giving or to enjoy with a cup of chai after the banquet.

Simple Ladoos (Shown Above)

Ladoos are among the most recognizable Indian desserts, right up there with gulab jamuns and jalebis. Imagine a traditional Indian halwai’s shop filled with treats in various shapes, colour and size, all skillfully made and abundantly coated with ghee. These sweets frequently occupy centre stage, establishing them as a top selection of present for festive events or for offering to Hindu deities at places of worship. This version 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 min plus cooling
Makes 15 to 20

110 grams of ghee
250 grams of gram flour
1/4 teaspoon of ground green cardamom
a pinch 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 medium flame. Reduce the temperature, mix in the chickpea flour and cook, stirring constantly to combine it with the melted ghee and to ensure it doesn’t stick or scorch. Persist with cooking and blending for 30-35 minutes. To begin with, the combination will appear as damp sand, but as you continue cooking and mixing, it will become similar to peanut butter and emit a delightful nutty aroma. Do not attempt to speed it up, or walk away from the blend, because it may scorch quickly, and the gentle heating is essential to the distinctive, nutty taste of the sweet balls.

Turn off the heat and take the pan, stir in the cardamom and saffron, if using, then allow to cool until moderately warm on contact.

Add the nuts and sugar to the cooled ladoo mixture, mix thoroughly, then pull apart little portions and shape with your hands into 15-20 x 4cm balls. Put these on a plate with some distance between them and allow to cool to normal temperature.

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

Traditional Indian Bread Pudding

This takes inspiration from Hyderabadi shahi tukda, a food that is commonly created by frying bread in ghee, then drenching it in a heavy, luxurious rabdi, which is produced by heating whole milk for a long time until it thickens to a reduced quantity from the start. My version is a better-for-you, straightforward and speedy version that demands minimal supervision and enables the oven to take over the task.

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

Twelve slices day-old white bread, edges trimmed
3.5 ounces of clarified butter, or liquid butter
1 litre whole milk
1 x 397g tin thickened milk
5 ounces of sugar, or as preferred
a small pinch of saffron, immersed in 2 tablespoons of milk
a quarter teaspoon of cardamom powder, or the contents of 2 pods, ground
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg (if desired)
40g almonds, coarsely chopped
1.5 ounces of raisins

Slice the bread into triangles, apply almost all except a teaspoon of the clarified butter on each side of every slice, then place the triangles as they fall in a greased, about 8x12 inches, rectangular ovenproof container.

In a large bowl, whisk the milk, sweetened milk and sugar until the sugar melts, then mix in the saffron and the milk it was soaked in, the cardamom along with nutmeg, if included. Pour the milk mixture uniformly onto the bread in the dish, so everything is immersed, then allow to soak for a short while. Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius (180 fan)/390 Fahrenheit/gas 6.

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

In the meantime, heat the leftover ghee in a small pan on a medium heat, then sauté the almonds until golden. Switch off the stove, incorporate the raisins and let them simmer in the leftover temperature, mixing continuously, for a minute. Sprinkle the nut and raisin mix over the dessert and offer heated or cooled, plain as it is or with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.