Expert Karan Gokani's Delicious Delicacies for the Festival of Lights – Recipes

Diwali, often called the festival of lights, marks the triumph of positivity over negativity. This is the most widely marked Indian festival and resembles the atmosphere of holiday festivities abroad. Diwali is characterized by pyrotechnic displays, bright colours, endless parties and tables creaking under the sheer weight of dishes and sweet treats. Every Diwali celebration is finished without containers of mithai and preserved fruits exchanged between loved ones and relatives. Across the United Kingdom, the practices are preserved, putting on festive attire, visiting temples, narrating ancient Indian stories to the little ones and, most importantly, meeting with companions from all walks of life and faiths. In my view, Diwali is about togetherness and sharing food that appears unique, but doesn’t keep you in the culinary space for long durations. The pudding made from bread is my take on the rich shahi tukda, while the spherical sweets are perfect to gift or to savor alongside some chai after the feast.

Simple Ladoos (Featured at the Top)

Ladoos are some of the most iconic Indian sweets, alongside gulab jamuns and jalebis. Picture an Indian halwai’s shop filled with treats in various shapes, hue and dimension, all expertly crafted and generously laden with ghee. Ladoos often take 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 can be made in no time.

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

110 grams of ghee
9 ounces of chickpea flour
1/4 teaspoon of ground green cardamom
a pinch of saffron (as an option)
50g mixed almonds and pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
6-7 ounces of white sugar, to taste

Melt the ghee in a non-stick skillet on a moderate heat. Reduce the temperature, incorporate the gram flour and simmer, with constant mixing to blend it with the liquid ghee and to ensure it doesn’t stick or scorch. Continue heating and mixing for 30-35 minutes. To begin with, the mixture will look like moist granules, but with further heating and mixing, it will turn to a peanut butter consistency and emit a delightful nutty aroma. Avoid hurrying the process, or walk away from the blend, because it might burn rapidly, and the gentle heating is vital for the distinctive, nutty taste of the confectioneries.

Remove the pan from the stove, stir in the cardamom and saffron, if using, then set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

Incorporate the nuts and sugar to the cooled ladoo mixture, mix thoroughly, then break off small pieces and roll between your palms into 15-20 spherical shapes of 4cm. Put these on a plate spaced slightly apart and let them cool to room temperature.

They can be served the sweets promptly, or place them in a tight-lid jar and maintain at room temperature for up to a week.

Classic Indian Bread Pudding

This is inspired by the shahi tukda from Hyderabad, a dish that’s typically made by sautéing bread in ghee, then drenching it in a heavy, luxurious rabdi, which is produced by heating rich milk for hours until it reduces to a small portion of its initial amount. The recipe here is a healthier, easier and quicker alternative that demands minimal supervision and lets the oven do all the heavy lifting.

Prep a quick 10 minutes
Cook 1 hr+
Serves 4 to 6

12 slices day-old white bread, edges trimmed
3.5 ounces of clarified butter, or melted butter
1 liter of whole milk
One 397-gram can condensed milk
5 ounces of sugar, or as preferred
1 pinch saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp milk
a quarter teaspoon of cardamom powder, or the insides of 2 pods, powdered
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg (if desired)
40g almonds, broken into pieces
40g raisins

Slice the bread into triangles, spread all but a teaspoon of the ghee over both sides of each piece, then place the triangles as they land in an oiled, approximately 20cm by 30cm, oblong baking pan.

Using a big 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 along with nutmeg, if using. Transfer the milk blend uniformly onto the bread in the dish, so each piece is saturated, then let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius (180 fan)/390 Fahrenheit/gas 6.

Cook the pudding for 30 to 35 minutes, until the upper layer is browned and a skewer placed in the middle comes out clean.

At the same time, liquefy the rest of the clarified butter in a small pan on a medium heat, then cook the almonds until golden. Extinguish the flame, mix in the raisins and allow them to heat in the residual heat, blending steadily, for 60 seconds. Scatter the nut and raisin combination over the dessert and present hot or cold, just as it is or accompanied by vanilla ice-cream.