Diwali recipes: Chilli chocolate almond laddoos by Indian cook Mallika Basu

Bittersweet with just a hint of chilli, these grown up Diwali sweets are just what you need for a spot of Diwali-themed indulgence.

Diwali, in fact, is made for indulgences. Much snack and sweet making commences at home.

But if you don’t have the time or inclination for deep frying and sugar soaking, these truffle-like rounds will be a breeze to knock up and pretty impressive served straight from the fridge with vanilla ice cream, or just on a platter on their own. Leave the chilli out and the kids can get stuck in too.

• Baking paper and brownie tin

• 100 almond flakes

• Half tsp chilli powder

• 1 x 400gm tin condensed milk

• Half cup cocoa powder + more to dust

• 75gm cooks dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

• 1 tbsp ghee

• 6 green cardamoms, deseeded

• 50gm ground almond

• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped

Line a brownie pan with baking paper to start. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, toast the almond flakes with the chilli powder for a minute until warm. Tip into a clean bowl mix, then pour in the condensed milk and cocoa powder and bring to heat on high stirring regularly. Crush the cardamom seeds finely in a pestle and mortar in the meantime.

When the contents of the pan are warm, mix in the ground cardamom, ghee and chocolate pieces and stir for five minutes on medium heat until they melt. Stir through the toasted almonds and then tip the lot into the lined brownie tin. Refridgerate until set.

When the filling is hard, tip the ground almonds, chilli and a little cocoa onto some fresh parchment or a plate. Prise the chilli out the tin, cut into equal cubes and roll into little balls on the topping. Store in the fridge for up to a week.