Outside, beside their lush garden, a singular gas stove flickers. Bowls gleam in the sunlight as hands – young and old – stir, mix and roll golden ladoo.

The rhythmic beat of the dhol fills the air, laughter spills over, and the atmosphere feels less like a cooking session and more like a carnival.

For husband-and-wife duo Rajender Singh and Manjit Kaur, this isn’t just about making sweets – it’s about preserving a family legacy.

“Nowadays, not many people do this anymore – it’s slowly fading. So we’re keeping it alive, and we want to do this every year,” Seremban-born Rajender, 49, told FMT Lifestyle.

“We bring in friends from various races and backgrounds to create awareness that this is what our parents and grandparents used to do.”

For Manjit, this is their way of passing on the tradition to their four children. “We would love for them to continue this, not for making money or anything, but just for the fun of it. We don’t want this to disappear,” she said.

The family’s annual ladoo-making ceremony – dubbed the Ministry of Ladoo – has become a cherished ritual among relatives and friends of all backgrounds since the couple initiated it four years ago.

With a yield of over 300 glistening, rich balls of ladoo, there is much merrymaking and celebration over home-cooked food and drinks.

“Nowadays people just grab a gift online for Deepavali. But this is personal – you come, you make it, and you take it with you,” added Manjit, 44.

The process starts with sugar and water bubbling in a wok, tinted bright yellow and stirred non-stop until it’s just the right consistency. While that’s going, homeground dhal flour is sifted, a pinch of baking powder is added, water is mixed in by hand, and batches are coloured green and orange-red.

Next, pure ghee melts in the wok, and a handful of cashews, almonds and sunflower seeds get lightly toasted – a little twist on the classic recipe.

Then comes the magic: the batter is poured through a perforated mould, raining tiny golden droplets into the hot ghee. Once fried, they’re soaked in the syrup with the nuts, mixed well, and rolled by hand into shiny, fragrant ladoo – sweet proof of teamwork and patience.

Undeniably, the process is long and demanding: it takes nearly four hours of constant stirring, frying and rolling. By the time the sweets are ready, participants are often glistening with sweat – yet glowing with pride.

“People always love the experience. You can buy ladoo anywhere, but when you make it yourself, you feel the love that goes into it,” said Manjit. “And they always say it’s delicious!”

The tradition dates back to Rajender’s grandfather, the late Amar Singh of Seremban, who began making ladoo in the 1940s after long shifts at the Shell Depot.

What started as a side passion soon became a family craft, passed down through his son-in-law Chanan Singh – Rajender’s father – and continued by Rajender’s older brother Gurminder, who still supplies the treats for Punjabi weddings in Seremban today.

Now Rajender carries that same torch with Manjit and their children, ensuring the sweet legacy lives on. After all, in Punjabi culture, ladoo is more than a dessert – it’s a symbol of love, prosperity, and togetherness.

“It’s the most auspicious door gift. For example, when we have a wedding in the house, the first ceremony is making ladoo, which is very important,” said Manjit.

For the family, Deepavali is inseparable from Bandi Chhor Divas, the Sikh celebration that coincides with the Festival of Lights. It marks the liberation of Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji and 52 kings from imprisonment – symbolising freedom, compassion, and triumph over darkness.

As the dhol beats fade into the night and the last batch of ladoo glistens in the warm light, the family’s message is simple: heritage isn’t just something you remember – it’s something you make together.