Laddu: sweet, fragrant delicacy, add nuts and its a winner. Love by everyone, a special addition to any occasion. Believe it or not it have some magical power to turn gloomy into a cheer factor.
Here at desi land, Winter is all about keeping yourself warm with lots of hot beverages, nuts and halva/laddu.
As the sun goes down. Cool breeze start to give shivers. Mothers goes to kitchen. Within minutes a sweet fragrant smell of roasting nuts reaches your nose. So tempting, that your stomach starts to make churning sounds.
Sometime, she goes a little further and add flour and sugar to make halva. Sweet fragrant warm silky smooth halva, that you have no power to resist !
And if it's a very lucky day, she will make laddu. A drier version of halva made into ball before it turns cold. Wait till it reaches your hand, you will feel an overwhelming unexplained euphoria.
There is something magical with these laddu. Maybe its their ball shape, that, when holding them in your hand, its like everything you need right now is within your grasp. Or its their texture, soft brittle melt in the mouth yet holding together.
It's hard to describe. Maybe you should try one, then you will understand these feelings.
NUTTY LADDU RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
Rice flour 3 cups. You could gram flour or simple whole wheat flour. Just make sure to use fresh.
Ghee 1 cup if you are using butter use 1 1/2 cup
Gurrh/ gajjery (unrefined sugar) 1 cup. You could use sugar. But for authentic laddu taste, go find gurrh.
Any nuts. Like coconut, almond, peanuts, walnut, pecans, raisins. Grind it coarsely or powder them. I personally like powder.
Water 1/2 cup
Big heavy base pot
METHOD
In pot add rice flour and ghee. On high flame roast them while continuously stirring.
Once it starts to give off fragrance and starts to turn brown near bottom, turn flame to low.
If your nuts are coarse, add them now. Roast till flour is golden. If nuts is powdered, wait till flour is golden then add it. Turn off the flame.
In another pot add water and gurrh. Stir till dissolved. It will take like 5 minutes. Immediately pour this syrup into the flour mixture and mix throughly.
Wait a few moments till the flour mixture no longer burn your hand. Immediately, take this mixture about the size of an ice-cream scoop and make into balls. Cool.
Serve with steaming hot cup of chai or coffee.
They kept well for upto 3 months in air tight container.
Enjoy !