Sweet time again

A FEAST of ladoos heralds the festival season. Varieties of ladoos are made all over India from Ganesh Chaturthi till Deepavali. This sweet can be made with different ingredients - Maharashtians make it with rice flour, jaggery and grated coconut with cardamom seeds and dried fruits as seasoning while the Gujaratis make churma ladoos of wheat flour. In the South too, it is made with rice flour, and a filling of coconut and jaggery. Presented here are some traditional and new recipes for ladoos.

Custard apple ladoos - makes 15 pieces

Ingredients - for filling:

Pulp of custard apple 1/2 cup Khoya 3/4 cup Sugar 3 tbsps Vanilla essence 1/4 tsp For covering: Thin poha (flattened rice) 1 cup Sugar 3/4 cup Ghee 1-1/2 tbps Milk 1 cup Khoya 1/2 cup A few drops of green colour Pistachios to decorate

Method:

For filling

Mix all ingredients and cook. Stir till the mixture thickens and leaves the side of the vessel. Cool and divide into 15 balls.

For covering

Clean, wash and mash the poha. Melt the ghee in a vessel, add poha and stir for a few minutes. Add the milk, sugar and khoya. Allow it to simmer till it is very thick and leaves the side of the vessel. Mix the colour and remove from heat. Cool and divide into 15 balls.

Flatten each ball of the covering and put the filling in the centre and roll into a ladoo. Decorate with pieces of pistachio. Put them in cups of butter paper and serve.

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Besan ke ladoo - makes 15 pieces

Ingredients:

Coarse gram flour 2 cups Milk 1/3 cup Ghee for milk 1 tbsp Ghee 1-1/4 cups Powdered sugar 1 cup Cardamom powder 1 tsp Sliced almonds 1/4 cup

Method:

Add ghee and milk to the gram flour and mix well. Cover and keep for 30 minutes. Then run through a coarse sieve to make it grainy. Take some more ghee in a thick bottom vessel and heat it. Add prepared flour. Roast it till light pink in colour.

Add the sugar and cardamom. Also mix in the sliced almonds. Remove from heat and cool. When it is still warm, roll into ladoos.

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Churma ladoo - makes 12 pieces

Ingredients:

Wheat flour (coarse if possible) 2 cups Ghee 3/4 cup Ghee for frying Jaggery - 1-1/4 cups Dry grated coconut 1/2 cup Khus khus (poppy seeds) 2 tbsps

Method:

Take the flour in a thali. Add ghee and mix well. Make stiff dough with water or milk. Roll into balls. Heat the ghee and deep fry on low heat till they are golden brown. Remove and cool. Break and crush them. Sieve through a coarse sieve.

Melt jaggery till it starts bubbling. Add the coconut. Mix well and pour it over the wheat mixture. Mix well and make the ladoos when still warm. Roll each one in poppy seeds and then arrange in a plate.

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White ladoos - makes 15 pieces

Ingredients:

Semolina (suji) 1-1/2 cups Khoya 2 cups Almonds and pistachios 1/2 cup Cardamom powder 2 tbsps

Sugar 1-1/2 cups Ghee 3/4 cup Lemon juice a few drops

Method:

Break the khoya by passing it through a sieve with large holes. Heat the ghee and roast semolina on low heat till it turns light pink. Add khoya and roast for another 2 or 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Take the sugar in a vessel. Add just enough water to dissolve it. Add a few drops of lemon juice to remove any dirt and strain the syrup. Return the vessel to heat and cook till the sugar syrup forms a two thread consistency (thick syrup). Cool and mix with the semolina and khoya. Add the cardamom and nuts. Mix well and then make small ladoos.

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Sevai - Paneer ke ladoo - Makes 25 pieces

Ingredients:

Paneer 2 cups Powdered sugar for paneer 3/4 cup A little saffron or a few drops of yellow colouring. Ghee 1 tbsp Vermicelli and milk 3/4 cup Grated fresh coconut 1/4 cup A few chopped almonds Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp Sugar for vermicelli 1/2 cup Dessicated coconut 3-4 tbsps

Method:

Take the paneer, sugar and dissolved saffron in a shallow dish. Knead till smooth. Divide into 25 balls. Heat ghee. Add crusted vermicelli and fresh coconut. Fry till it turns light pink.

Add the milk, almonds and cardamom. When the milk starts to evaporate, add the sugar and stir well till the mixture leaves the sides of the vessel. Remove from the heat and cool. Divide into 25 portions. Stuff each vermicelli ball into the paneer ball. Roll each ball in the dessicated coconut.

JYOTHI N. PAREKH

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