[VIDEO] Easy Recipe To Make Loveable Laddus At Home For Deepavali
Some of us have love; some just need a laddu.
Laddus need no introduction.
These round balls, made from various ingredients and held together by sugar syrup or jaggery, are perhaps the most ancient of Indian sweets.
While there are numerous varieties of laddus across India, with each region offering its own version, the motichoor laddu stands out as truly universal. As the name suggests, 'motichoor' — crushed pearls — refers to the tiny globules of gram flour that are deep-fried, soaked in sugar syrup, and rolled into spheres.
A similar-looking and equally popular version is the boondi laddu, which has a slightly more refined texture due to its larger size of the boondi, which means droplets. These laddus are also much larger in size.
Growing up in India, I've been a sucker for both motichoor and boondi laddus. Even now, when I go grocery shopping at Indian stores in KL, I find it hard to resist the urge to buy the laddus being sold at the counter.
The nostalgia and the rich taste always take me back to childhood times, when I used to visit our neighbours' houses during festivals. There would always be a plate filled with laddus on the table, their sweet scent filling the air as we exchanged festive greetings and shared stories.
Inspired by those flavours and memories, let me show you how you can create the magic of these traditional sweets at home. Just like with my kaju barfi recipe, I'm going to show you how to make the motichoor laddus so easily that you'll be daydreaming of opening your own Indian confectionery shop!
Image via Sadho/SAYS
Ingredients you will need:
- 150g gram flour
- 100ml water
- 150g white granulated sugar
- Oil/ghee
- Rose water (optional)
- Cardamom powder (optional)
- Pistachio nuts (optional)
Tools you will require:
- Wok/deep-bottomed pan
- Frying strainer (also called skimmer spoon or oil-draining colander)
- Spoon
And below are the simple steps to make these laddus:
Step 1:
In a bowl, take the gram flour and gradually whisk in water until you have a smooth, runny batter with no lumps. This batter is what you'll use to make motichoor or crushed pearls for the laddus.
Set it aside.
Step 2:
Heat oil in a wok or deep-bottomed pan.
Once the oil is hot, scoop some the batter in a spoon and gently start dropping it into the oil. Fry until golden, but avoid browning.
Use a skimmer to remove the fried batter and set it aside.
Step 3:
Transfer the deep fried batter into a mixture grinder and blend for 30 seconds until you see the batter looking like tiny crushed pearls. That's the motichoor, which we will use to make the laddus.
Step 4:
In a clean wok or pan, add the sugar and water, stirring continually until the sugar melts. At this stage, you can optionally add a few drops of rose water and cardamom powder, and mix well.
Turn off the heat.
Add the crushed pearls, and give it a nice mix.
Now turn on the heat at its lowest flame.
Stir the mixture until the crushed pearls absorbs the sugar syrup.
If you notice the sugar syrup hardening quickly, add a teaspeoon of warm water and mix well. Once you see the mixture holding itself together, turn off the heat and cover it with a lid for 10 minutes.
Step 5:
Transfer the mixture to a plate and pour a teaspoon of melted ghee and mix well.
Once cooled, take small portions in your palm and roll them into laddus.
Your laddus can be enjoyed immediately or be stored in an airtight container for a week. You can store the airtight container in the refrigerator for almost a month.
Image via Sadho/SAYS
And here's the recipe video for you to follow:
Speaking of easy recipes, check out this homemade kaju barfi recipe:
Read more Deepavali-related stories on SAYS:
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