Boondi laddu/ ladoo

 

This festive season, try your hands at the very popular Indian sweet "Boondi ladoo" and bring a variety in your sweet-meat list.  I am sure your guests too will love this homemade ladoos.

So, how do you go about making the ladoos? It is not wrong to say that the method is a bit tricky and requires some level of expertise in cooking.However, with a little bit of practice, you will definitely get it. After all, practice does make one perfect.

Let us get the ingredients together and then move on to the method. The ingredients listed here are measured in cups and spoons to help you alter the amount as per your preference. Take a look.

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups Besan (gram flour) 
2. 2 Green cardamom (choti elaichi) , powdered 
3. 3/4 cup water for the syrup
4. 3 tbsp Cashew nuts (kaju),chopped 
5. 2 tbsp Raisins (kishmish) -
6. 1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder
7. 2cups Sugar
8. yellow food colour or turmeric powder
9. a big pinch of kesar
10. Oil for deep frying
11. 2 Tbsp of Ghee

Method

To Prepare The Boondi:

1. Put oil to heat in a frying pan, while the oil heats up prepare the batter.
2 In a deep bowl, add besan and turmeric powder, whisk together. Now pour water bit by bit and mix.
3. The batter should be of pouring consistency but not very runny. You can pour a drop in the oil and check.
4. When the batter is ready, place one perforated ladle over the oil and pour some batter through the ladle. Drops of the batter will fall in the oil and form boondis.

5. Fry just enough to cook the batter. Remove from oil and place in a separate plate.

If the boondis are too big or out of shape then take some boondis at a time and  coarsely grind in a mixer,then add this to the sugar syrup. 

 To Prepare Sugar Syrup:

1. Take sugar in a deep and heavy bottom saucepan, add 3/4th cup water and bring to a boil. Add in kesar.

2. Stir at regular intervals, when the syrup comes to a boil, lower the flame and allow to boil for another 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Take a teaspoon of syrup and allow to cool. To check the consistency, press between one finger and the thumb. When pulled apart, one thread of the syrup should form.

4. If the thread does not form, boil some more and check again. Take care that the syrup does not get too thick. Once prepared, set aside.

  To Prepare laddus:
 

• Add all the boondis to the hot sugar syrup and keep aside for an hour. In this one hour, the sugar syrup will be well absorbed by the boondi.
• Add the dry fruits, nutmeg powder,crushed cardamom and Ghee to the boondi.
• Mix all the ingredients well and begin with making balls.
• Laddus are ready to be served. Have a sweet festival time!

Note: 

• Mixture should be slightly warm to allow the formation of balls.
• Don't make the boondi crispy or golden as it becomes hard and cannot absorb the syrup well
• Give your laddus any size you wish and sit back and admire your skills!