WHAT IS LADOO OR LADU?
Ladoo or Ladu is a staple sweet dish of India and rules the roost when it comes to India’s preferences for sweets. Basically, the meaning of ladoo is small ball or truffle! There are numerous variations of Laddos available in every region of India, but two things will be common you’ll find that they all are round, sweet and delightful. When you see a person holding a box of ladoo, that means he/she about to give you a piece of good news. Across India, the ladoo is invariably an integral part of the happy occasions. Between families, boxes of ladoos get exchanged as soon as an engagement is announced, one or two various types of ladoos are always on the menu of the wedding. Exchanging ladoo boxes is not only for engagements and weddings. People distribute also to express thier happiness too, birth of a baby boy, buying a house or car, a promotion at work. You name any happy occasion ladoo immediately comes to your mind. Mostly all ladoos are rich, loaded with calories and irresistible, they are prepared with various flours, sugar, jaggery and ghee, sometimes only prepared with dry fruits and nuts or seeds. I am a big fan of ladoos, I make Coconut Ladoo quite often as they can be made with basic Ingredients. Stuffed Magas Ladoo, reserved for festivals like Diwali, Holi or some special occasions.
MOONG DAL LADOO OR MUNG DAAL LADU
A sweet and nutty ladoo that crumbles effortlessly in your mouth! Just like these Besan Ladoo When you think of the crumbliest and flakiest yet melt in your mouth sweet in the world, you’ll be somewhere close to the delicious and taste of Moong Dal Ladoo. The crumbly texture is the result of using yellow split flour, blended with the just right amount of sugar, desi ghee, nuts and flavoured with cardamom powder, saffron and adorned with pistachio slivers and rose petals. Moong dal ladoo, is one of the very popular sweets in the collection of Indian Mithai. Although these laddos are easily found in other parts of India, but not much seen in the state of Gujarat. In Gujarat Churma Ladoo are quite popular and often made in Gujarati kitchens. In fact, I have never seen in any Gujarati sweet shops, also I have not seen this particular variety of ladoos here in the UK, so I always make it at home.
HOW TO MAKE MOONG DAL LADOO FROM SCRATCH?
Moong dal ladoo can be prepared with already roasted yellow split lentils or raw lentils. In my part of the world, I don’t get roasted lentils, so here I have a recipe with raw lentils. First, clean the lentils and wash in cold running water for a couple of times. Soak lentils with clean water in a bowl for 2-3 hours. Discard all the water, pat dry with clean kitchen tissue paper and let it dry on a clean kitchen towel on a flat surface for at least an hour. The lentils should be not completely dry but should not be wet either. Now on a low to medium heat dry roast the lentils, but do not let it burn. Roast until you see a little colour change or a lovely aroma of roasting starts. Transfer the roasted lentils immediately in another plate and let it cool completely. Meanwhile, dry roast the nuts in a pan, and leave it aside. Once dal is completely cool, grind into a fine powder in a grinder. If you are using normal sugar, then grind sugar into a fine powder too, then the nuts as well. Now sift the lentil flour and sugar through the sieve and discard the big bits if any. Place flour, sugar and nuts powder, saffron threads and cardamom powder in a wide plate and mix it. Melt ghee, ( do not heat) and pour on the flour mixture. Do not add all the ghee at once, add little by little. Keep mixing it with the spoon or spatula. Combine everything well with your hands now and see that ladoo mixture has enough binding to roll the ladoo. Divide the mixture into equal lemon size portions then roll into ladoos between your palms or you can use ladoo moulds.
SOME IMPORTANT TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND TO MAKE LADOO
- To make this ladoo try to use fresh lentils as possible to avoid any rancid taste.
- Thoroughly clean the lentils before you soak.
- Soak the lentils in lukewarm water rather than too cold or too hot water.
- To get the best results let the lentils soak for a good amount of time. If really pressed for time then 30-40 minutes would be good enough too.
- Do not dry lentils in M/W or under the sun.
- Place drained lentils on a clean kitchen towel in one layer and pat dry the lentils.
- Do not roast lentils till dark brown or it will taste bitter and you won’t be able roll the ladoo properly.
- Do not add all the melted ghee at once, add little by little till you are able to form a ladoo.
HOW TO STORE MOONG DAL LADOO?
Once you have prepared the ladoos, make sure they are completely cooled down before you store them. Take butter or greaseproof paper, lay it in an airtight container then store the ladoos in one layer, try not to stack as it might squash together. Keep it at room temperature if for some reason if you do keep it in the refrigerator which (I don’t recommend) then before consuming bring it to room temperature. These ladoos will stay fresh for one week at room temperature.
HOW TO SERVE MOONG DAL LADOO?
Although you can have these scrumptious ladoos at any time of the day, you are more than welcome to consume with or after having spicy Indian meal or at tea time with savoury snacks.
CAN I MAKE VEGAN MOONG DAL LADOO?
Of course, you can! simply replace ghee with the vegetable ghee or use melted coconut oil. Being a moong dal gluten-free these ladoos are suitable for people who are following a gluten-free diet too.
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