The origin of the word “laddu” is unknown. In Sanskrit, laddus are called “Modak.” In general, modak is a small ball made of flour, ghee, sugar, and some spices.
Most common recipe for laddus includes besan (black small chickpea flour) combined with sugar, cooked in ghee and molded into a ball shape. The Carak Samhita contains many laddu recipes prepared using Ayurvedic medicinal ingredients.
Laddu Tray
Besan Laddu Tray
In India, laddus are often prepared for festivals or family events such as weddings and births, or given as a prasad(offering) at Hindu temples.
This week, we bring you a SVA exclusive: Organic Chocolate Quinoa Almond Laddus! It will take you less than 20 minutes to assemble but will create a lifetime’s worth of memories (remember Proust’s Madeleines?!)
Ingredients You will need:
(these measurments will make 10-12 bite-size laddus)
4 tablespoons Besan flour (black chickpea flour available from any Indian grocery store)
4 tablespoons organic Quinoa flakes
6 tablespoons organic brown sugar
3 tablespoons slivered almonds (blanched or non-blanched)
1 tablespoon organic Cocoa powder – unsweetened and alkali free
3 tablespoons melted Mum’s Ghee
15-20 organic green cardamoms – crushed
10-15 organic pink rosebuds
1 teaspoon Madhur Masala
1 teaspoon VJK for Him and Her – optional
1 teaspoon whole or crushed pink peppercorns – optional
1 pinch of Soma Salt – optional
Method:
Mix the Besan and Quinoa flakes and slowly dry toast on a dry pan. This is the longest part of your recipe, make sure you keep mixing the powder so it toasts evenly. When the color turns a golden light brown, put the mixture into a mixing bowl.
Next add the cocoa powder to your mixture.
At this point, add Madhur Masala. If you are adding ayurvedic herbal/spice mixtures to your recipe do it now (VJK For Him or For Her)
At this point, crush the cardamom pods and add along with the rose buds to a pan, add your ghee and melt the whole thing stirring frequently. You may cook this on low heat for 1-2 minutes to better infuse the ghee with the cardamom and the rose.
In the meantime, add the sugar to your dry mixture and mix every thoroughly.
Now add the sugar to your dry mixture.
Next pour the hot melted ghee through a tea filter over your mixture evently and with a spoon make sure all your dry mixture is nicely and evenly blended.
Now you can add in the dry toasted and sliced almonds and mix the ingredients a little further.
You are now ready for your final step of shaping your mixture into little balls or laddus. You can use an ice cream scooper to make sure you are picking up the same amount every time and your laddus will be of the same size. Flatten the mixture in your hand and squeeze tightly to bind all the ingredients together and then gently roll from palm to palm (see the video) and your laddu is ready.
Repeat this step until you finish all the mixture. To top it off, you can shred some pink peppercorns on top with a pepper mill to add a twist of flavor. Enjoy
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