BOONDI LADDOO
Boondi Laddoo is a popular Indian Sweet that is usually made, gifted and enjoy during any festival or to celebrate any happy occasions.
Equipment
- boondi jhara(perforated sieve)
Ingredients
FOR THE BATTER:
- 1 cup besan flour chickpea flour, chana no lot, besan atta
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp ghee clarified ghee
- a little bit of kesar orange food colour
- a pinch of soda bicarbonate baking soda
FOR THE SYRUP:
- 1-1¼ cup white sugar
- ½ cup water
- a few strands of saffron
- 2 cardamoms remove the seeds and lightly crush them
TO ADD TO THE LADDOO MIXTURE:
- 1 tbsp almonds cut them into slivers
- 1 tbsp pistachios cut them into slivers
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp raisins
- Oil/ghee for deep frying
- boondi jhara perforated sieve
Instructions
PREPARATION OF BOONDI:
- Sieve the flour into a bowl.
- Add half of the water and mix it well.
- Add the remaining water and mix well to remove any lumps.
- Add the food colour and soda bicarbonate. Mix well.
- Let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Heat oil or ghee in a karai, wok or a pan over medium heat.
- To test if the oil or ghee is hot, add a small drop of the batter. It should come up immediately.
- Hold the jhara about 6-8 inches high over the wok/karai/pan.
- Pour a bit of the batter into the jhara.
- Using a spoon spread it gently. This will enable the batter to go through the holes and drop as boondi into the oil.
- Fry the boondi for 20-30 seconds and remove from the oil or ghee using a slotted spoon or another jhara.
- Repeat steps 8-11 with the remaining batter.
- Spread out the fried boondi so that it can cool down a bit.
PREPARATION OF THE SYRUP:
- Add sugar and water to a pan.
- Heat the pan over medium heat.
- Stir the mixture till the sugar melts. Add saffron and crushed cardamom.
- Let the mixture simmer for 5-7 minutes till the syrup becomes thick. Here we need a one string syrup. Check out this video to make sugar syrup.
- To test it, place a drop of the syrup on a plate. Let it cool and then take it between your thumb and forefinger. If you pull them apart, the sugar syrup will form a string. Or pour the sugar syrup using a spoon. It should drop in a string like fashion.
- Take the pan off the heat.
PREPARATION OF THE LADDOOS:
- Add the raisins to the hot syrup and mix well. This will make it a bit soft.
- Add the fried boondi, almond and pistachio slivers and the cardamom powder.
- Mix everything using a big spoon.
- Cover the pan and let the mixture rest for 10-15 minutes. This allows the boondi to soak up the syrup.
- Take about 2-3 tbsp of the mixture into your palm. By pressing it not your fist gently, start making it into a round shape. Don’t squeeze it too tight as you don’t want the syrup to ooze out.
- Repeat the above step with the remaining mixture. The number of laddoos will depend on the size of the laddoos you make.
- Place the laddoos in a plate, cover it and let it rest for 30-60 minutes before you serve them.
- Tips:
Notes
- Its best to sieve the flour before adding the water to remove any lumps.
- Add kesar or orange food colour to the syrup if you like.
- Adding nuts and raisins is optional.
- I added the batter into a measuring jug. It was so easy to pour it into the jhara instead of using a ladle.
- The laddoos will stay fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days depending on the climate. After that keep any leftover in the fridge.
- If the batter runs out of the holes too easily then its too thin and you may need to add a bit more flour.
- If the batter is too thick it will not drop out of the holes on reading it with a spoon. You may need to add a few tablespoons of water.
- Don’t let the boondi mixture become too cold. It will become difficult to shape the laddoos.