Boondhi Ladoo

Recipe No: 161
I had never seen my mother making this, but she passed on the essential secret of making it. Powder or grind some Boondhi and add it together with the whole Boondhis into the sugar syrup, which will make it easier to form the Ladoos! Well that really works… If you have a boondhi ladle (a special ladle with small holes that is used  to make Boondhi) you will get small even sized Boondhis which will make the whole process easy, but as I don’t have one, I am using the regular slotted spoon with circular holes to make Boondhi. I have already posted the recipe for Sweet Boondhi, but the process of making Ladoo is a bit different. This is how I did...

Ingredients                                        Makes 12

• Chickpea Flour/ Besan…………1 Cup (Kadalamavu)
• Water…………………………………2/3-3/4 Cup
• Oil for deep frying
• Sugar………………………….……..1 Cup (use ½ cup Water to make a Syrup)
• Yellow food color…………………a pinch or 2-3 drops
• Cardamom Powder………….....1/4 Teaspoon
• Ghee……………………………..…...2 Tablespoons
• Cashew nuts and Raisins……...a tablespoon each

Method of Preparation

1. Heat at least two inches of Oil in a pan on medium high heat.

2. Mix Besan with enough Water to make a semi thick batter (I used around ¾ Cup water) it should not be thin like water but it should not be thick too. (If you pour this through the slotted spoon, it should fall down as droplets and should not be running down the holes. But at the same time it should fall down easily too. Read more in my post on Sweet Boondhi.)
3. When the Oil is hot, pour the batter through a slotted spoon so that the batter forms small spheres.
4. Fry the Boondhi until crispy. This will take only around 3 minutes for a batch.
5. Drain the excess Oil on a paper towel and keep it aside till all the batter is used.
6. Separate around 1- 1 1/4 cup big irregular shaped Boondhis (the presence of these will make it hard to form Ladoos) and grind it into a course powder. (I used my small food processor and if you don’t have one, powder it with your hands when they are crispy.)
7. Melt Sugar with ½ cup Water and Yellow food color on high heat and let it boil till it is just attaining a one thread consistency. (Don’t go too far with the consistency. Stop as soon as it is reaching there.) Switch off the heat.
8. Add whole Boondhi, ground Bhoondhi and Cardamom Powder into the Sugar Syrup; mix well and let it sit in the pan for 5-8 minutes or until it cools slightly and most of the syrup is absorbed. (If you have an electric stove move the pan away from that stove to prevent the residual heat from the coil).
9. In another pan melt Ghee and fry Cashews first. Once it starts to brown along the edges, add Raisins and fry till it plumps up. Add this together with the Ghee into the Boondhi mixture.
10. Mix well and once cool enough to handle, make tight Ladoos. (Read 'notes' on how to form the Ladoos)
11. Serve at room temperature (I felt that it taste really good after 6-8 hours, if you can keep it for that long!) and store the left over in airtight containers.

Notes:

• Please read the post on making Sweet Boondhi before trying this recipe. It may give more tips on how to make them.
• If the batter forms big irregular shapeless Boondhi then the batter is too thin. If it is hard for the batter to fall down through the holes, then the batter is too thick. In both cases make it into a proper consistency. Add more Water (if it is too thick) or more Flour (if too thin) to get the consistency.
• If you make the Sugar syrup a really good one thread consistency the Ladoos will become  hard. So stop it when it is just reaching that stage.
• You can check the one thread consistency by touching the index finger in a bit of the syrup and pressing it with the thump. If there is one strand in between the thump and the index finger while pulling them apart, then the stage is reached.
• The amount of Ghee is crucial to make the Ladoos soft. Don’t reduce its amount and no harm (For the Ladoos and  not for the health) in adding ½ or 1 tablespoon more Ghee.
• While making  for the first time, it is quiet natural to feel frustrated when you try to form the Ladoos (at least it was for me). But after a few times I found some tricks which worked for me. Let me try to explain:
• Mash up the Boondhis with your hands as you go through the making. This will help the Ladoos from falling apart.
• If it is okay with you, use both of your hands. (Do wash them before use and  remember, as per many great chefs  ‘hands are the best kitchen tools’)
• When you first hold the Boondhis together to form the Ladoo, hold it tight for 10 seconds without losing the grip. This will make the Ladoos tight.
• Make Ladoos while the Boondhi mixture is still warm. It is okay if some syrup is left but don’t make Ladoos if a lot of Syrup is left behind (wait for a few more minutes).
• If too cold, it is difficult to make Ladoos. In that case warm the Boondhi mixture and make Ladoos.
• As we make Ladoos while still warm, the Boondhis in the Ladoo will not be soft suddenly (it will be a bit crispy). But as it sits for like 6 hours it will become really soft.

 



Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and 
serve it to your family with love…