MOTICHOOR LADDU

When I was young I was not crazy about laddus but Motichoor laddu was still a favourite.  Motichoor laddu is made from fine besan(chickpea flour) boondi which is cooked in oil or ghee.  It is served on Diwali or any other happy occasion.  Originally the laddu was popular only in North India but now it is cooked throughout South Asia.  

I was always happy buying laddu from the market till my grandson's love for laddu  inspired me to make this shiny orange round balls at home.  This kid, barely seven year old then, growing up in US was sitting in a family religious ceremony and gazing at the face of the priest who was reciting Sanskrit  shlokas.  His being so engrossed in the ceremony made me ask my nephew(his dad) if the kid understood everything priest was reciting. I could not control my laughter when my nephew said he is not concerned about the ceremony, his eyes are on the laddu  he will get as soon as the ceremony ends. 

The word Motichoor literally means crushed pearls. Originally associated with states like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, these laddus can be stored even in the warm weather as they don't go bad without the refrigerator.  It is hard to say when it originated, but legends suggest that originally laddus  were invented for medicinal purpose by Sushruta, father of Indian medicine and surgery. Sesame seed laddu with a combination of jaggery and peanuts was given by Sushruta in the 4th  century B.C. as an antibiotic to treat his surgical patients.  If we go further down the history, sculptures and paintings of Hindu God Ganesha always shows a laddu in his one hand.

No matter when it evolved into its present form, laddu is associated with all things festive, marriages and births.

So let us make these laddus as festival season is fast approaching.

 Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup besan(chickpea flour), 1/4 cup sooji(semolina), 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, 1/2 tsp orange edible colour,  1/4 tsp cardamom seed powder, 1 tbsp magaz (melon seeds), ghee or oil for deep frying.  ( if you fry laddu in ghee they taste better), some almonds or pistachio for decoration.

Method: 

Make a smooth flowing batter with besan and sooji. Whisk it so there are no lumps. Leave it aside for ten minutes. Sooji tends to thicken the batter so you may add some more water so that it remains a flowing batter. Add 1/4 tsp of orange colour to it.

Heat ghee in a pan. It should be very hot but when you are ready to fry, reduce the flame to medium.

Take a fine perforated ladle but you need another normal ladle for taking out the fried boondi. Now take a large spoon and pour the batter through the fine perforated ladle into the hot ghee. Shake the fine ladle a bit so all the batter falls into the ghee. Now take normal ladle and take out the boondi in 45 seconds to one minute on a paper towel so that excess ghee drains out.

This is a very important step because if boondi is fried little longer, it will become too crispy and then laddu won't come out soft.

Once you finish making the boondi with the whole batter, make sugar syrup. Add two cups of sugar into one cup of water. Boil it till sugar dissolves completely. Add 1/4 tsp of food colour after turning the flame off.

Dry roast magaz and keep them aside.  Cut some almonds or pistachio into small pieces.

Once the ghee from the boondi drains out, mix this boondi in the sugar syrup and cook it on the medium to high flame so that all water evaporates. Keep stirring and crushing the boondi in the sugar syrup. Mix magaz and cardamom powder in the dry and semi cool sugary boondi.

Apply some oil or water on your palms and take a tbsp of mixture at a time and shape into a round ball.

Once all laddus set into shape in the plate decorate with almond or pistachio slices.

Enjoy with family and friends.