North or South, Ganesh Chathurthi is celebrated with much fanfare, accompanied by the choicest sweetmeats. Special recipes to try out follow.
Motichoor Ladoos
Ingredients
Boondi
Gram flour – 3 cups
Water – 2 cups
Ghee / Dalda for frying
Sugar syrup
Powered sugar – 2 1⁄2 cups
Water – 1 1⁄4 cups
Cardamoms – 8-9
Badam – 1 tsp, finely cut
Pistachios – 1 tsp, finely cut
Saffron – 2 1⁄2 gms
Method
In a bowl, combine the gram flour (besan / kadalamaavu) with 2 cups water, whisk to create a paste for boondis, adding a little hot ghee.
Place a deep frying pan over gentle flame and add ghee.
Into hot ghee, hold a boondi strainer called boondi jhara / a perforated ladle with the left hand and with the right hand pour some of the boondi paste using a ladle or a deep spoon on to the perforated ladle or boondi strainer.
Spread the boondi paste with the back of the deep spoon, so it drops into the oil as small pearls. Fry the drops into very crisp, golden coloured boondis. Rinse and dry the perforated ladle for every batch of paste has been passed through the strainer.
Fry all the boondis and set aside. Add the assorted chopped nuts and stir.
In a deep pan, prepare a thick syrup with the sugar and water. A drop of syrup dropped on a saucer should remain round like a pearl and not spread out. Stir in cardamom powder and saffron paste.
Take a wide pan. Place 3 tbsp sugar syrup over gentle heat and boil until frothy. A drop of syrup poured into a small bowl of cold water becomes hard like a bead. The sugar syrup should not stick to the vessel. Add a cupful of boondis to the sugar syrup, mix nicely. Remove the pan from flame.
Coat your palms with a little rice flour. Take small portions of the boondi mixture in your palms and roll into laddoos.
Repeat for the entire batch to make motichoor laddoos.
Besan Laddoos
Ingredients
Bengal gram flour – 3 cups
Castor sugar – 1 1⁄2 cups
Ghee – 1 1⁄4 cups
Milk – 1 1⁄2 tbsp
Sliced almonds – 25 gms
Cardamom – 8-9,
powdered
Raisins – 25 gms
Method
In a pan, fry the flour in the ghee until it is reddish in colour. Sprinkle the milk and stir, set aside to cool.
Tip in the castor sugar, almond slices, cardamom powder and raisins. Knead well. Roll into besan ladoos.
Cashewnut ladoos
Ingredients
Split cashewnuts – 3 cups (cut into pieces)
Sugar – 2 cups
Method
In a pan, add sugar and water to prepare a thick sugar syrup of hard ball consistency. Tip in the crushed cashewnuts and roll into balls. Make cashewnut ladoos.
South Indian Ladoo
Ingredients
Boondi
Fine Bengal gram flour
(Besan) – 3 cups
Water – Three-fourth cup
Ghee / dalda for deep frying
Saffron – Half tsp, soaked
and crushed
Cardamoms – 8-9
(powdered)
Cloves – 5 (slightly
powdered)
Badam – 5 gm (chopped)
Pista – 5 gm (chopped)
Raisins – 5 gm
Sugar syrup
Sugar – 2 1⁄2 cups
Water – 2 cups
Method
Prepare soft boondis as with motichoor laddoos, ensuring that the boondis are soft and not very crisp. In a broad pan, pour the water and add the sugar. Create a sugar syrup of one thread consistency over medium flame.
Add saffron, cardamom powder, crushed cloves, raisins, chopped badam and pistachios. Stir in the boondis. Remove the pan from fire and let this cool. Once the mixture cools, take small portions and roll into balls to make soft boondi ladoos.
