Besan Almond Ladoo#Alphabet Challenge

These ladoo's are my hubby's favorite, he simply loves them. I have already posted a recipe of the these ladoo's , but, this is with almond meal, it has a nutty taste.
Ingredients
¾ Cup Ghee
2 Cups Chickpea Flour/Besan
½ Cup Ground Almonds/Almond meal
½ - ¾ Cup Caster sugar
½ Teaspoon Cardamom powder

Method

Heat the ghee. Stir in the chickpea flour and cook over low heat until the chickpea flour is toasted and the mixture smell fragrant, about 10 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be pasty, not powdery. Remove the mixture from the heat and cool slightly. Add the ground almonds, caster sugar and ground cardamom to the pan and mix thoroughly. Taste for sugar, add according to the sweetness you require. While the mixture is warm, shape it into balls.

Store the ladoo's in an airtight container and they can be eaten immediately, but taste better after several hours.
Labels: Almond Meal, Besan, Diwali Faral, Festival Sweets, Maharashtra, Sugar, Ladoo, Alphabet Challenge

Let's take a look at the recipes being shared today with Alphabet "L" 

Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Lychee Martini 

 A Messy Kitchen: Lemongrass Chicken and Asparagus 

Food Lust People Love: Lobster Butter 

Culinary Cam: Enamored with Culinary Lavender: From Sips to Sweets 

Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Lemon Pudding Cookies

Magical Ingredients: Lentil Lasagna Dip

Mayuri’s Jikoni: Lobia Paneer Salad

A Day in the Life on the Farm: Preserved Lemons

Sneha’s Recipe: Besan Almond Ladoo

Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Chickpea Salad with Lemony Swiss Chard Pesto

Palatable Pastime: Tahdig Lubia Polo

Atta Ladoo/Whole Wheat Flour Ladoo#SundayFunday

Atta Ladoo is a popular sweet that is prepared during festivals and winter. It's a rich, made with desi ghee and nuts. It makes a sweet dessert or snack. This is commonly made in every house hold with some variations. It is a simple recipe with few ingredients, but the texture and taste is amazing!

For this ladoo you require coarsely ground whole wheat flour which is also used to make Kada Prashad, this is readily available in the market as Jada (coarse) or Ladoo Atta.

Make 20 to 25 Medium Ladoos
Ingredients
3 Cups Coarsely Ground Whole Wheat Flour
1 ½ Cup Desi Ghee1
½ Cup Bura Sugar / Karara Sugar
¼ Cup Almonds
¼ Cup Cashews
¼ Cup Golden Raisins
1 Teaspoon Cardamom powder

Method

Dry roast atta, in a thick bottom pan, on low medium heat until lightly colored this takes exactly 15 minutes. 

After this keep adding ghee 3 tablespoons at time and continue roasting, stirring continuously, when this is mixed add another few tablespoons of ghee and continue to stir continuously till all the ghee is used. 

Keep stirring on medium low flame till the atta will be light brown and will release a fragrant sweet aroma of roasting. 

This should take about 20 to 30 minutes or till it reaches a brown color and starts leaving ghee.

Once it reaches the desired color take off flame. Remove it it on to a big flat plate to cool. 

Now in the same pan add the almonds and cashewnuts and fry till they are toasted add the rasinis and fry for a minute.
When cooled chop the almonds and cashewnuts.

As you can see the ghee has surfaced on top. At this stage I, used a paper towel and dabbed off all the excess ghee that surfaced as much as possible. I did not want so much ghee in my ladoos. 

Now when the atta is lightly warm add the chopped almonds, cashew nuts, raisins, bura / karara sugar and cardamom powder. With your palms rub it into the atta mix so that all are incorporated nicely.

To make the ladoos, take about 2 - 3 tablespoons of atta mix into your palm. Gently press the mixture between your palms to form a smooth, round ball.

Leave the ladoos on a plate to cool to room temperature before putting into a airtight container. 

These ladoos can be stored for 2 to 3 weeks.

These are so delicious and mouth melting and assure you that you can't stop at one.  
Lables: Ladoo, Atta, Whole Wheat Flour, Desi Ghee, Raisins, Cashewnuts, Almond, Festival Sweets, Christmas, Snack, Sweets & Desserts, Diwali Faral

For Sunday Funday our today's theme is Diwali Party Recipes.  

• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Aloo Tikki
• Sneha’s Recipe: Atta Ladoo / Whole Wheat Flour Ladoo
• Palatable Pastime: Chicken Tikka Nan Pizza 
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Chocolate Kalakand 
• Cook with Renu: Condensed Milk Instant Kalakand 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Crunchy Chickpeas Masala
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla : Gulab Jamun 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Vegetable Pulao (Indian Rice Pilaf) 

Gluten Free Red Rice Sev

Sev is a popular Indian crispy, savory snack food consisting of thin deep fried crunchy noodles. These are gluten free and so tasty, are made with unpolished red rice. Great for kid's tiffin.

Ingredients
2 Cups Red Rice Flour
½ Cup Urad Dal Flour - lightly roasted
½ Teaspoon Red Chilly powder
1-1½ Cup Hot Water
3 Tablespoons Melted Ghee
½ Teaspoon Sea Salt
½ Teaspoon Sesame Seeds
¼ Teaspoon Ajwain / Carom Seeds

Method

In a large bowl add the rice and urad flour, salt and red chilly powder and sieve them well, Then add the ajwain and sesame seeds, mix it well. Then add melted ghee and mix well till it forms bread crumbs. Then add hot water ¼ cup at a time and start to knead into soft and smooth dough , yet firm dough. Cover and keep aside for 10 minutes. 

In the meantime heat oil for deep frying in a kadai and heat on medium  flame. Take a fine round holes disc in the murukku / sev press. 

Fill the murukku press with the prepared dough. Now slowly press the sev maker over the hot oil. Deep fry them on a medium  flame until golden color, turn over to fry on both sides evenly. Drain over paper towel and let them cool completely. 

Store in an airtight container. These stay good for a month.

Labels :  Sev, Festival Sweets, Diwali Faral, Gluten free, Deep Fried, Kids delight, Red Rice

Chirote - Festival Sweet / Snack

This is a sweet snack made from flour and dusted with powdered sugar. It is a Diwali special snack of Maharashtra. Its so flaky and mouth melting, that you can't stop at one!

Makes 25 - 30 Chirotes

Ingredients   

2 Cups Heaped All purpose flour 

½ Cup Fine Semolina /Rawa 

½ Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Powdered Sugar 
5 Tablespoons Hot Melted Ghee
2/3 Cup Water or as needed
For the Paste / Satta 

4 Tablespoons Ghee - at room temperature
2 Tablespoons Level Rice flour
For the Coating  

1 Cup Powdered Sugar
Ghee + Oil for deep frying
Almonds & Pistachios for garnishing

Method 

For the Dough

To make the dough in a large bowl add all purpose flour, semolina & hot ghee. Mix everything well with a spoon.
Then add water as required to make a soft dough. 

Keep this dough aside for 20 minutes.

In the meanwhile let's make the Paste/Satta

In a small bowl add ghee. Mix the ghee with your palms to make it creamy. - Then add rice flour and again mix well. Make a creamy and smooth thick paste. Keep this paste aside.

Take the dough and divide it into  equal parts. divide the dough in same size balls... you should make balls in multiples of 3. 

Start rolling out thin chapatis from each dough.Cover the rest of the balls while you are rolling the first one. Make the very thin chapati ... as thin as possible ... it should be almost paper thin. 

Slightly flour these and carefully set them aside.

Now take one chapati, apply the paste/satta on it evenly with your hand. Then place the next to chapati on top of it and again apply paste/satta on it evenly. 

Then then third one as shown and with a rolling ping lightly roll it. 

Now apply the paste/satta on it evenly on top.

Roll this 

into a tight roll.

Likewise make the other two rolls and cover them and keep aside for at least 15 minutes. 

Cut equal size pieces about an inch thick. 

See the layers..

Press one piece vertically so that all the 

layers of the roll look like this

Likewise make the other's and cover with a damp cloth and keep aside till all are done.

In the meantime place ghee/oil ( I used half ghee and oil) in a kadai.

 Start frying when the oil it medium hot on medium low flame two chirotes at a time on low flame by pouring oil on it till one side is done then flip and till done or just till it starts getting a light golden. 

Each layer should be nicely separated and crisp.

In a bowl add powdered sugar. 

Dip the chirote in the powdered sugar. Make sure they well coated with the sugar.

Garnish the chirote with almonds and pistachios.

 Serve these to neighbors and friends and you too enjoy the delicious and mouth melting chirotes.

Labels : Chirote, Diwali Faral, Festival Sweets, Maharastrian Cuisine, Flaky, Deep Fried

Besan Ladoo

Besan Ladoo is an all time favorite sweet ladoo made from chickpea flour, for festivals like Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi , Dussehra, etc.  This is my hubby's favorite and its made regularly in my house. Whenever he feels like having something sweet, he will pick a besan ladoo and enjoy. Today am, going to share a simple besan ladoo recipe, I prepare these in different ways - even with dry fruit powder. This is an easy recipe with simple ingredients that are easily available.

I, roast the flour partly in the microwave and then in the end fry the flour on the stove. Roasting the flour in the microwave gets done quickly, using less energy, ghee and time.

So let's go to the recipe.

Makes 14

Ingredients

2 Cups Heaped Besan / Chickpea Flour
1/2 Cup Desi Ghee
2/3 Cup Level Powdered Sugar
2 Teaspoons Milk
1/4 Teaspoon Cardamom Powder
Raisins for garnishing

Method 
In a microwave proof plate spread a cup of flour at a time and microwave  on high for a minute, then stir it well and again microwave for a minute do this process three to four times, but after every minute stir it well, then keep it again microwave.

After completing this process 4 times, add a tablespoon of desi ghee and mix well, remove any lumps and again microwave on high - 3 -4 times - for a minute each , after every minute remove and stir well. Do the same process for the next batch of flour and keep aside.

In a heavy bottom pan, on low flame, heat the remaining desi ghee, add the roasted flour and keep frying till it changes color and releases a fragrant aroma of fried besan. Then add the milk and continue stirring till it is lump free, smooth and you will find a luster on the besan. Switch off the flame and continue stirring till the pan cools.

Remove it in a  bowl and keep it to cool completely.  When cold say after an hour or two, add the cardamon powder and sugar, mix well by taking the flour into hands and rubbing it so the the sugar is well incorporated.  

Make medium size ladoo and garnish each ladoo with a raisin. Store in an airtight container. This remains good for a month.  Enjoy....  Happy Diwali..

My Notes 

Adding milk makes the ladoos light and it does not stick to the palate while eating.

Labels : Besan, Festival Sweets, Sugar, Diwali Faral, Maharashtra