Happy Holi to you all!!

I’ve used coarsely-ground chickpea (besan) flour in this recipe, you could use the fine variety too, it works just as well.

Good news is that traditional homemade snacks are back playing the comforting role they always have in most Indian households, they certainly had an important role in my childhood and then disappeared for several years, it’s time to re-kindle those flames again,… remembering the good old days and the simplicity of it all…

Prep Time: 15mins                                                                          Cook time: 20mins 

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of besan (chickpea flour)
• 50-100 grams of sugar (ground to a fine powder) depending on how sweet you like it
• 6-7 pods of green cardamom
• 200 ml of desi Ghee
• Nuts of your choice (I’ve used toasted pistachios in this recipe)

Start by grinding the sugar in a dry spice grinder into a fine powder. De-shell cardamom and crush seeds in a pestle and mortar. Melt ghee in the microwave. lightly toast nuts and chop them. Set all these aside for use in stages

On medium to low flame, dry-roast the besan, in a thick-bottom wok/ pan. remember to constantly stir to avoid the flour from burning. Roast for approximately 12-14mins.

Next, add melted ghee to the roasted besan, mix well and allow to roast on low flame for another 8mins. Turn off the heat.

Add the powdered sugar and mix. Make sure you add it one tablespoon at a time, mix well and taste to check if it is the right level of sweetness for you.

Finally, add cardamom powder and nuts and mix well. Allow to cool down, close to room temperature or slightly warm. Use your hands to roll the mixture into mouth-sized balls.

Stores well in an airtight container for up to a week.

Enjoy!

I realise….Life’s simple joy’s are just that – simple 🙂

Tip: Remember to use a generous amount of ghee as it is the only binding agent in this recipe. If your laddus crumble easily – re-heat and add more ghee, this will solve the problem.