Laddu Love

I find it challenging to plan for late afternoon-early evening snacks, especially when I'm ready to chomp down anything after getting home from work. But then, I don't like to kill my appetite for dinner either. It's not too much work to whip up guacamole or make veg cutlets or something else. Still, it would be nice not having to think about it every day. For quick energy boost between meals, I liked all sorts of khau (snack/treat) grandma used to keep ready - bhadang or healthy chivda to eat with yogurt, or one of her wholesome laddus made with moong, haliv (aserio) or whole wheat. How easy life used to be when mom or grandma had to worry about such things...*sigh*!

Now that I'm working up an appetite with the cooling Fall weather (and in preparation for the holiday season ;), I wanted to have something ready in the house for the occasional hunger pangs. Kanakeche Ladu (Whole Wheat Laddus) seemed to suit my mood, and the lack of enthusiasm for making anything elaborate, the other day. These laddus are quite nutritious, with golden roasted whole wheat flour, dry fruits, and a good dose of ghee. They are made with my favorite sweetener jaggery - always happy to forgo refined sugar. Most importantly, unlike besan or rava laddus, there's very little that can go wrong in the preparation. And you don't have to fret if you can't roll laddus, because the churma, or the coarse mixture, tastes fantastic by itself. Just don't tell anyone you attempted to make laddus :D.

Ladies, these laddus will be great to break your Karwa Chauth fast. Sweet, and energy packed when you are ready to faint after a long day of fasting =).

**The recipe below makes approximately 12 laddus.

Kanakeche Ladu/Whole Wheat Laddu

Ingredients:
2 Cups whole wheat flour
1/2 Cup ghee
3/4 Cup grated jaggery
Chopped dry fruits per your liking - almonds, cashews, raisins
1/2 Teaspoon cardamom powder

• Heat 3 tablespoons of ghee in a kadhai on low flame. Add whole wheat flour and roast until golden and aromatic (~10 mins). Keep the stove on low and stir the flour so it doesn't burn. Once done, keep aside.
• Add the remaining ghee and grated jaggery to the kadhai and heat just until the jaggery melts completely. Don't overcook. Be very careful -jaggery can really burn once hot!
• Pour this ghee-jaggery mixture in roasted whole wheat flour. Add chopped dry fruits and cardamom powder. Mix everything well with a spatula.
• Once the mixture cools enough to touch, break all the lumps with your hands and make golf-ball size laddus. If you find it difficult to roll laddus, add a little bit of ghee (although 1/2 cup should enough really).

If the laddus harden (because ghee can solidify in cold weather), just pop them in the microwave for a few seconds and they'll be as good as fresh.