Yellow Moong Dal Ladoo (diwali sweets)

 The blogosphere is buzzing with Diwali recipes, both the sweet and savory varieties. Yes, Diwali is round the corner and all those celebrating are gearing up for the festival of lights  by preparing festive treats for family and friends. It is that time of the year when  sweet are distributed among family and friends with much gusto. To add to your recipe repertorie, I present to you a quick & easy ladoo recipe that is protein rich and delicious. Moong Dal Ladoo is a classic indian sweet prepared with least effort. No fancy ingredients or elaborate and complicated techniques are required. Just four steps – roast, powder, mix and shape, its that simple!

This lentil based sweets is prepared in most parts of India. It is popular as pesara sunnaundalu in Andhra and pasi paruppu laddu in Tamil Nadu. You can make it with either yellow moong dal or whole green gram. I have prepared laddus with both the varieties of dals. Roasted and powdered moong dal can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container.

Main Ingredients:

1. yellow moong dal
2. sugar

Ingredients

• Yellow moong dal - 1 cup
• Sugar - 3/4 cup, powdered (for a sweeter flavor add another 1/4 cup)
• Milk powder - 4 tbsps (optional)
• Crushed nuts of your choice - 2 tbsps (optional) {pista, almonds or cashew nuts}
• Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
• Ghee - 1/4 cup +1 tbsp, melted and lightly warm

Method

1. In a heavy bottomed vessel, add the yellow moong dal and dry roast on low to medium flame. Keep mixing the dal till it emits a nice aroma and turns a light golden color. Ensure that you roast the dal well as it is crucial to achieve a perfect flavored laddu. This could take at least 12 to 15 mts. Remove from heat and cool the roasted dal.
2. Once the dal comes to room temperature, grind it to a fine powder. Place this ground moong dal powder in a large bowl.
3. Add powdered sugar, milk powder, caradamom powder and crushed nuts to the bowl. Mix the contents till well combined. Keep aside.
4. Melt 1/4 cup ghee in a small pan and pour the warm ghee over the powdered dal mixture and mix well. Make small golf sized balls with the mixture. If the laddu is not holding shape, add one or two tbsps of melted ghee and mix well. Make laddus with rest of the mixture.
5. Store in an airtight container. The laddus will stay fresh for a fortnight.

Tips

• I have used 3/4 cup sugar that is powdered which yields a mildly sweet laddu. Increase or decrease the sugar depending on how sweet you want the laddu.
• The dal can be ground to a finely coarse powder similar to fine sand.
• For a richer flavor and melt in the mouth texture, add 1/3 cup milk powder and increase ghee by 3 to 4 tbsps.
• If the laddu has developed cracks and is dry, add more melted warm ghee.
• For variation, you can add 1/4 cup dessicated coconut powder.
• You can prepare laddus with whole green gram by following the above recipe. Just replace yellow moong dal with whole green gram.