Laddu

Laddu

Coconut and jaggery balls
Place of origin Indian subcontinent
Region or state Indian subcontinent, Mauritius, Fiji, southern and eastern Africa, the Caribbean, the Malay Peninsula
Main ingredients Flour, milk, sugar
Variations Gram flour, rava
Other information Served on festive or religious occasions
Cookbook: Laddu  Media: Laddu
Laddus packed for a wedding
Laddus

Laddu or laddoo are ball-shaped sweets popular in the Indian Subcontinent. Laddus are made of flour, minced dough and sugar with other ingredients that vary by recipe. They are often served at festive or religious occasions.[1][2]

Composition

Common flours used for laddu include gram flour (chickpea flour), wheat semolina and ground coconut. These are combined with sugar and other flavorings, cooked in ghee and molded into a ball shape. Some laddu recipes are prepared using Ayurvedic medicinal ingredients, including methi laddu, multigrain and resin laddu. Nuts such as pistachios and almonds are commonly stuffed into laddus.

Boondi laddu

Boondi laddu or Bundiar Laddu is made from boondi. It is often served in occasions like festivals such as Raksha bandhan and Diwali. Motichoor laddu is made from fine boondi where the balls are tiny and is cooked with ghee or oil. Originally this laddu was a north Indian sweet, but it is now popular throughout South Asia.

Besan laddu

Besan Laddu decorated with silver foil and almond chips

Besan laddu is a popular Indian sweet dish made of (chickpea flour or gram flour), sugar and ghee. Besan is roasted in ghee till golden brown appearance with nutty fragrance. Then sugar is added to it. Pistachio pieces are also mixed in this mixture optionally. Sweet balls are then made from this mixture. It has a long shelf life. It is often served at festivals, family events and religious occasions in India.

Coconut laddoo

There are multiple coconut laddu recipes. Its earliest form Narayl Nakru dates back to the time of the Chola Empire, when it was a sweet that was packed for travelers and warriors as a symbol of good luck for their expeditions.[3]

Malai laddu

Malai laddu (cream balls) is a popular dessert in Pakistan and India, prepared from Khoa, the solids remaining after evaporating milk. In India, it is called Pedha and is often prepared as an offering to the gods.

Laddu with edible gum

In India, these are traditionally given to lactating mothers as they help in the production of milk.,[4][5] The laddus are called Dinkache ladoo in the Marathi and Gond ka laddu in Hindi. The main ingredient in the recipe is Gum arabic which is collected from the Babhul tree. Other ingredients include coconut, Almonds, Cashews, dates, spices such as Nutmeg and Cardamom, Poppy seeds, Ghee, and Sugar.[6] An alternative multigrain recipe will have a portion of gum replaced by grains and legume flours such as besan, urid, ragi(nachani in Marathi) and wheat [7]

Use

Laddu is often prepared for festivals or family events such as weddings and births, or given as a prasadam(religious offering of food) at Hindu temples, especially at Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, it is famous with the name Tirupati Laddu. Laddu is considered a traditional Eid dessert in some Muslim communities.

In Maharashtrian cuisine, there are traditional recipes for laddu intended as travel provisions.

Cultural references

In the Sesame Street episode "Rakhi Road", laddus are featured prominently as a favoured Indian dessert. Elmo is shown making laddus and enjoying eating them as part of the celebrations around the Indian festival of Rakhi.[8]

A laddu weighing 6,300 kg was made for a Ganesh festival in Andhra Pradesh, India in September 2012. This was claimed to be the largest known laddu.[9]

In the movie English Vinglish, the protagonist Shashi Godbole (Sridevi) is a housewife who makes and sells laddoos as a home-run business.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sweet shops make hay in Diwali shine". The New Indian Express.
  2. ↑ Sangeetha Devi Dundoo. "As good as home". The Hindu.
  3. ↑ Madhulika Dash (16 October 2004). "Food Story: The journey of ladoo from a medicine to the much-loved Indian sweet". The New Indian Express.
  4. ↑ Kajale, Neha, et al. "Effect of traditional food supplements on nutritional status of lactating mothers and growth of their infants." Nutrition 30.11 (2014): 1360-1365.
  5. ↑ Singh, Mayank (2012). "TRADITIONAL HERBAL CARE OF HUMAN HEALTH IN JAUNPUR (U.P.)" (PDF). Indian J. L. Sci. 1 (2): 61–65. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Dinkache ladoo, Gund ladoo, Gond Ladoo, Gond Ka Laddu.....Easy Recipes on CuisineCuisine.com". www.cuisinecuisine.com. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Naidu, Bhargavi G., Kirti J. Shirke, and Anuradha Shekhar. "Research Paper Open Access." (2012).
  8. ↑ "Show Guide Landing". Sesame Street. Retrieved 2011-10-13.
  9. ↑ "6,300 kg Tapeswaram laddu creates record". The New Indian Expres. Express Network Private Limited. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
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