Quick Sunflower seeds Ladoo

How to make Sunflower seeds Ladoo

      Sunflower seeds are loaded with antioxidants.They are a good source of selenium, a proven enemy of cancer. They contain bone-healthy minerals and also contain Vitamin E, which helps ease arthritic pain. The Vitamin E in them brings a glow to your skin. A quarter cup of sunflower seeds a day can keep heart troubles away. With their crunchy, nutty taste, sunflower seeds can easily become a regular part of your daily diet and prevent food cravings. You can also sprinkle them on your salads, and stir-fries. I chew down on a handful of these seeds, during snack time to cut down on other cravings and to keep me satiated until meal time. I wrote down this recipe in my recipe diary, as I was making it so I could use up some of the sunflower seeds in my pantry.

Ingredients for about 15 ladoos:

1 cup of  roasted (unsalted) sunflower seeds

1 cup of powdered jaggery

1/2 cup of pottukadalai/roasted channa dal

1/2 tsp, cardamom/elaichi powder

1/4 cup of ghee

1/4 to 1/2 cup of raisins

Stovetop method:

• If you have raw sunflower seeds, dry roast them on low heat until crisp, and aromatic. Let cool.
• Dry grind in a food processor to desired coarseness. Transfer to a heat-resistant bowl.
• Grind/powder crumbled jaggery to a fine powder; transfer to the bowl.
• Powder the chutney dal finely & add to the rest of the powders. Add the cardamom powder & give it a stir.
• Heat a small pan with the ghee & fry the raisins until plump. Add raisins to the powdered mixture & mix it in.

• Continue to keep the ghee on very low heat. Add one ladle/spoon of hot ghee to one small portion of the sunflower seed, jaggery, chutney dal mixture. Blend the ghee with the nutty mixture & make firm balls with your fist. NOTE: Use only a small quantity of the powdered mixture to add ghee - make balls. These ladoos should not require much ghee as the sunflower seeds are oily in the first place.
• Repeat the process until you have turned all of the powder into balls of your desired size.
• Store in an air-tight container at room temperature & enjoy.

NOTES:

• Roasted sunflower seeds are readily available in specialty food stores, if not in regular grocery stores.

Sharing this recipe with my fellow bloggers at Sri Valli's CCC# 51: November Week 3.