Nuts & Wheat Ladoo

How to make Nuts & Wheat Ladoo

              Also known as Atte ka Ladoo in Hindi (can also be made without nuts) is a simple Indian sweet made with basic ingredients from our pantry. A great after workout snack or a health-boosting dessert alternative. They make great homemade treats instead of store-bought processed snacks. These delicious balls are jam-packed with flavor and nutrients. These ladoos being high in calories are great for kids to keep their energy levels up any time of the day.

Ingredients for about 40 ladoos:

whole wheat flour - 3 cups

Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup

Pistachios - 1/4 cup

Almonds - 1/4 cup

(superfine) Sugar - 2 cups

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tbsp

melted ghee - as needed to make ladoos

Stove-top method:

• Dry roast all nuts in low flame for 2-3 minutes, until the raw smell disappears. Let it cool down & powder them finely and set aside.
• Dry roast the wheat flour on low heat until it loses its raw flavor and smells aromatic. 
• If your sugar is not super fine, you may powder it before adding it to the flour.
• Add the powdered nuts, sugar, cardamom powder to the roasted flour, and mix it well. Melt ghee on low flame & keep it warm, until you finish making all ladoos.

• Take a small batch of the flour mix, pour a ladle full of hot ghee, stir & make balls using your hand. Repeat the process until all of the flour has been turned into ladoos. 
• Store in air-tight container & enjoy with your family & friends.

Sharing my mom's recipe from my recipe diary with my friends at CCC #59 Oct Week 4.

Cashew Badam Halwa

How to make (quick & easy) Cashew Badam Halwa

    

             Although I did not have a sweet tooth during childhood, I have always been a sucker for milk sweets - Bengali sweets being my most favorite, followed by 'Thirattu Paal' and 'Paal Khoa'. When I moved to this country and felt deprived of my favorite sweets for a long long time and store-bought sweets weren't as good as the ones you get in India, I had to find a way to satisfy my craving. At first,  I added sugar to the unsweetened store-bought khoa to make 'Paal Khoa' and that was delicious by itself. After a few times, I decided to up my game by adding powdered nuts to this concoction and thus ended up with the 'Ultimate Paal Khoa'. Since then, I never went back to the regular Paal khoa. I had found my "soul-food"! The only drawback being, that this is super rich & will take a toll on your weight :o). To control my temptations, I only make it during Diwali season every year and, yes I do go overboard during Diwali time anyways... and end up blaming the festive season by calling it holiday weight gain.

           It takes only a few minutes to make this deliciously sweet halwa, but it tastes royal. I'm sorry, I'm raving so much about this halwa. My opinions might be biased as I love milk sweets, so why don't you try this easy peasy recipe this Deepavali to make your family & friends happy; that is if you have any leftovers to share ;o)

Ingredients:

2.5 cups/12 oz/350 Gms Unsweetened Khoa

2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup Cashew powder

1 Cup Badam

Milk - 1 Cup
a few strands of saffron

Stove-top method:

• Grate the Khoa with a peeler or chop it up into smaller pieces. Powder the raw nuts as desired.
•  Heat the milk with the Khoa. Once the Khoa blends with the milk, add the powdered nuts & sugar. Heat on low-medium & keep stirring until you reach halwa consistency. Top it with saffron strands & serve warm or cold.

Sharing my recipe with my friends at CCC #59 Oct Week 3. Do check out their latest Diwali recipes as well for more inspiration this season.