Motichoor Ladoo (motichoor laddu) is one the most popular Indian sweets around and that is saying something for a subcontinent that knows its confectionary. The sweet is made with gram flour, usually a coarse besan and sugar syrup.
Gram flour is made from a particular type of chickpea just to be clear. Some recipes show this laddoo with a rough surface of tiny drops of chickpea flour called boondi. There are some laddoo which can be made using semolina although the textures created are different but its a matter of taste.
The characteristic drops of this flour are always deep fried, mixed with the sugar syrup and then shaped into round balls. Sometimes chopped nuts are added to provide variety of texture and flavour. The frying medium is traditionally desi ghee but other frying oils are used around the world in the absence of ghee.
It is a dish that needs a little practice in the kitchen. If you have the patience, the rewards are fantastic because it is a technique which can be applied to preparing other types of Indian confectionary. You may have come across boondi laddoo which we would also recommend and is prepared with a less grainy type of besan flour. The method of preparation is also different.
History Behind Motichoor Ladoo
The confectionary comes from norther India. The words used such as moti means pearl whilst choor means crushed. Put the two together and you have crushed pearls. Like many laddoo it is a sweet of religious celebrations and festivals. What sets it apart from boondi laddoo is that in motichoor the boondi used here are turned into pearls. That makes it rather unique!
The Besan Flour Needed For Motichoor Ladoo
It’s often said in Indian recipe web-sites that coarse besan is better than a regular fine version. The reason is that during the prolonged frying process a high high heat is required. This type of flour remains relatively soft and allows the the balls of laddoo to retain their shape better. They certainly do not fall apart when we have used a softer besan flour.
It’s ideal if you have a boondi ladle, a kadai and mesh ladle!
Ghee although a good quality frying oil can be used
2tspmelon seeds (optional)
12pistachios which are finely chopped
1 cardamom (optional) which is powdered
3drops of rose essenceor 1 teaspoon of pure rose water
pinch of salt
½teaspoon lemon juice
For the sugar syrup:
1cup (125g)sugar
½cup (75ml) water
½teaspooncardamom powder
1teaspoonlemon juice
Pinchof orange food colour
Preparation:
Put the besan (gram/chickpea flour) into a mixing bowl.
Add the salt and baking soda, and mix thoroughly into the flour.
Add the milk and any food colour.
Add water and mix thoroughly to produce a thick batter. Avoid adding too much water as this will produce a batter which is to runny. It’s on of those methods that needs a bit of practice but it should be thicker than a pancake batter.
Cover and rest batter for 15-20 minutes.
Heat a broad heavy bottomed frying pan, wok or kadai with the oil or ghee added to it.
Keep a heavier and taller sturdy box or ladle support, [some chefs like to use a dabba ] near the frying pan. This should be taller than the frying pan so that a wire meash ladle or jhara can be supported. The best implement here is a boondi ladle but who has one of those to hand! If you are unsure of what this procedure means there are some good Youtube videos which demonstrate the principle.
Place a kitchen cloth or towel, folded over this container. This is essential for tapping a ladle or jhara over the oil. The ladle should be about 3 or 4 inches above the frying oil.
Once the frying oil is hot enough, turn the heat down to low.
Hold the boondi ladle in a slanting way, above the oil, so that the handle rests over the box/dabba.
Pour batter all over the ladle rather than at one place.
Quickly start tapping the handle of the ladle over the support for it, so that the batter gets sprinkled in the oil. You should see small balls of flour mixture form which become the boondis
Once the bubbles around are starting to reduce in size and number, the true boondis begin to form. The frying only takes about 30 to 40 seconds so be ready. Remove these from the oil using the jhara or wire mesh ladle. Never leave this too long or these boondis will become so crispy and brown they will not hold any of their shape.
Drain on paper towel. Keep repeating this process until all the mixture is used up.
Preparation Of The Sugar Syrup
To make sugar syrup, boil sugar and water until it has a relatively thick consistency. It should form a string of syrup if you swipe the back of the ladle with your fore finger and check between your thumb.
Preparation Of The Ladoo
Having let sugar syrup comes to boil, then add cardamom powder, any essences such as rose water etc. orange food color, and lemon juice.
In a pan, add melon seeds and pistachio slits. Roast for a few minutes.
Switch off the gas and add the fried boondi and dry fruits together to the slowly cooling sugar syrup. Mix well. Please do not burn your hands! Let the boondi balls absorb as much syrup as possible. Drain on a paper towel.
Let it all cool completely, then take a small portion of all this boondi mixture and roll between your palms which are greased with ghee to make the motichoor ladoo.
The balls of ladoo are rolled in the crushed pistachios.
Serve or store motichoor ladoo into the refrigerator for 6-7 days.
Leave a Reply