Churma na Ladoo

Sweet ladoos made of whole wheat flour that can also be served as a snack

In many cultures, foods are associated with specific festivals. In India, the kind of foods that are associated with festivals can sometimes vary a lot depending on location, community, religion, and a number of other factors besides. Sometimes, they even vary from family to family. Making ladoos for Ganesh Chaturthi is however a popular custom. And in my family, I look forward to the Churma na Ladoo that are made for this festival each year, it being one of my favorite sweets. These ladoos keep for days even without refrigeration and are extremely filling.

 

This dish requires careful preparation to get the texture of the ladoos just right. We start out with a mixture of whole wheat flour and rawa, to which shortening is added, and just enough water to make firm dough. The dough is then pressed into loaves that are roughly the shape and size of your palm when you make a loose fist. Leave the grooves that your fingers make in these loaves and do not try to smoothen them out by rolling. The more uneven their shape is, the crumblier texture of your ladoos will be.

Deep fry the loaves in oil on medium heat till they are light brown. Break open the fried loaves into smaller pieces while they are still warm. Broken loaves will look roughly like the ones in the middle bowl in the image. Once they cool down slightly, grind them to a powder that is neither too coarse, nor too fine. Again, it should look a little bit like the powder in the right bowl in the above image. Add melted ghee, ground sugar, cardamom, and nutmeg and roll them into spheres between the palms of your hands. You can take the prepared ladoos and roll them in poppy seeds or serve as they are. 

Recipe for Churma na Ladoo

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup rawa

¼ cup vegetable oil

1¼  cup ground sugar

⅔ cup melted ghee

½ tsp ground cadamom

A dash of nutmeg

Poppy seeds, optional

Vegetable oil, for frying

1.  Sieve together the whole wheat flour and rawa. Add the vegetable oil and approximately 1⅓ cup water. Knead into a firm dough.

2.  Press into loaves using the palm of one hand, the loaves should be the size of your palm when you make a loose fist. Leave the texture of the loaves uneven.

3.  Deep fry the loaves in oil on medium heat till they are light brown, and break into smaller pieces while still warm.

4.  Grind the fried loaves to a powder that is not too fine, but not coarse either.

5.  Add the ground sugar, melted ghee, cardamom, and a dash of grated nutmeg and mix properly.

6.  Press and roll into spherical balls. Spread the poppy seeds on a plate or a piece of paper and roll the prepared ladoos on it or serve plain.