Boondi Laddoo - Easy Diwali Sweets

Time is flying. I know it sounds really cliched,  but it feels like yesterday when we were just done with the Navarathri celebrations and now its already time for Diwali. Days have been really very busy and I have not been able to give too much time to my blog. But with Diwali just around the corner, I wanted to post a couple of recipes for the occasion and here is the first one.

Boondi laddoos are a very popular sweet, be it any occasion.  It is fairly simple to make, not much of stirring and wondering whether you reached the correct stage to remove from heat like in the burfis. Though the method may sound daunting, it is quite easy.

Makes about 12 medium sized laddoos

What you'll need

1. Gramflour/Kadala Maavu/Besan – 1 cup
2. Water – ½ cup to ¾ cup
3. Yellow Food Color – few drops (optional)
4. Oil for deep frying
5. Sugar –1 ½ cup
6. Water – ¾ cup
7. Ghee – 1 tsp
8. Cashewnuts – about 15 broken into small pieces
9. Raisins – few
10. Whole Green Cardamom – 3 to 4
11. Cloves – 3 to 4

Method

1. Heat a small frying pan with ghee and fry the cashewnuts, raisins, cloves and cardamom. Keep aside.
2. Sieve the gramflour and keep it in a wide mouthed vessel.
3. Add water and make smooth batter of pouring consistency (dosa batter). (Refer my Kara Boondi post for detailed recipe and troubleshooting on how to make boondi)
4. Add the food color and mix well.
5. Pour the oil in a kadai and heat it for deep frying.
6. In the meanwhile prepare the sugar syrup,
7. Heat a Kadai, add sugar and add water just to immerse the sugar, about ¾ cup.
8. Let the sugar dissolve completely and come to a boil. The sugar syrup should reach one string consistency.
9. To test for the one string consistency, just take a little syrup between your index finger and thumb, you should see a single thread.
10. Give it another boil and switch off the flame.
11. To make the boondhis, place one of the perforated ladles, a little above the hot oil, pour a ladle of batter on the ladle, let the batter drop by itself, this gives perfectly round boondhis.
12. Fry on medium heat, turning them once or twice in between.
13. Fry until 3/4^th done, don’t cook till very crisp, scoop out the boondhis and drain on tissue paper.
14. Wipe the perforated ladle clean, so as no batter is sticking to it, then repeat the 5 to 7, with the remaining batter.
15. Transfer the fried and drained boondhis to the sugar syrup. And mix well. U can transfer the boondhis to sugar syrup after each batch and give a good mix.
16. After adding all the boondhis, add the fried nuts, raisins, cloves and cardamom and mix well.
17. Let this syrup and boodhi become warm, then make laddoos by taking small amount of the boondis in your hand and form into balls. Set aside to set.
18. Delicious laddoos are ready. These stay fresh for minimum 10 days at room temperature.

Note

1. Don’t fry the boondis till very crisp then it becomes difficult to form the laddoos.
2. If you feel that there is too much syrup after adding all the boondhis and finding it difficult to shape the laddoos, then just heat the whole thing for couple of minutes and cool and try again.
3. You can also add diamond kalkandu, and very little pacha karpooram. I did not add as I didn't have it