Blogging Marathon #124 Week 4, Day 1
Theme : A-Z recipes, Something sweet

Maladu / Maladoo/ Maa ladoo is one of the easiest Indian sweets to prepare. The base recipe has only 5 ingredients two of which are optional(cashews and cardamom). My mother in law used to make this often and hers is an absolutely delicious version.

Maladu is made with powdered gram flour. You basically grind the gram dal/pottu kadali into a fine powder and then add half that quantity of powdered sugar and bind it together with slightly hot/warm ghee and it’s done! You can add fried cashews in the ghee and add a pinch of cardamom powder to add more flavor and make it tastier.

The quantity of ghee is a little subjective. You can start with 3 tablespoons and add more depending on how well the ladoo binds together.

I have used store bought sattu flour also to make maladu, the taste is a tiny bit different but still delicious. So if you want to avoid the hassle of powdering the fried gram, you can use readymade sattu flour too.

• 1 cup fried gram/pottu kadali
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Cardamom seeds from 1 pod
• 2 tablespoons chopped cashews
• 3 tablespoons ghee or more as needed

Method:

1. Powder the fried gram very finely. Transfer into a mixing bowl.
2. Grind granulated sugar and cardamom pods into a fine powder. Add it to the mixing bowl.
3. Heat ghee in a pan. Add cashews. Now add it to the powdered fried gram and sugar. Mix with a spoon. By now, the ghee should be okay enough to touch. Slowly start taking a tablespoon of the powder and press together to form ladoos. If the ladoo is not holding shape or breaking down fast, add some more ghee and try again.