Dinkaache laadoo

We all know of the famous quote "Change is the only thing constant in life". As much as it is true when applied to life, i think it is true with one's food habits too. We all liked some ingredients/dishes as kids which now we don't fancy much, or vice-versa. Take laadoo for example. As a kid, I would eat rava laadoo or besan laadoo which was made during Diwali (I still do, but just 1-2 is enough now for the taste as compared to when i was younger, i would love and relish eating lots of them). I am not much of a fan of Motichoor ladoos, but we Maharshtrians make "Aalivache laadoo". I don't know if you all are aware of it. My mother used to make them at home. Ahh, the name has got me drooling as i haven't had them in ages! It's definitely one of the blog post soon (though they are best eaten in winters).

Aaliv is water cress seed or garden cress seed, also known as "Halim" in Hindi. Just as aaliv ladoos are eaten in winters, Dinkaache laadoo are best eaten in winters too. So, though i am late for this post, i thought of posting it seeing the cold windy airs and "rains in February" climate doing the rounds in India. Dink means gum in marathi , also known as "Gond" in Hindi. I was not much of a fan of these laadoos until my mother in law made them for me once! Since then, she always makes a point to pack these laadoos for me. These laadoos are sent by her from Pune and i thought i will archive the recipe, so in future i can make them too.

I have had Dinkaache laadoo at the famous Chitale Bandhu in Pune. No doubt, they were good, but the saazuk tup (homemade ghee) or the amount of dry fruits or good quality edible gum that my mother in law uses beats the commercial laadoos any day. One laadoo and a glass of milk serves as a nutritious breakfast for kids, or even adults. These laadoos are given to lactating mothers for fast recovery and it is known to increase milk production. When eaten in winters, it helps keep the body warm. So these laadoos definitely have loads of pluses - one more to add to be known as great energy boosters.

There are various ways in which these are made. Some add whole wheat flour instead of daal. Some add more of coconut instead of dry fruits. The nuts and dry fruits choices varies according to people, and some add jaggery/sugar according to choice. Now my Mother-in-law here has made these with urad daal and without sugar/jaggery.

Ingredients:

Urad daal - 250 gms

Kaju (cashews) - 250 gms

Badam (Almonds) - 250 gms

Pistachios - 250 gms (optional)

Kharik (dry dates) - 250 gms

Dry coconut (grated) - 250 gms

Dink (Edible gum) - 100 gm

Khajur (Dates) - 1/2 kg (You can use less of these, if adding jaggery or sugar)

Ghee - Between 1/4 kg to 1/2 kg

Nutmeg powder - 1 tsp

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Recipe:

Take a pan and dry roast the urad daal. Keep stirring till it becomes brown. Now let it cool. After it cools down, make a powder of it in the mixer-grinder.

Remove seeds from the dry dates and make them into small pieces. Dry roast it for a while and let it cool. Now powder them in a mixer-grinder.

Follow the same procedure for the dates, if you don't have seedless dates. 

Dry roast the kaju, badam and pistachios lightly and grind them to a powder in mixer grinder or just coarsely grind them with a mortar-pestle.

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a kadhai and fry the edible gum (they will puff up immediately). Remove when they are light coloured.

In the same pan, roast dry grated coconut till it becomes light brown.

You can grind the roasted coconut and edible gum to a powder in mixer and grinder or just coarsely grind it in mortar pestle.

Add little more ghee to the pan (around 2 tbsp more if required), and now fry the urad daal peeth (powder we made earlier) for about 8-10 minutes. Make sure it doesn't burn or become dark brown, so keep sauteing it.

Now add the remaining ghee to this. Mix well.

Remove from stove and add the coconut, edible gum, the dry fruits and nuts, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder and both the dates.

If you feel they are less sweet for your taste, add little powdered sugar or melted jaggery.

Roll into ladoos and store in an air tight container.

Happy Cooking :)