The holidays are coming! I love them and I personally extend them, preparing for them from the first of December. Because gingerbread and gingerbread cookies, hot chocolate and teas with exotic spices warm up not only the body but also the soul on winter evenings! Similarly, the Indian holiday dessert, equally aromatic as our December pastries, which I treat my friends to during our December meetings. Yes, yes - Asia accompanies me even during Christmas! Here is a recipe that will transport you to Asia and introduce you to the holiday atmosphere.
INGREDIENTS:
80g clarified butter
125 g chickpea flour
120 g cane sugar
25 g pistachios
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Coconut flakes for sprinkling
Coconut milk for pouring (optional)
MAKING 10-12 BALLS:
- grind into powder 120 g cane sugar
- Finely chop 25 g of pistachios, preferably lightly salted (or add a tiny pinch of salt to regular ones).
- heat 80 g of clarified butter in a pan
- When the butter is hot, slowly pour in 125g of sifted chickpea flour, stirring constantly.
- reduce the heat and mix vigorously on low until it thickens a little and the flour takes on a nutty smell and golden color. It won't take you more than a few minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add ground cane sugar and a teaspoon of cardamom to the mixture.
- Mix everything well and put the pan back on the stove to heat up a little. Just be careful not to let the sugar caramelize, or the doughnuts will be too hard!
- Mix the pistachios into the dough and set aside to cool slightly. This is the hardest part ;). After fifteen minutes of cooling, it's time to form the balls.
- Scoop the dough with a spoon and roll it in your hands until you get the desired shape.
- Sprinkle the balls with coconut flakes and serve drizzled with coconut milk. Ready!
Now that traveling is difficult, I try to invite as much of the Asian atmosphere as possible not only into my bathroom (after all, that's why I created Orientana!) but also into my kitchen. Indian laddu balls are perfect for this – they smell wonderfully of cardamom and pistachios and... taste great drizzled with my beloved coconut milk. And they're really easy to make, in one pan, in less than half an hour – it's just waiting for them to cool down that's hard, because you want to gobble them up right away...
Laddu is a type of doughnut, usually made from one of the legume flours, but also wheat flour, and even coconut flakes – the latter variety was a traditional sweet given to warriors and travelers setting off on their journey before they set off. It was supposed to bring them luck and foretell the safe achievement of distant goals. Isn't that a beautiful omen for us too?
A lighter version of donuts than coconut (and less caloric, although in the case of laddu it is not even appropriate to talk about calories!) is my favorite, prepared with chickpea flour. Besan laddu, because that is the name of the dessert I am presenting to you today, can boast, in addition to its high caloric value, also, to balance it out, high nutritional value. And although it cannot be eaten every day, because it is quite hard to digest, let's appreciate the high protein content in chickpea flour and the health benefits of pistachios, which are their second important ingredient. And actually the last one, because for flavor you only need cane sugar, cardamom and... that's it, not counting the fat in which Indian donuts are fried. In the classic version, it is clarified butter and I strongly encourage you to use it, because not only does it have a wonderful, buttery smell, but also a high smoking point and can be used by people who are dairy intolerant. However, laddu can also be fried in any other oil – as long as it is tasty, e.g. coconut.
When guests arrive, instruct them not to go for the balls first. They are so sweet, it is better to save them for the grand finale of the sweet party. It will be a success, I guarantee! In India, laddus are so popular that you can even buy them frozen to fry up at home... But that would take away from the holiday spirit, wouldn't it?
