Jaggery Maa Ladoo - Healthy Roasted gramflour balls

 Diwali is round the corner , and slowly we will now start planning our festive snacks to be prepared which is a yearly ritual in most homes all over India . I love this Festival of Lights and all the happiness it brings along . 

Diwali is the most celebrated festival and there is a lot of positivity, good vibes, joy and cheer everywhere.  People go about shopping for new clothes , fairy lights , rangoli powders , different types of Mud lamps which are designed and painted beautifully by the local potters and artisans .The homes are all decked up with lights, flowers , beautiful drawn rangolis and a joyous occasion for friends and family to meet and greet one another..Sweets and savories are exchanged and in totality people love to celebrate Diwali .

This month in our Shhh Secret Cooking Challenge Poonam of Annapurna decided to celebrate with Diwali theme so that we have a collection of some amazing delectable snacks and sweets to plan our Diwali Snack list . If you are a fan of karanji or ghujjiya like me then head to Poonam's blog for winter special Matar Karanji .

What is Diwali without sweets ? I wanted to present some healthy sweet without using too much of sugar and luckily Narmadha of Nams Corner with whom I am paired this month was kind enough to give me 2 versatile ingredients pista and cardamom which are used in any sweet when I told her I plan on making some sweet .Narmadha has prepared a crunchy and crispy Besan murukku with the secret ingredients  besan/gramflour and butter I gave her . 

As I mentioned  , I was on the lookout for a healthy and nutritious sweet , a casual talk with Kalyani on some general topics suddenly took a turn and ended up in discussing how her grandmother would dish out Maa Ladoo , a delicious sweet using jaggery .  Next what , I immediately decided to try that with slight variations and the recipe for the theme was ready. 

Maa ladoo is generally made using Sugar and I have shared the recipe on my blog.  Click the image below for recipe .

Maa ladoo is a most favorite sweet in our home and it just vanishes soon after it is made . I prepare this unfailingly on Diwali and many a times just like that to satisfy our sudden sweet cravings.

This time along with the main ingredient; Roasted gram /pottukadalai , I added some badams and pista and used organic jaggery in place of sugar .Need I say ? It was as usual a super hit and there was a request for another batch .  

Jaggery Maa ladoo can be prepared in just 15 mins and there is no extensive labor involved in the making or pre preparation .The most happy part.. No Cooking at all. 

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Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - Nil
Makes - 10 to 12 ladoos 
Complexity - easy 

Ingredients 
1 cup roasted gram /pottu kadalai/hurigadle 
1/4 cup badams + pista (almonds + Pistachio)
1 cup powdered jaggery 
3/4 cup melted ghee /clarified butter 
3 to 4 green cardamom pods 

Method 

• Lightly dry roast the roasted gram , pista and badam in a dry pan until they feel warm . This will help in increasing the shelf life . (**this step is optional )
• Add these roasted ingredients and cardamoms to a blender and grind into a fine powder . Sieve these to a wide bowl to remove any grits if at all .
• Add jaggery powder to this gramflour and mix it well with a spoon.
• Pour in melted ghee on to this mixture and mix it well till the mixture feels moist and crumbly . The ghee has to be warm . When you pour the ghee the flour will slightly sizzle , this is the perfect temperature for ghee .
• Grease your palms, take a handful of this mixture and shape into balls . You can add some more warm ghee if you feel the mixture is dry and not holding shape .  Store it in a dry container. 
• Jaggery powder can also be added or reduced depending on the sweetness.  This time I used only 3/4th cup of jaggery as this batch of organic jaggery that I  used was very sweet and tasty. 
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Do not miss to head to the recipe of spicy , crunchy Madrasi Mixture / South Indian mixture on my blog . This is the most sought after savory made for Diwali . Now a days it is easily available in the shops , but when made at home , it is healthy as well as hygienic.