Magaja Laddoo ( Ganesh Chaturthi Colab with A Dollop Of That & Delish Potpourri )

It's time to welcome home the 'Vighna Harta', the Hindu God endowed with the power to remove all obstacles. He is the God of new beginnings, of wisdom, success and prosperity. Hence for many of us, Ganesh Chaturthi is the right time to begin something new. However, the festivities surrounding this occasion vary with various parts of the country. In Odisha, it is just a one day affair whilst in states like Maharashtra, the celebrations last 10 days on such a grand scale that everything else almost comes to a standstill.

With just 3 days to for the festival, it is high time to get the grocery shopping done for the various kinds of Prasadam to be prepared on the day. Except for the perishables, which of course have to wait for the last day. Different regions swear by their own version of the elephant God's favorite. But 'Laddoos' are onething that remain a constant. Almost every image of Ganesha is depicted with a laddoo in his hand or a plateful of these placed right in front of him.

Hence, my special recipe for this day had to be some kind of a laddoo. And I finalized on the 'Magaja Laddoo' or'Atta laddoo', which is quite popular in Odisha. When I was a child, these laddoos were made by my grandmother who absolutely adored them. She used to dot them with roasted charoli seeds and the combination of flavors was just heavenly. These are a specialty of the cold winter months when the hilly regions of Odisha can turn quite cold. As expected, quite a bit of ghee goes into the making of these laddoos which are said to keep the body warm.

My version of these laddoos is however low in ghee. And I have further fortified their nutritional quotient by adding powdered almonds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, charoli and pumpkin seeds.

Do not forget to scroll down to the bottom of this post for more amazing laddoo recipes from my blogger friends !!

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 40 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups whole wheat atta (flour)
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 tsp flax seeds
• 2 tsp charoli 
• 2 tsp pumpkin seeds
• 10-12 almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup ghee
• 2-3 cloves (powdered)
• 1 green cardamom (powdered)

Preparation - Dry roast the sesame seeds, flax seeds, charoli, pumpkin seeds and almonds separately.

Keep them aside to cool down. Transfer all these nuts into a mixer jar (chutney jar is fine) and powder them. Do not overdo the grinding as these the natural oils tend to seep out.

Cooking - Dry roast the whole wheat atta on a very low flame on a skillet. Gradually it will start turning a few shades darker and giving off a heavenly aroma.

At this stage, add the ghee, powdered nuts and sugar . Cook for a while to bring everything together.

Finally sprinkle the powdered cardamom and cloves. Mix in and remove from the flame.

Let it cool a little till it becomes bearable to touch. Take small amounts of the mixture and press tightly to bind them into laddoos. Shape them while they are still warm as they tend to be fragile and difficult to mold once cooled down.

Store in airtight containers once completely cool. Stays fresh for over two weeks.

That's not all !! Check out these fabulous recipes -

Parinaaz's Dink Che Laddoo / Dry Fruit Laddoo with edible gum

And

Saswati's Carrot Cottage Cheese Truffles / Gajar Paneer ke Laddoo !!

Once again, wishing everyone "A very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi " !!

Amaranth Anjeer aur Khajoor ke Laddoo

After all that fasting and feasting (aka Navratri and Diwali), I was left with still unused Amaranth flour and lads of dry fruits. I was wondering what to do with all that stuff, when I chanced upon a recipe that used amaranth grains to make laddoos. I though I could replicate the same with amaranth flour. Instead of sugar or jaggery, I opted dates and dried figs as the sweetening agent. The result was a delicious and very nutritional recipe.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups amaranth flour (Rajgire ka atta)
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup chopped figs
• 3-4 tsp ghee
• a handful of raisins
• chopped dry fruits (optional)

Preparation - Heat a heavy bottomed wok. Add the ghee to it followed by the amaranth flour. Roast till it turns a few shades darker and the smell changes. 

Remove from wok and keep aside.

Add the dates and figs to the same wok along with a few teaspoons of water. Once it turns into a thick liquid, add the roasted amaranth flour and raisins.

Mix for 2-3 mins.

Remove and keep aside till it is tolerable to touch. 

Grease your palms. Take small portions and roll into laddoos. 

Allow to cool down completely before storing in a airtight container. Stays good for 2-3 weeks.

Note - These laddoos taste better when consumed after a day.

Korua (milk solids ) Ladoo

I usually make ghee at home every month. After cooking the butter and draining off the golden colored liquid ( ghee ), one is left with these brown colored nutty flavored sediments/residue. They are quite nutritious and i almost always end up incorporating them in my meals/snacks/desserts. This time Ganesh Chaturthi being around the corner, i incorporated them into laddoos ( Ganeshji's favorite snack ). This is an easy breezy recipe. Read on:

Preparation Time - 10-15 mins

Ingredients - Milk solids ( 2 cups ), whole wheat flour ( 3/4 - 1 cup ), powdered jaggery ( to taste ).

Preparation - If the milk solids are a little lumpy, freeze them. Take into a grinder cup, buzz for 20-30 seconds and turn into coarse powder.

Cooking - Heat a non-stick vessel on low flame ( i had reused the vessel in which i made the ghee ). Add the milk solids. Fry for 1 minute.

Sprinkle the flour, a little at a time and mix well. The contents of the vessel should look like one whole mass/lump and not powdery ( else the laddoo will not have binding ).

Fry for 5-6 minutes till the flour is roasted.

Add the powdered jaggery, mix thoroughly and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove from flame and allow to cool down till it is bearable to touch.

Take small amounts of the mixture into your palm and shape into balls/laddoos. If they are not binding or too powdery, add 1-2 tsp of melted warm ghee to the mixture.

These laddoos can be stored in the refrigerator for a month.