Maa-laadu aka roasted channa dal laddu

Me and my hubby were having a discussion about plans for Navrathri.Suddenly came an intervention, "Oh , navrathri ! that means you get to make some sweets and I get to enjoy , right amma? "-my son with a naughty smile.

This roped me back to my childhood memories as I have done the same to my Mom.I'm sure many of us would have done this.

As a child,getting ready early in the evening with various costumes and visiting the near by neighborhood , collecting some sundal and getting applaud for the 'getup' was the interesting part of Navrathri for me.One could see many Radha, Krishna etc etc on the community during this festive days.

This is one of the simplest sweet/ dessert one can think of.Basic ingredients and a jiffy process is the reason behind this popular dish from South India.Within 10 minutes,you can make some 15 to 20 laddu.Isn't that cool?While you enjoy the sweet , give the benefit of proteins to your body too.

Ingredients

Roasted channa dal / chutney dal/pottu kadalai ............................. 1 cup
Sugar ........................................................................................ 3/4 cup
Ghee ......................................................................................... 3 tbsp
Cardamom.................................................................................. 6 to 8
Cashews ................................................................................... handfull
Raisins ...................................................................................... handfull

Method

1. Heat ghee in a pan.
2. Take roasted channa dal, sugar,cardamom to the blender and run it  for a minute or two and  powder it.
3. Transfer it into a wide mixing bowl,add  raisins to it and mix well.
4. When the ghee is hot enough , roast the cashews and add everything to the channa dal mix.
5. Mix with a wooden spoon.
6. Make equal sized balls.
7. Store it in a airtight container.

Note

• The choice of nuts and dry fruits is yours.
• The ghee has to be hot,otherwise the laddu will break when you try to shape it.
• You can just grind the dal and other items and store it ahead.When you want to make it, just add hot ghee and make balls.