Peanut laddoos (Kadalai urundai)

It has been a real long time since I posted anything in this space.  In the past three years, I had few other things to attend to and now it is blog-time again.  I will persevere to be reasonably regular.  Attempting to pen down a recipe in this space after three years was not easy.  What used to be a routine activity, has been taking forever.  Also I had struggled to capture tolerable snaps of food.  I’m sure I would improve with more posts. Now, over to today’s recipe.

These laddoos were made for Karthikai Deepam (Karthik Purnima).  I am not quoting any specific reference for this recipe since it is borrowed from so many sources.  But the below is the recipe I would go to the next time I would be making this.

 

Ingredients (makes 12 laddoos)

Peanuts (roasted, skinned and measured): 1 and ¼ cup

Jaggery (paagu vellam): ½ cup (heaped)

Dry ginger powder: ¼ tsp (optional)

Elaichi powder: ¼ tsp (optional)

 

Water: 1/4 cup

 

Ghee or rice flour (for dusting)

 

Method

• Heat a kadai.  Dry roast the peanuts till they turn brown for about 7-8 minutes.  Once cool, peel and then measure them.

• Powder the jaggery.  Now start making the jaggery syrup.  Add the jaggery and water.  Once all the jaggery melts, filter the syrup if you have to. Let the syrup reach a hard ball consistency.  I had to wait quite some time for it.  There is enough tutorial on google talking how to identify if this consistency has been attained. 

• Once this is reached, quickly add the peanuts to it and mix vigorously.

• Start making small-sized balls.  Do not strive to make perfectly round balls at this stage.  Rough ones will do.  Fine-tuning can be done later.

• If the syrup thickens, mildly heat up the kadai, for about 20-30 seconds.  The jaggery will loosen and would facilitate making the balls.

• Finish with the remaining peanut-jaggery mixture.

• Now go back to the balls and fine-tune them. 

• Kadalai urundai is ready to be devoured!