Recipe for Urad Dal Laddoo

Laddoos are an Indian sweet made with Flour, Sugar, Nuts, Clarified Butter, and some flavourings. In many Indian households, one may find a jar full of laddoos consumed as a dessert after a meal. In different states, people make these laddoos with the more abundantly available flour.

Laddoos are also one of the most common desserts made during festivals. Since many festivals celebrated in India are based on the season, the ingredients used in making these Laddoos depend on the season. These ingredients align with the local produce and follow the principle of eating according to the season to get the best health benefits. By aligning our consumption with the season’s crop, we also stay in harmony with our environment. Ingredients are bought locally and are usually fresh.

Laddoos have been mentioned in ancient Indian texts and mythological stories too. It is believed that way back around 500 BC, physicians would use Laddoos to give medicines to patients to make it easier for them to consume bitter pills.

People who don’t have enough time to make it at home or want to buy in huge quantities prefer buying from shops. During festivals, shop counters keep getting filled with these desserts and sell out quickly.

But many make Laddoos at home too. The ingredients are easy to find, the procedure is simple, and it doesn’t take much time. In addition, Laddoos are easy to store and taste delicious. By making them at home, we can adjust the sweetness and richness according to our taste. We can also make sure that we use the best ingredients. And what is better than food made with our hands for our loved ones?

Today, the recipe I am sharing with you is Urad Dal Laddoo. It is made with black lentils ( without skin). They are high in protein and taste great too! So, let us start with the recipe.

Ingredients for making Urad Dal Laddoos( for around 28 Lemon Sized Laddoos):

Urad Dal ( Black Lentils without skin): 2 Cups
Ghee ( Clarified Butter ): 1/2 Cup
Gud (Powdered Jaggery): 2 Cups
Elaichi (Cardamom seeds): about 10
Mewa (Mixed nuts -Cashews, Almonds, and Pistachios): About 1/2 cup.

Method for making Urad Dal Ladoos:

Dry roast the lentils by keeping the flame on medium heat for about 10-12 minutes till they brown a little and release a nice aroma. Once done, take it out. While it is still hot, grind it into a fine powder.
Take out the seeds from the cardamom pods and grind them into a powder along with the nuts.
Mix the hot Lentil powder with the Nuts & Cardamom powder. Then add Jaggery and Clarified butter and combine well.
Before the mixture cools down completely, start binding it into small balls. I made Lemon sized balls.