LAYE PITTA UNDO |Kare Laddoo (Aralu hudi ladu) Ganesh Chathurthi special – 2

Kare Laddoo

We prepare a number of laddoos for Ganesh Chathurthi like the churmi laddoo, besan laddoo, and snacks like chakli, shev, rice vada etc. I would like to put up “Kare ladoo ” today which is also one of the most important dishes for Chathurthi. Layi in Konkani is Aralu in kannada and Puffed paddy in english.   The preparation of this laddoo  of course a little laborious, but very tasty and crunchy.  For this laddoo, some people add shev and some add boondi, but all other ingredients are essentially the same.

What you need to have:

1. Puffed paddy powder (Aralu hudi)  – 2 and 1/2 cups

2. Chikki Jaggery – 2 and 1/4 cups

3. Black sesame seeds – 1/2 cup

4. Peanuts – 1/2 cup

5. Cashews – 1 cup

6. Bhujia/sev – 1 cup (plain)

7. Cardamom – Around 40

8. Pure ghee – 1 and 1/2 cups in all

Ingredients of Kare laddoo

What you do with what you have:

1. Place a skillet on medium flame and dry roast peanuts till you get a pleasant aroma and the skin rolls out easily when rubbed with your hands.  On cooling peel the peanuts.

Peanuts being dry roasted

2. Place a skillet with 2 tablespoons of pure ghee and when heated, fry cashews in it till it turns light brown.

Cashews being fried in pure ghee

3. Wash and dry roast the black sesame seeds in the skillet till it splutters. Fry the cashews, peeled roasted peanuts, roasted sesame seeds and cardamoms is as shown in the image below.  Peel the fried cardamom and powder half of them; remaining peeled cardamom should be added to the laddoo mix for extra flavour.

Roasted peanuts, cashews, cardamom & sesame seeds

Ingredients of Plain  Bhujia:

1. Chick peas atta – 1and 1/2 cups

2. Pure ghee – 2 teaspoons

3. Ghee to fry – 1/2 cup

Ingredients of plain bhujia

What you do with what you have  (with bhujia):

1. Sieve chick peas atta in the siever and stir in pure ghee into it.  While mixing them, add water slowly and make a dough to suit your bhujia mould.

Plain bhujia dough

2. Place the dough into the mould .  Place a skillet with 1 cup pure ghee in it and on heating, directly make bhujia with the mould in it in circular form.  When crispy remove it and allow it to cool.

Plain bhujia fried in pure ghee

3. Repeat the same process with the remaining dough. On cooling, just power it to mix it with the laddoo mix.

Plain bhujia

4. Mix the puffed paddy powder, fried cashews, roasted and powdered peanuts coarse, roasted sesame seeds, cardamom powder, and peeled cardamom and powdered bhujia together.   The laddoo mix is as shown in the image below.

Kare laddoo mix

5. Place a broad based bowl on medium flame with 1/4 cup pure ghee in it.  On heating,  add chopped chikki jaggery in it.  When it melts completely, keep stirring and splash a few drops in a bowl of water .  Just apply a little ghee to your finger  tips and roll out the syrup and to a string consistency.

Jaggery syrup

6. Switch off the flame and mix in the laddoo mix from step-4 to it and stir well.

Kare laddoo mix being stirred into the syrup

7. On cooling a little tie laddoos applying a little ghee to your palm. Offer it to the Almighty.

Ready to serve Kare Laddoos

Good to remember :

1. Always use black sesame seeds for extra aroma and flavour.

2. One can add either plain bhujia, plain boondi or thick bhujia for the laddoos.

3. Preferably use chikki jaggery  for better taste.

4. If pure fresh ghee is used, laddoos can be stored for more than a month in air tight containers.

How long it takes: 1 and 1/2 hours

No of servings: 35-40 of the above size