Like the Lion is the King of the Jungle and the Mango is King amongst fruits, the Ladvo / Laadu is the King amongst Indian sweets, at least, it is to me. I love sweets of all sorts, and there are so many types, but my absolute favorite is the traditional laadu, specifically the Gujarati Gol no Laadvo (Jaggery Laadu). If heaven were a sweet, it would be this.

A perfectly made laadu is a beautiful sight, a lovely brown speckled with white poppy and cream sesame seeds and hints of golden coconut. As you pick one up, the delicate aroma of the cardamom and nutmeg teases you, the white-cream-golden on brown medley entices and as you bite into one, it melts in your mouth, leaving behind the memory of an almost sinful experience and the intense craving for a repeat assault.

While it is certainly not of the low calorie variety, it is supposed to be super healthy despite the copious amounts of ghee and jaggery in it. Primarily made of coarsely ground whole wheat flour, jaggery and ghee, it is not difficult to make, but is definitely time and labor intensive. The final product though, is so worth the effort. Make it when you have the time to appreciate the process and maybe a little help. Gossip and laadu making are a legendary pair.

What goes into it

250 gms Coarsely ground wheat flour (If you do not have it, use regular Whole Wheat Flour (WWF), replace 3 tbsp of WWF with 3 tbsp of semolina / rava / sooji to replicate texture.

250 gms of ghee (approximately, do keep a little extra at hand, especially if using WWF+Semolina)

250 gms of jaggery (approximately, do keep a little extra at hand, especially if using WWF+Semolina)

1 bowl dried coconut shavings / sukha kopra

3 tbsps sesame seeds / til

1 healthy pinch of powdered cardamom and nutmeg, each

100 gms of poppy seeds / khus khus

Oil to fry

How to go about it

In a large mixing bowl, take the flour and rub ghee into it (should look like crumbled bread crumbs).

Heat the oil for frying dumplings. Simultaneously, knead the flour into a hard dough using ghee and very little water (if and as needed, the lesser water you use the less oily your dumplings will be, when fried). Pinch of pieces and shape dumplings like these. The dents ensure the insides of the dumplings cook evenly.

Drop the dumplings in the oil and fry them on a medium flame, till they become a lovely golden brown. The aromatic seduction, begins here. Do not stir the dumplings or they will disintegrate. Fry each side for about 7-10 minutes You could use ghee to fry, if you want a richer laadu.

Traditionally the fried dumplings are crushed using a mortar and pestle. But you may use a food processor. Let the dumplings cool a bit and then break them into small pieces. Be very careful here, because though the outside may be reasonable cool the insides will be pretty hot. Do not grind before they cool down to room temperature. Grind in short burst, sieve and return the crumbs to the processor for further grinding. Set aside when done

Take about 4 tbsps of ghee in a deep frying pan / kadhai. Fry the coconut shavings and the sesame seeds / til, till the coconut turns a light brown.

Add these to the powdered flour. In the same frying pan / kadhai heat another 4 tablespoons of ghee and melt the jaggery in in it. Do not wait for the jaggery to start bubbling, or you will have a slightly sticky ladu.

Pour this over the flour too. Use a ladle and mix well. Once done add the cardamom and the nutmeg and mix again.

The mix should be of shape holding consistency. If not heat and add some ghee. Beginning from the edges, take handfuls and press into roundels to make laadus. Roll each in poppy seeds and set aside. Leave uncovered to cool.

I usually make them at night and leave them uncovered overnight. Pack in boxes the next morning and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy

Variations

Instead of oil use ghee to fry the dumplings. It will give the laadus a richer taste. The leftover ghee can be used to make the laadus.

Omit the coconut and sesame seeds and make choorma ka laadu.

Replace 3tbsp of the coarse WWF flour or WWF+Semolina mixture with besan (chickpea flour) for a smoother textured laadu. This would also need slightly more ghee since besan tends to absorb ghee.