Dalia laddu

 This is another of my Nani’s (Grandmother) recipe. She never has to use measurements for anything and yet everything tastes perfect. As a kid I may have never counted the number of laddus I was eating! Now when I make it myself I know how much ghee and sugar goes into it and I can only wish I didn’t have to count or that I had the same metabolism to enjoy these without any guilt and consequences related to the waistline. 

 I have tweaked the original recipe a little bit. I used dalia (broken roasted chana) instead of whole roasted chana and confectioners' sugar instead of powdered jaggery. Roasted chana is rich in protein so this dessert does have nutritional value to it. It is very easy to make, requires absolutely no cooking and melts in the mouth.

 Ingredients

4 cups dalia (broken roasted chana)

½ cup cashews

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tsp cardamom powder

1 ¾ cups ghee (or as required for binding)

 Method

Grind the dalia (roasted chana) to a fine powder and sieve it. Grind the cashews coarsely (this is optional). Sometimes I use only dalia if I want a very smooth texture. Now mix the sugar with the dalia powder. Pour the ghee in batches and mix well. I use the stand mixer first and then you have to use your hands to bind the dalia and ghee well. Ghee can be adjusted depending on how well the laddus take shape. Once you are able to mixture retains the shape in your fist, starting forming round balls for laddus. Decorate each with sliced pistachios.