[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B80QIa3IFBY&w=560&h=315]

A morning before diwali…..

I just got up. There is a little chill in the air. But sun rays filtering from the windows is making the room warm. I can safely say that it’s neither too cold or too warm. I think perfect weather on Diwali.

I come and sit on the dining table where my tea is placed. In sync with my habit, I gaze into kitchen curious to know what’s for breakfast.

What I see, piques my interest enough, that I immediately venture into the kitchen.

My mother is starting to prepare my favorite besan ke laddoo. This gets me super excited. These are sweet balls made with chickpea flour, ghee, and sugar.

She notices me and smiles, “Want to watch?”

“Without doubt!”, I reply.

She has gathered all the ingredients: Besan (Chickpea flour), sugar and ghee (clarified butter).

Now she lights up the burner and places the kadai (deep pan). She pours the ghee (clarified butter) inside it and waits for it to melt.

 

When the ghee is melted, she adds in besan (chickpea flour). She emphasizes that ghee shouldn’t be boiling hot, else the flour will burn.

 

 

She mixes the ghee and flour well. Then reduces the flame to medium, and says, “Now we will keep on stirring and mixing it. This has to be done till the flour turns reddish brown and a deep aroma of cooked flour fills the entire house. Do note, the flour shouldn’t get overcooked or undercooked, else laddoos won’t taste good. This might take 25-30 minutes. And I have to stir regularly to avoid burning it. Do you want to wait here for the entire duration?”

I nod in affirmative and bring a stool to sit and watch. We continue chatting while she mixes the flour and oil.

 

 

After about 30 minutes, the mixture has turned reddish brown. My mother sends me to check if the aroma has filled the entire house.

 

 

I go and check every room in the house on both floors. Guess what? I can smell it everywhere.

I run back to her and recants that the aroma has engulfed our entire house. I even continue to say that the neighbors might also be smelling your laddoos by now. She blushes and switches off the flame.

When I ask when are you going to add the sugar. She responds, “Now we let it cool down. Then will add the sugar and make laddoos. In the meantime, you go freshen up.”

After having a promise from her that she won’t start without me, I hurry towards my room to get ready.

After about another half an hour, I came back. She pours the sugar over the mixture and starts mixing it together with hands.

 

 

Tip: You can mix it with fork or whisk also. If you find the mixture is too dry that it won’t stick together in a ball, add 1 or 2 tsp ghee to it.

She took almost 1/3 cup of the mixture in her hand and started rolling it into a round shaped ball. She was pressing the mixture firmly, making sure the mixture starts sticking together. After it becomes a ball, she places it on a plate.

 

 

 

It might seem messy but the result is worth the effort. And hands can be washed afterward.

Tip: Apply ghee in your hands at the start. This will help in making balls and less flour would stick to your hand.

Without wasting any time, I took one out of the lot and ate it. Oh.. My…God! It is so soft and yummy.  It just melts in my mouth. I am in heaven. I couldn’t stop myself from having the next one!”

 

 

My Touch to these delectable laddoos –

Sprinkling crushed almonds over these. They add a new flavor to them.

 

 

Diwali is our festival, which we celebrate every year. It is also called the festival of lights. On this day we clean our houses and decorate it. Then we worship our gods: Ganesha and Laxmi. All this is then followed by a feast at home and bursting of crackers.

This Diwali, we decided to make these besan ke laddoos at home for Diwali Puja. I consulted both the mothers’. Then made these. A lot of memories were refreshed when I had the first bite of these utterly yummilicious laddoos. Here’s the recipe with the ingredients.