"With gleam of diyas
And the echo of chants
May happiness and contentment fill your life
Wishing you all a very Happy & Prosperous Diwali"
Doesn't it seem just like yesterday? I am sure even ya all remember wishing each other "Happy New Year". Let me just add for the nth time,"Time Flies", big time!! It's already Diwali, then Thanksgiving, Christmas and another year comes to an end.
What all have you prepared for Diwali? I could only manage Besan Ladoos this time. There was a lot going on at work front which took up so much of my time. I made these ladoos twice. Last Saturday, in the traditional way on Gas top and then in microwave. These besan ladoos get ready in 5 minutes in microwave. How awesome is that?? If you have some unannounced guests, these are so fab for a quick dessert!!
I have mostly celebrated Diwali in Bombay. Once in Chennai and then in US from the time am here. Like any other person raised in Bombay and used to all the festivities the city has to offer, i terribly miss Diwali in Bombay. The night before Diwali,i.e. before Lakshmi Pooja Day, all kids will be ready with their crackers before falling asleep. New dresses, sweets and so much more. By 4 am you can hear the noise of crackers bursting and it will be non stop the whole day.
Being blessed with so many neighbors, there will be so many ladies visiting us with Diwali Faral(Snacks made during Diwali). By evening, we will have a jar full of these sweets. My favorite among them will be Karanji and Besan Ladoos.
My cousins and i have had historic fights for these ladoos. Shortly after my mom resumes work after holidays, her office friends will give her so many sweets. It was so much fun back then.
Frankly speaking i have not had that great celebrations here in US. One of the main reasons for which is while in AZ, NJ and MA, we didn't know many people as such and now that we are in CA, there are lot many friends around to have some celebrations.
We have cleaned our home, hung up some lights as decoration and i drew a simple rangoli. The quality of rangoli powder here is a big time disappointment. Let's not discuss that.
Ingredients:
Besan(Chickpea Flour)- 2 cups
Sooji(Semolina)- 3 tbsp
Ghee- 1/2 cup(Room temperature)
Powdered Sugar- 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - 2 tsp
Raisin- 1/2 cup
Water- 1tbsp
Method 1 (For Gas Cooking):
1. In a heavy bottom vessel, roast besan on low flame for 5 minutes. Add the melted ghee and continue roasting till the flour turns light brown in color and you smell the nutty aroma. Be careful not to increase the flame.
2. Besan is perfectly roasted when it starts to come together with ghee. The below pic is the perfect example of how the roasted besan will look like after 10-12 minutes of slow roasting. Turn off the gas. Sprinkle the water. Allow the mixture to cool down somewhat, not fully though. Add the powdered sugar,raisins and cardamom powder and shape into ladoos.
Method 2 (In Microwave)
1. Take a big microwave proof bowl(like pyrex). Melt/Warm the ghee in microwave for 30 seconds. When fully melted, add the besan. Mix well with a spatula so that the besan is completely wet with the ghee.
2. Heat in microwave for a minute with full power. Take out and mix again. Repeat this four times which means at intervals of 1 minute for 4 minutes.
3. Add the raisins, sprinkle water, mix and microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Allow it to cool down a bit. While still warm and bearable to hold, add the powdered sugar and cardamom powder and roll out into ladoos.
Notes:
1. There is ladoo besan or motta besan specially available in market for making ladoos. If you can find them, skip sooji, if not adding sooji makes the ladoos much more tastier.
2. Roasted besan is very very hot. Do not try to roll them while still being hot. You could burn yourself.
3. I have powdered granulated sugar in my blender and did not use store bought powdered /confectionerysugar as it contains cornstarch also. If you are unable to hold the shape of ladoo, just add 1 tbsp of warm melted ghee and continue rolling out ladoos.
4. These ladoos stay fresh at room temperature for almost 2 months and longer if refrigerated. However it solidifies a lot in refrigerator so it is best to warm them for 5 seconds before serving.
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Have a safe & colorful Diwali!
Till we meet again,
Remya.
