Til mawa ke Laddoo : Sesame seeds sweet balls

So the UK is mostly out of Floods now, and life is getting back to normal. While winters in India were glorious this year, this part of the world suffered badly.  Fortunately we live in the area which was least affected by all this Nature’s adversity. But still the everyday life was incredibly dumped in all time pouring, dark views, damp roads, train cancellation and delays, and above all harsh winds and storms. Last whole week, it took me more than 2 ½ hours one way travelling for work. Which was torturous and very frustrating, leaving me not wanting to even get up and brush my hair after coming back, let alone cooking supper for the two of us. So we had a lot of junk ( Pizza, twice in a week !! ) soups, and if at home, mostly rice. Read 3 fiction chick-lits by the way, to lighten up. Sophie Kinsella, you never fail to cheer me up ! J

But anyway, its gradually working its way towards normalcy now,  and am gearing up for using all the vegetables I bought in my last week’s grocery or they will soon reach their expiry. So this weekend I harassed S to  gobble up broccoli rice, with methi dal and spinach raita with coriander chutney.. all to finish up the greens first. And then comes the dairy-  I prepared Sesame laddoos ( Indian sweetmeat balls )  to finish up the Khoya ( condensed solidified milk )  that was lying up in my fridge for over  2 weeks. Although I bought it to make something more time consuming ( which I have conveniently forgotten amidst all the hard work ), I thought to give these a try since these have always been my favourite since childhood. 

The recipe is very simple, and can be made easily with minimum ingredients. Some people make it a different way, but hey this one is definitely a keeper and always results in soft and crumbly Laddoos.

Agreed, they are high in calories and everyone everywhere is busy in following healthy diet. But you can always make them in small quantity and specially for parties or get togethers, they do wonders. Small bites, that can be used as finger foods.. Plus, if you look at the brighter side, sesame is an excellent source of calcium, copper, magnesium and other minerals. It is considered a super food, and have immense health benefits. Specially for winters, it keeps you warm and prevents you from usual cold and stuff. It has warming qualities and hence its preferred to have these during winters.

Anyway, the best part is sesame is one of the tastiest seed, and makes a great munching snack. So, let’s make this and enjoy ourselves before winters are all gone and Sun is shining full on. Hey, does that even rhyme !?

What you need?

• 3 cups Sesame seeds
• 2 ½ cups Mawa/Khoya – Grated/ broken roughly
• 2 ½ cups Sugar
• ½ cup Cashews, ground coarsely
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 2 tbsp Ghee ( clarified butter )  – optional 

How to make?

• Clean and roast the sesame seeds in pan on medium flame until to brown without oil. Separate 2 tbsp sesame seeds and keep them aside for later use
• Once at room temperature, grind the rest in mixer to bring to fine powder. Don’t over mix it, or sesame will start releasing oil and it will be all greasy then
• Now, heat Ghee in a big wok/ kadhayi and add grated Mawa  to it. Keep stirring this until it you get a smooth consistency brown mass. Note that the flame should be on low-medium all this time, else you might burn it.
• Once it’s all done, and this will take good 15-18 minutes; add sesame powder, cashew powder and cardamom powder to it. Mix well
• Now at last, add sugar, mix well and turn off the flame. Transfer the mixture onto another mixing bowl and keep aside for 5-8 minutes. While it’s still warm, prepare small balls / laddoos out of it
• Remember we kept 2 tbsp of sesame seeds aside after roasting. Take them out, spread on a plate and roll these Laddoos on it while they are still warm. Once it’s all cooled off, nothing will stick to the balls so better do it immediately after shaping them
• Once Laddoos come to room temperature, you may store in an Air-tight container for up to 2-3 days outside and up to a week in fridge. 

My notes and tips:

• Be careful while transferring the cooked mixture to the bowl, and while shaping the balls. The mixture should be warm enough to hold the shape, but not piping hot
• You may also add almonds with cashews, keeping the total quantity same as ½ cup of nuts. Or you may replace cashews with almonds completely, it’s all your choice
• If you don’t want to add ghee to laddoos, simple dry roast Mawa in the wok and do the rest. It won’t make any major difference to the texture, but the taste Ghee provides is outstanding J
• You may not prefer to roll laddoos over sesame seeds, so just add it to grind and use in the mixture.