Ingredients:

• 500g – Wheat flour
• 500g – jaggery, grated
• 1 tbsp – Cardamom powder
• 1/4 cup – rock sugar, crushed coarsely
• 1/4 cup – crushed Almonds
• 1/4 cup – dried coconut, grated finely
• 4 tbsp – Ghee
• Silver foil for decoration (optional)

Method:

1. Add 50g ghee to flour, and mix well with light hands. Add enough warm water to make stiff pliable dough.
2. Make about 16 to 18 fist-shaped lumps, and keep aside.
3. Heat ghee for frying, and let in a few lumps at a time.
4. Fry on low flame till golden, flipping over when necessary.
5. Drain, keep aside to cool, and repeat for all dough.
6. When lumps cool, break into small bits.
7. Run in short spurts in mixer to form breadcrumb-like textured grains.
8. Pass through a large holed sieve, to get an even, fine breadcrumb-like mixture.
9. In a large heavy pan, put to heat 200g of the same fried ghee.
10. Add crumbs, fry on low with a spatula, and stir till aroma exudes.
11. Crumbs should be light golden in colour.
12. Take off fire, and add almonds, coconut, cardamom, and sugar.
13. Mix well, and transfer to a large plate or mixing bowl.
14. Add 200g of ghee to an emptied pan and put to warm.
15. Add jaggery and stir gently till jaggery melts completely.
16. Once it starts bubbling very slightly, take off fire.
17. Add crumb mixture to jaggery.
18. Mix it well with a spatula, allowing it to cool in the process.
19. When cooled enough to handle (it will be quite hot), shape into small laddoos with palms.
20. Do not press too hard or the ladoos will become hard on cooling.
21. Arrange in a large plate, and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
22. Silver foil may be applied while ladoos are still warm.

Recipe courtesy of Saroj Kering