Besan Ladoo

Besan Ladoo

Ingredeints :

• 2 cups gram flour (besan/chickpea flour)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• ¾ -1 cup ghee (clarified butter)
• 15-20 raisins/ cashew pieces

 Method :

 Heat the ghee in a heavy bottom pan. 
 Note : This is the tough and time consuming part, but the taste of the ladoos depends on this step.

Add the gram flour and fry it on a low flame stirring continuously till it releases a warm nutty aroma and the flour turns very light brown. This takes about 35- 45 minutes (or even more).Add more ghee in small quantities if required.Once it is lightly and evenly browned, transfer it to a plate, set aside and let it cool.Add powdered cardamom and sugar and mix well.Shape into ladoos and add chopped almonds (optional) and raisins on each of them.Store in air tight containers.

Modak

Modak

A modak (मोदक) is a sweet dumpling popular in Western and South India.Modak has a special importance in the worship of the Hindu god, Ganesh. Modak is believed to be his favorite food and hence is also known as modakapriya.During the Ganesh worship ceremony,known in India as Ganesh Chaturthi the puja sometimes concludes with an offering of modaks to the deity and as prasad. The sweet filling is made of fresh coconut and jaggery while the shell is of rice flour. The dumpling can be fried or steamed.

Ingredients :

• 3 Cups Rice Flour
• 5-6 Cups Water
• 6 tsp Oil
• 4 Cups Grated Coconut
• 2 Cups Powdered Jaggery
• A pinch of salt

Method :

 
For the outer covering boil water, add oil and pinch of salt into it. Now add the rice flour into it , little by little constantly stirring to avoid lumps. Take off heat now, cover the mixture and let it cool.

When cool, grease your hands with little bit of oil and knead mixture well into a dough and cover it with moist cloth . 
Now for stuffing take the coconut and jaggery in a heavy bottomed pan. Keep on stirring the mixture on low flame. When the mixture becomes fairly dry and turns a shade darker, take off heat. 

Now make balls with the covering dough and flatten them on the palm into a circle. Put the stuffing in it and cover it completely with dough. Form 7-8 pleats with your fingers and fold the edges tapering to the center. 

 Steam cook the modaks in a cooker for 15 minutes and serve with little bit of Ghee.