Wheat Flour Laddu- Atta Laddo and Happy Deepawali

Deepawali greetings to all the readers, friends and well wishers. Many of you have already started to cook storms in your kitchen. Well, I am yet not decided what I should be making this Deepawali other than these wheat flour laddos which I made few days back.

I was planning all day long that I need to make besan laddos.My day passed doing other chores and when it was almost evening , I realized that I haven’t made any laddos.So, realizing this I went to check my pantry, a disappointment struck me when I noticed there is no besan in my pantry, Murphy’s law or something else perhaps ? But I was determined to make some sweets defying Murphy's law or whatever, what, that still was elusive for me.

I saw the large packet of wheat flour the normal ones which I use for making our rotis daily and a can of condensed milk smiling in refridgetaror.Well I checked how much butter I had, luckily the butter a new packet was all glowing in one corner of our refridgerator, which meant, I can use it generously. Now who say running a house doesn’t need proper planning,imagination and implementations!

I won’t start again giving you lectures on the benefits of whole wheat flour. You all know well, perhaps better than me.
To keep it short and simple ,these were great and delicious, even my daughter who doesn’t like too much of sweet, liked it a lot.Dear Husband seems to like it too, as I caught him couple of times peeking inside the refridgerator and reaching out to the air-tight food container which had these laddos. Points scored well for that!!

We will stay out of having fireworks just like last year, but will try to spend the Deepawali evening with lighting candles and diyas.We used to make Rangoli back home but things are not same here in abroad. Outside our apartment the area is carpeted and we share the hallway with others. So, I would say stick to basics of lighting up diya and candles in home, although my daughter is excited to make a rangoli, I don’t see that’s happening this year.Quite sad part.

Anyways now to the recipe for wheat laddos

Wheat Flour laddos/Atta Laddu
Recipe Requirements
(Measurements are approx)
3-4 cups of whole wheat flour
¼ cup of coarse semolina
6-7 heaped tbs of sugar
½ cup of condensed milk
3-4 tbs of water or milk
½ cup of ghee/butter

Method

• Melt butter in saucepan. Now add the whole wheat flour and semolina.
• Roast wheat flour on very low flame. Mine took about 15-18 mints stirring frequently at regular intervals.
• When a nice aroma hits your nose and flour color changes to golden. Take off the pan from flame
• Add granulated sugar to this roasted flour. Again transfer the saucepan over a low flame.
• Now add slowly condensed about 2 tbs a time mixing well with flour.
• When you have used up entire condensed milk, the flour mixture will start to collect approx within a span of 3-4 mints, the flour mixture, will be little crumbly or dry. I would say if you use more ghee or butter than the measurements given in this recipe, you will get a very moist mixture. But I was quite reluctant to use more butter, so I end up using more condensed milk to give correct amount of moistness.
• With a small amount of mixture, try to roll the content. If it does then the flour mixture is appropriate to form laddos.Otherwise add little bit of more water or milk if you don’t want anymore sweetness to laddos to give the correct amount of moistness. Alternately you can add more melted ghee or condensed milk to the flour mixture.
• Now let it cool a little bit. Start making laddos working with your palms and hand, rotating the mixture in circular motion. Clean your hand when the mixture gets sticky in your hand and you are unable to mold the laddos.The flour mixture if gets cooled and you are unable to mold the laddos, transfer the content over a low flame, stir it well for 3-4 mints at low, the mixture will retain the correct amount of moistness and warmth required to form laddos.
• Some like to keep a bowl of water while making laddos so they never have to run towards the tap water to clean their hands. I would say this is very useful.
• Let the laddos cool a bit, it will become quite solid. Store in refrigerator, stay fresh for 4-5 days. Consume within 3-4 days if possible as laddos made this way has less shell life.
• If you want to increase the shell life sticks to using only ghee/butter in place of milk/condensed milk.

Alright then, cook delicious food this Deepawali and many more Deepawalis to come.

May this Deepawali lights up to eradicate darkness from every corner of your surrounding and your heart.

Happy Deepawali to all of you.....