Thokkudu Laddu / Bandar Laddu

My sister Siri has been blessed with a lovely, little angel last night (it was 26th morning in India) and that calls for a celebration. Though I could be not present there personally, my blessings and wishes are with them. Now I am passing over a virtual platter of laddus on this joyous occasion. J
Sticking to my "Andhra Special" theme, here are thokkudu laddu / Bandar laddu, one more delicacy from the long list of Andhra pindivantalu (traditional festive foods). They are said to be originated in the port city of Bandar / Machalipatnam and hence the name. Even if you haven't heard these names, probably you have read about this town as Masulipatam in your history classes (at least in South Indian schools).

Though these laddus are made with besan, they are way apart in flavor department compared to the regular besan laddus. A little superior in taste I should say. The way these are made makes all the difference. These laddus involve extra steps instead of frying besan as in the besan laddu preparation but once you taste them you feel that the extra efforts you put in was worth.

Ingredients:
1 cup besan / chickpea flour
A pinch of salt
1 cup jaggery
1/4 cup ghee
1 tsp cardamom powder
Oil to fry

Making Chaklis:
* Combine besan and salt in a mixing bowl. Add enough water to make soft dough that can be passed through a chakli press.
* Mean while heat oil in a frying pan. Drop a pea sized dough into the oil to check the readiness of the oil. If the dough sizzles and comes to surface then the oil is ready to fry.
* Fill a chakli press with a small portion of the prepared dough. I used a three star disc. Press the mould over the hot oil making a circular motion so that the coils of dough dropping into the oil make a circle shape. You can make as big chaklis as you can fit in the pan. Fry on low flame until golden brown and crisp. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat the steps with the remaining dough.
* Cool the chaklis, break them into pieces and grind very finely.

Making jaggery syrup:
After chakli powder is prepared, start to make jaggery syrup. Add a cup of powdered jaggery and 1/2 cup water to a pan and start heating on low - medium flame. When the syrup reaches one thread consistency (theega pakam), add cardamom powder and ghee to it. Then add the chakli powder and mix well. Turn off the stove.

Making laddus:
Grease your palms with ghee and shape the mixture into laddus (lime sized balls) while the mixture is still warm. Don't worry if the mixture appears a little wet. It will dry as it cools. 

Notes:
1. It is very important to remember that the laddus should be made when the mixture is still warm. The mixture turns powdery after cooling and hence it is impossible to shape them into laddus.
Adding some milk while shaping may salvage the situation but laddus need to be refrigerated since the shelf life is going to be less.
2. The chakli should be ground to very fine powder. I could grind only coarsely because of my blender and so my laddu texture appears different. Also I took the pictures as soon as I made them so they appear to be moist.
3. Sugar can be substituted instead of jaggery. Some Cashews may be added for extra crunch.
4. Coming to the pronunciation of Bandar, "Ban" pronounced as "bun" and "da" as 'th' in they.

Now let's check what the other marathoners are cooking today, during this Blogging Marathon #6.

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