A - Z Indian Street Foods ~ R for Ram Ladoo

The word 'ladoo' usually conjures up an image of roundly shaped delicious sweet for Indians. However there is also a savory 'ladoo' associated with Delhi chaats known as ram ladoo. In this case, deep fried savory balls are prepared from a batter of moong and chana dals and drizzled with spicy, tangy green chutney and grated radish. However I thought of adding sweet chutney as well for more flavor. The recipe is not very elaborate if you have the chutneys prepared in advance or store bought. It can be divided into two parts. The first one is the preparation of moong-chana ladoo / vada and the second part is assembling before serving. I usually buy daikon instead of radish and that is what I used in this recipe. I was skeptical about the addition of radish / daikon in the recipe until I tasted it to notice how well it compliments the dish. My husband and I loved ram ladoo very much and ate the second round drizzling some yogurt as well which was like eating moong dahi vada.

Ingredients for moong vadas:
3/4 cup yellow moong dal
A handful of chana dal / Bengal gram 
2 or more green chillies, roughly chopped
1 tsp. ginger pieces
1/8 tsp. asafoetida powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
Oil for deep frying

Ingredients for ram ladoo:
Moong vadas
1/2 cup peeled and grated white radish / daikon 
Green chutney
Sweet tamarind chutney
Lemon juice to taste
Chaat masala
Minced cilantro to garnish

Method:
* Soak moong dal and chana dal for about 3 hours. Drain and grind them along with chillies, ginger, asafoetida and salt adding no water. (Add about a tbsp. water only if needed. Try not to add water since the batter would be runny and difficult to shape the ladoos.)
* Transfer the ground batter to a bowl and add cilantro. Whisk the mixture well.
* Heat oil in a frying pan or a kadai. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. (I shaped them into rounds using my hands.) Fry as many as ladoo as the pan can fit without overcrowding.

* Lower the flame and fry flipping the 'ladoo' intermittently until they turn golden brown throughout. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on absorbent towels.

Assembling part:
* Combine grated radish and cilantro together.
* Place 4 to 6 laddus in a serving dish. Spoon a tsp. each of green chutney and sweet tamarind chutney over them. Next put a tbsp. of radish - cilantro mixture, 1/2 tsp. lemon juice, 2 pinches of chaat masala. Add a layer of chutneys again if needed.
* Serve them immediately.

So far, on this series, 
A for Aloo Kabli
B for Bajra Vada
C for Chooda Matar
D for Dahi Batata Puri
E for Elaichi - Kesar Lassi
F for Fulwadi
G for Ghugni Chaat
H for Hare Chane Ki Chaat
I for Indori Garaadu Chaat
J for Jamun Bun
K for Khakra - Chana Bhel 
L for Locho
M for Masala Puri Chaat
N for Nippattu Masala Chaat
O for Onion Pakoda  
P for Palakhova Bun
Q for Qabuli Chana Chaat

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 87

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