This no fry churma ladoo is perfectly sweetened with jaggery and has a rich, soft and melt-in-your-mouth kind texture with nuts and raisins in every bite.
¼cupOil(any flavorless oil like corn, canola, safflower, sunflower oil)
⅓cupWarm water
½teaspoonCardamom powder
½teaspoonFreshly grated nutmeg
½cupGhee (clarified butter)
1tablespoonAlmondschopped
1tablespoonsCashew nutschopped
1tablespoonRaisins
⅓cupJaggery (Gur)
1tablespoonKhas khas (White poppy seeds)
Instructions
Mix coarse wheat flour, besan and semolina in a bowl.
Add oil and rub oil and flour together between your fingers and thumb to mix thoroughly.
If your pinch the portion of the dough together it should come together but still can crumble easily. That’s how you know that you have added enough oil.
Then add 1-2 tablespoons of warm water at a time and start kneading into the dough. Make a tight and stiff dough. It doesn’t have to be smooth or soft.
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for at least 10 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and keep it ready.
Now take a lime size of dough portion and make an oval shape. Now using your feast and fingers, press the oval dough firmly to make indentations. (for a reference, see the above step-by-step pics)
Repeat the same for the rest of the dough and arrange them on a prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, flip, and bake again for another 10 minutes.
Break one and see if the inside is cooked and not raw, doughy anymore. Let the muthia cool down completely.
Break the cooled muthia and add to the food processor jar. Run the processor on high until it becomes powder.
Pass it through the sieve and crush the remaining larger granules again to make powder. Repeat the same until all the mixture passes through the sieve.
It has to be fine yet coarse churma powder form. Add cardamom powder and nutmeg, and mix well.
Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in a pan on medium-low heat. Once hot add chopped almonds and cashews. Fry with stirring constantly until golden brown.
Then add raisins. Within a minute raisin starts to plump up.
Immediately add this to the churma powder. Mix well using a spoon or spatula.
In the same pan, add jaggery, stir and cook until jaggery is melted.
As soon as it is melted, add that to the churma mixture. Using your fingers, mix the jaggery into the mixture.
Spread this mixture evenly in the bowl.
In the same pan heat the remaining ghee on medium heat. Ghee has to be hot. Pour that hot ghee all over the surface of the mixture. Do not dump it all in one place.
Hot ghee will sizzle at first and then creates a honeycomb effect. That’s perfect and for that, your ghee must be hot.
Mix everything with a spatula and let the churma mixture cool down to touch.
Take around 2 tablespoons of portion, press it tightly into your feast and shape it into a round ladoo. Roll the ladoo lightly into the khuskhus.
To shape ladoo using molds, grease the mold’s inside surface with ghee. Sprinkle a little amount of khus khus.
Then add the ladoo mixture and press it tightly into the mold and smooth out the surface. Remove it on a plate by tapping it gently. It will come out easily.
Repeat the same for the rest mixture.
Notes
Using coarse wheat flour (aka bhakri flour) is important to get the right churma ladoo texture.
Warm water is a must to knead the dough (not cold or not room temperature).
Given water amount is approximate. Always start with little water at a time and add little by little while kneading the dough.
The dough has to be tight and stiff otherwise it takes longer to bake. The longer it takes, the more brown spots on the surface and that will change the taste of the ladoo.
Frying method: Fry the muthia on low-medium heat. Be patient, one batch takes around 8-10 minutes (depending on the size and thickness of your muthia).
Just melt the jaggery, do not simmer or cook.
Ghee has to be HOT and you’ll get a honeycomb effect as soon as you pour the ghee. If your ghee is not hot enough then you won’t get honeycomb and churma ladoo mixture tastes slightly raw.
Do not dump hot ghee in one place, pour that all over the surface of the mixture.
Storage: Churma ladoo stays good for 10-15 days at room temperature in an airtight container. In the fridge, it stays good for longer but bring it to room temperature before serving.