Motichoor Laddoo - மோதிசூர் லட்டு - Diwali special - Step by step

   Wishing all my friends and well wishers a "Very Happy Diwali ". Let the festival of lights bring you smile and happiness forever.

   Motichoor laddoos are very famous in North Indian cuisine. Whenever we go to a north Indian sweet shop, these laddoos will always grab my attention. The difference in motichoor laddoo, is the boondhis are grinded after getting soaked in sugar syrup. This allows us to shape the laddoo very good. Also, it looks uniform and beautifull. When I was searching through the net, this particular page inspired me. This recipe calls for khoya. Luckily I had some khoya at home. So added it to the laddoo. But if you don't have, just skip this . these laddoos were so juicy and soft. Very apt  and like that of ,what we get in stores. My friend and me prepared these beautifull looking laddoos for this diwali. Within 2 hours, flat we finished these laddoos. Its always fun to have some around to cook :P

Check my boondhi laddoo recipe here

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 2 hours

 Yield : 90 - 95 ( approx)

Ingredients:

For the laddoo :

1.Besan Flour - 8 cups

2.Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

3.Water - as needed

4.Orange colour - a dash

5.Oil - for frying

6.Melon seeds - 1/4 cup

7.Khoya - 1/2 cup (optional)

8.Saffron - a big pinch for garnish

For the syrup:

1.Sugar - 8 cups

2.Water - 4 cups

3.Cardamom pwdr - 1/4 tsp

4.Vinegar or lemon juice - 1/4 tsp

Method:

  

* First let us prepare the sugar syrup and keep it ready. Take sugar and water in a pan. Bring it to boil. After some time, it will reach 1 string consistancy. Add few drops of lemon juice or vinegar. This will stop the process of crystalisation.Now add cardamom powder and leave it aside. Let the syrup be cooled for some time. Let us prepare the boondhis. Take a mixing bowl, add besan flour, baking soda,orange food colour and water. Mix it a thin batter out of it. * Heat a pan of oil. Let the oil be about 2 inches high. Place the boondhi karandi on top of the pan. Pour a laddle full of batter into the oil. The boondhis will raise beautifully in oil. Once the boondhis are cooked , remove them from oil. The boondhis should not be cooked till crispy. They have to be cooked soft. Baking soda does the magic, by keeping the boondhi soft. Remove the boondhis from the oil and strain it on paper towel. * Strain the boondhis on a paper towel. Meanwhile, add a drop of orange colour to the sugar syrup. We can also add some rose essence to the sugar syrup. This will bring an exotic flavour to the laddoos. always make sugar syrup in a wide pan. Because, when we mix the boondhis, there should be enough space in the pan. * Transfer the fried boondhis to the sugar syrup. Let the boondhis get soaked for about 15 minutes. When we want to make boondhi laddoo (normal ones), we can just shape the laddoos now. When the boondhis are soaked well, transfer the boondhis along with the syrup to a blender and pulse them coarsely.I like my laddoo to be bit grainy. If you want your laddoos to be fine, then grind them finely. If you want, we can add few spoons of warm water, while grinding. Since the sugar syrup was enough for me, I didin't add . * Transfer the grinded boondis to a wide pan or plate. Add the khoya and melon seeds to the mixture. Adding khoya is purely optional. But it gives a unique taste to the laddoo. Mix them well.Scoop the boondhi mixture in a laddle and shape them into rounds. Initially, the mixture will be bit watery, but after you shape them, the laddoos will become hard. Shape the laddoos and keep them aside. Leave the laddoos out ,till they become intact. Store them in air tight container. Since these laddoos has khoya, store them in fridge. After some time, we can  reshape the laddoos . Because initially, it may look shabby. But after some time, it will shape properly. Finally garnish the laddoos with chopped nuts and saffron.

Notes:

* Don't fry the boondhis till crisp. If not we will not be able to shape the laddoos.

* The sugar syrup should not become crystal.

* If you don't have khoya, just skip it. Without khoya, the laddoo can be stored at room temperature for atleast a week.

* We can also add chopped cashews instead of melon seeds.

* Leave the boondhis to soak in sugar syrup for atleast 15 mins.