Boondi Laddoo

Boondi undo – or Mothi Undo or Mithai undo as it’s called in various parts of Kerala & Karnataka by us Konkanis . The word itself brings up the vision of these sweet laddoos and making our mouth water . This undo plays an important part in our Konkani food , This is made & served for all auspicious functions such as weddings , Baby shower , Cradle ceremonies Munji etc. This finds a place in the sweets that a bride carries to her new home and also as a return gift for the close relatives .

Mothi undo is made of mothin or pearls of besan . This was mostly used to be made by a Ranpi (cook ) called especially to make it in large numbers for the weddings/ functions . But we too can make it at home , This needs a special Jaali or jhara (holed)spoon to make the mothin / boondis . I had it but had misplaced it with our frequent transfers . So when the thought of making it came up I used a simple ladle with holes to make it , So let’s get down to the recipe . For this you need coarse besan . If you get coarse you can proceed with just that . If you get fine besan then add a tbsp of rava .This being the favourite sweet of my two sons Umesh and Ajay I dedicate this to them for helping me create this blog and manage it .

Ingredients :-

• Besan – 1 cup
• Rava / semolina – 1 tbsp
• Food colour ( yellow ) – 1/4 tsp
• Ghee or oil to deep fry & Ghee – 1 tsp for flavour
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Cashew nuts – a handful
• Black raisins/kishmish – a handful
• Sugar crystals / rock candy – 2 tbsps ( optional )
• Cardamom powder – 1 tsp
• Edible camphor – a pinch ( optional )
• Water – 3/4 cup for batter & 1/4 cup for syrup
• Milk – a little if needed for binding .

Method :-

Watch this video to see how I made these laddoos.

For a step-by-step method guided by pictures, see below. Do not forget to check the Notes too !

1. In a bowl add the besan , rava and food colour .. ( Since it was lock down..I did not have food colour & so I added Organic Haldi powder.) you may skip it totally too.
2. Mix them thoroughly without any lumps .
3. Now add about half cup water and mix the flour . Add the quarter cup of water as needed to get desired consistency as shown .See that there are no lumps and the batter is really smooth.
4. Heat the oil . Then reduce to medium .
5. Use a Jaali/jhara ladle if you have ..or use a perforated ladle like this for making the boondis ,
6. Hold the perforated ladle over the oil and add the batter slowly while tapping the ladle so that the batter falls into the hot oil and forms the boondis / mothin. Add little batter only at a time .
7. Fry them until they are just cooked . DO NOT make them crispy as then you will not be able to bind the laddoos later .
8. Collect all the boondis thus fried and keep aside . It’s quite ok if they are large sized or of uneven shape because you can crush the boondis to smaller size and after binding – the unevenness will not be very visible.
9. Now add the sugar in a thick bottomed kadai . Add 1/4 tsp of colour and 1/4 cup of water . mix the colour in the water .
10. Let the sugar melt & boil for about 4 minutes . add a little lime juice (1/2 tsp) so that it does not crystallise .
11. By then the one string stage will be reached . you can test this way , or just make sure you have boiled for four minutes exactly , otherwise it may go to the two string stage .
12. Now add the fried boondis and gently mix . Cover & let cook for about two more minutes on a SLOW flame or until the sugar syrup has thickened considerably ..then switch off.
13. Let cool for about 10 minutes . Now the sugar syrup would have been fully absorbed by the boondis and they will gleam like mothin/ pearls .
14. Now add the cashews , raisins , Sugar crystals , cardamom powder & edible camphor . Mix well gently.
15. Add the tsp of ghee so that it gets an aromatic smell . You may skip this step if fried the boondis in ghee .
16. Now you can start binding the laddoos by pressing firmly in your hands . If you find it difficult to bind you may wet your hands with milk and try.
17. Enjoy with family & friends and be ready to receive their praises .

Notes:-

1. I have given measurements for cooking one cup of besan But I have actually done with two cups since I wanted to make more laddoos at one go . When trying for the first time – it’s better to start with one cup .
2. Use the exact measurements given to get the right results .
3. The boondis should not be fried to crispy but should be cooked and soft
4. Food colour is optional . you may skip it totally or use organic haldi powder as I did , it did not leave any after taste of it .
5. Sugar crystals & edible camphor is optional. I did not add the camphor
6. If you think the sugar syrup has hardened beyond the one string stage – do not panic , just sprinkle a little water & boil again – now check again for the stage