Wednesday 20 November 2013

Choc 'em up this festive season!

What comes across your mind when you hear the word Laddoo? Colourful balls of boondi (motichoor), rava (semolina), golden brown besan (gram flour), coconut and so many other varieties made for several festive and religious occasions in Indian families. I was trying to dig up a little history on this popular sweet and I learned that Laddoo comes from the Sanskrit word 'ladduka or lattika', which means 'small ball'.While it is still debatable, it is widely believed that the sweet originated from the Mithilanchal region of Bihar during the times of Chandragupta Maurya. Much has changed since then and the dish has evolved and people have experimented with flavours and ingredients.
One interesting take on this dish was a delight, especially among kids - the Chocolate version! Here's a quick step-by-step on preparing and shaping delicious chocolate laddoos... Turn your festivities chocolaty this year! 



CHOCOLATE LADDOOS
Prep Time: 10 min | Cooking Time: 10-15 mins before shaping them | Servings: 30-35 laddoos

Ingredients:
  1. Marie Biscuits (plain) - 2 small packets
  2. Condensed Milk - 1 tin (400 gm)
  3. Drinking Chocolate - 7-8 tablespoons 
  4. Coffee Powder - 1 tablespoon
  5. Desiccated coconut - 2-2½ cups
  6. Butter - 3 tablespoons
  7. Walnuts - 50 gm (chopped)
Procedure
  1. Grind the pack of biscuits and keep them aside
  2. In a saucepan or vessel, melt butter and add the drinking chocolate powder and coffee powder. Use the double boiling method to melt and mix to avoid excessive heating or burning. 
  3. Mix the ground biscuits to this and keep stirring
  4. Add condensed milk and whisk the mixture evenly
  5. Add half the quantity of desiccated coconut, followed by walnuts and any other dryfruits that you may want to add
  6. Take this mixture off the heat and start shaping them into laddoos of desired size
  7. Roll them in the remaining desiccated coconut and kick off festivities in choco-style with a platter of these tempting laddoos! 

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