Besan Ke Laddoo

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! It's common knowledge that India not only has a lot of people, it has people from different faiths and beliefs, so it is only natural that we have a lot of festivals as well. From colour to fireworks to dance to food, we've got it all covered. My favourite of all these, without a doubt, is Diwali (although I claimed it was Holi in school since it was easier to write an essay on).

Every year, on Diwali, my mum sets up the mandir and diyas, plugs in the fairy lights, makes the mithai, and in the evening, we all sit down with the door ajar for the pooja, after which we go out, set off fireworks, and then go to one in a series of Diwali parties at a family friend's house. Unfortunately, for a few years, I wasn't in the country and would miss out on the tradition (and the festivities), so as a workaround, I would call or Skype into the pooja at home, then try and do something traditional after. While in the UK, there were a lot of Indians around so we'd usually do something together; one year a group of us drove to Leicester for the celebrations where we pigged out on chaat and watched a fantastic fireworks display. Of course, it took us 20 minutes to walk 20 feet with all the people there, but it was Diwali, so we didn't really care. A couple of times I went to visit my close friends and spent time with their family so it was all good. While I was in Istanbul, Turkey, however, there was a very small group of us, and given the lack of Indians in Istanbul in general, there was no plan. So after my customary pooja Skype, I decided to make a mithai at home. Normally I'd make kheer or halwa, but this time I was determined to try something different. I looked through my (very large) stock of ingredients, and spied a packet of besan in the back, and figured I'd try some besan ke laddoo. So I cranked up the music, got cooking, and an hour later (it was my first time), I stood proudly over a plate of besan ke laddoos as I tried to ignore the burning in my palms from rolling the too-hot mixture. It was worth it though, since in my head, I had salvaged my Diwali with a good dish, and my colleagues who ate the laddoos the next day, seconded (or at least pretended to) my sentiments.

This is the recipe to my besan ke laddoo, may it serve you as well as it has me!

For my Besan Ke Laddoo, you will need the following:

Besan (gram flour)	4 cups
Ghee (clarified butter)	2 cups
Powdered sugar	2 cups
Almonds	handful
Cashewnuts	handful

Prep:

1. Crush/finely chop the almonds and cashews.
2. Sift the besan through a sieve to get the lumps out.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Pop in the besan.
4. Dry roast the besan for about 10 minutes until it browns and you get a warm nutty aroma. (Keep moving it or it will brown and burn faster than me at a beach!)
5. Stir in the ghee a little at a time until it's all in there. (You want a consistency that you can roll, so make sure it's not too dry or too wet.)
6. Sprinkle on the sugar.
7. Toss in the crushed almonds and cashews.
8. Mix well.
9. Cook for another 10 minutes. (Again, keep moving it so it doesn't burn.)
10. Turn the gas off.
11. Let the mixture cool just enough that you don't burn your hands while rolling it.
12. Begin rolling into laddoos.
13. Burn hands.
14. Curse.
15. Wait another few minutes.
16. Resume rolling.
17. Stick a cashew on top of each laddoo to make it look pretty.
18. Serve.
19. Stuff face.
20. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Taste the mixture as you're roasting it. If it tastes raw, roast it some more.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!