Cook Talk

thank you for the sweet balls. how are they made?
miriam moore
10/08/07 		the were delicious. i am interested to make them. i'll ask felice about the wine. miriam
ellen
10/08/07 		These are a traditional Indian sweet called "chickpea sweets". Not complicated, but do take careful stirring while they cook. I cut out a good bit of the sugar in the original recipe- can you imagine how sweet they would have been with MORE sugar? Don't turn the heat above medium or you may have a mess.

1 cup vegetable oil (I used corn)
1/2 cup ghee (if you use butter, add a few extra tablespoons and expect them to brown a bit compared to the ghee)
5 cups chickpea flour (Bob's Red Mill 22 ounce package is exactly enough)
2 tablespoons hulled cardamon seed

In a heavy pan, you warm the oil and ghee, add the seeds, then stir in the flour. It will get all pasty. Cook about 20 minutes, basically stirring and turning constantly, until it reaches the consistency of organic peanut butter and browns just slightly. If it is browning quickly, turn down the heat.

Remove from heat. Sprinkle in a little ground cardamon, some rose water or orange water if you have it lying around. Set aside and let cool about 5 minutes.

2 cups (1 pound) coarse granulated sugar- if available, use the coarser, organic/raw type sugar- it is what gives these sweets that interesting texture we liked.

Mix well. Let cool for as long as possible, at least 30-60 minutes. The balls are easier to form when the ingredients are room temperature. Make into 1" balls by squeezing about 1 heaping teaspoon of dough back and forth from one hand to another. Continue this process until each ball is firm and shiny. The mixture will be crumbly at first, and it takes a number of passes between your hands for the ball to form. Some people find using a melon baller helps the process. If you are finding the mixture too crumbly, be sure you have let it cool enough. As a last resort, add a little more melted ghee.

ellen
10/08/07 		By the way, it is also traditional to make ot with added ground almonds.
ellen
10/09/07 		I found out these are called besan laddu or ladoo (means balls) and are considered a favorite food of the Indian god Ganesh (the elephant headed god). A similar sweet is made in the middle east with slivered pistachio instead of ground or slivered almonds or cashews. Sometimes a bit of saffron is dissolved and added. Sometimes the nuts and somee raisins (about 1/2 cup total) are fried in a little ghee and added. Some recipes use confectioners sugar for a much smoother texture, and some cooks roll the balls in dried coconut.

Store in an airtight container.

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