Maladu Recipe with detailed photos and video.

Maladu or ma Laddu is a delicious South Indian snack prepared and served during festive seasons. The roasted gram, sugar and ghee are the main ingredients. It has soft and melt in mouth consistency. Let us learn how to make maa laddu.

What is maaladu made of?

Maaladu or ma laddu is made using roasted gram. In Malayalam, we call it pottu kadala. The roasted gram is nothing but roasted split and husked chickpeas. The roasted gram is dry roasted till fragrant, powdered and mixed with ghee and sugar. Cardamom is used as the flavoring agents. You can incorporate some dry fruits if you prefer.

When the maaladu is preparing?

Maaladu is usually prepared during festive seasons like Diwali. Maa laddu or maladu is also popular in Kerala, but I came to know about this sweet after coming here in Chennai. This dish is compulsory in the Diwali thali. I first tasted this from my neighbour Pushpa aunt's Diwali thali.

Name of roasted gram in Indian languages

(English - Roasted gram)

Malayalam- Pottukadala

Tamil - Pottukadalai

Kannada - Huri kadale

Telugu - Putunalu

Hindi - Bhuna chana

Bengali - Chola Bhaja

Gujarati or marati- phutana

Oriya - Buta bhaja

Are besan laddu and maladu same?

Besan laddu is made of gram flour and the maladu with roasted gram flour. Both these laddus, look alike and ingredients are almost same but the taste is different. Besan laddu is made by roasting the gram flour, but the maaladu with roasted gram.

Tips for making tasty maaladu

Maaladu preparation is quick and easy. To make perfect maaladu, please go through the following points.

Use fresh roasted gram for making maaladu
Concentrate on the amount of ghee, its amount may vary depending on the quality of roasted gram used. .
Once mixed with ghee, immediately start making the laddu.

Maaladu Recipe | Ma Laddu Recipe | How To Make Quick And Easy Ma laddu at home

Sweet balls with gram flour

Preparation time : 10 minutes | Cooking time: 5 minutes | Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredient

1 cup roasted gram / pottukadala or porikadala
1/2 to 3/4 cup table sugar or 3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar
2 or 3 green cardamom
1/2 -3/4 cup ghee

How To Make Maladu - Video

Maaladdu Preparation With Step By Step Photos

Preparation of ma laddu or maaladu is very easy. The roasted grams are powdered finely and then combined with the other ingredients. After that small ball is made. These balls hardens with the time. So make sure that you have got enough moisture.

Dry roast the roasted gram over medium flame till it turns crisp. You can feel the beautiful roasting smell of gram as soon as it starts to crisp. This step ensures even grinding as well as great flavor. So do dry roast the gram even if the grams are crisp already.
Then make a fine powder in the small jar of mixer grinder. The jar should be dry and clean. There should be no moisture in it. Make a smooth powder when the gram is still hot.
Then sift through a sifter and keep aside. Discard the big pieces if any.
Next powder the sugar along with one or two cardamom pods. Adjust the amount of sugar and cardamom depending on your preference. The ladoos should not be too sweet.
Sieve this into the same pan in which you kept the gram powder. Mix well the powdered sugar and gram flour.
Heat up one tablespoon of ghee and roast the cashews. Cashews are optional, it is just for garnish. You can omit this, if you don't have.
Once the cashews roasted nicely, Switch off the flame. Add the remaining portion of ghee in the same hot pan and wait till it melts.
Now you can pour the ghee into the mix. Half cup at the beginning, then add more if necessary. Then mix well with your hands. Add more ghee if necessary. If you feel the batter is too dry, you can use some more ghee. Make sure that the mix is having enough moisture and you are able to make balls with your hands.
Make small lemon sized balls with your hands immediately after mixing. The flour will absorb ghee as it rests, you will not able to make laddu once it turns dry. Otherwise, wet a small portion of batter pouring melted ghee one and small balls in small batches.
Mouth melting ma laddu is ready now. Enjoy.