You really can't go wrong with this if you're seriously homesick. But I didn't say this was an easy cure. It takes time and patience...but as you go through the process, you re-live the moments spent in the distant past and you remember every utensil in your mother's kitchen used for making this - the big iron Peni (Kadai), The stainless steel Kathrot (Paraat) and the charni (sieve). You struggle to find the right substitute utensils and hope the ingredients sort of taste the same. They don't. But it's still worth the try.
Churma Laddoo.
Take some (about 2 cups) of coarse whole wheat flour (for Laddoo). This is not Sooji. It's not the atta for Roti. It is also not Lapsi. It will be marked as Laddoo flour. Add about 3/4 cups of ghee and rub into the flour. Basically, if you hold the flour, it should almost form balls. This is called "Muthi Padtu Mon". Now add whole milk to form a very soft dough. Remember, the coarse flour is going to absorb a lot of Milk, so keep this really soft. Now splash some more milk on the dough, cover and keep aside for at least an hour or two. The dough will absorb a lot of milk. Knead gently and add more milk to make a soft smooth dough if needed. Now form balls the size of a lime. Turn int into an oval shape and press into your fist to make impressions of fingers in it. This is the traditional muthiya shape (Muthi = fist). This shape ensures that the muthiays cook evenly and you get a lot of brown surface. The actual shape doesn't matter, since it's all going to get ground up. Now heat half a kadai of ghee. The trick to frying this muthiya is to over-over-crowd the pot. I know that's not normal. But this recipe is not normal. The key is to keep the heat on medium, but you don't want to fry them quickly, since they won't cook from inside. You want to sort of steam them in ghee too. So, you arrange the muthiyas in the ghee in a criss-cross fashion. You want some space for the steam to escape, but you do want to cover one layer of muthiyas with another. Then, as the ones on the bottom get brown, flip the ones from top to the bottom, and so on, untill all the muthiyas get golden brown from all sides. This takes time, but you want to make sure they are cooked right, and if you cook them at the right temperature, they won't absorb too much ghee. After draining them, quickly break them into smaller pieces. Now, while they're still warm, add them to a food processor, and pulse. If you wait till they get cold, they will be harder to grind. now, using a stainless steel sieve will big holes (Charni), sieve the ground up muthiya. What you get is churma. Keep aside the pieces that remain on the sieve, to throw back in the food processor with the next batch. Continue till all the muthiyas are done. Keep regrinding and sieving the churma mixture till it's all done. This takes time. I told you this recipe calls for a lot of patience. Now set aside the churma.
Grate about 1/2 a cup of dry coconut. Roast it in a dry kadai on a low heat till golden grown and add to the churma. Also roast about 1/2 a cup of sesame seeds and add to the churma. Add ground cardamom and grated nutmeg to the churma and mix everything gently. The churma mixture is ready now. Now come the really tricky part. Heat some ghee (about two teaspoons) and gud (jaggery) in a kadai on gentle heat. The proportion of gud is really tricky. You roughly want the slightly less volume of gud than the churma. Once all the gud is melted well, switch off the flame and mix the gud and churma. If the kadai is big, you can do it in the kadai. The longer this mixture stays warm, the easier it will be to form laddoos, but if not, just add the gud to your churma mixture. You want everything to be wet, but not too wet. If you're not sure, do this in batches, and keep some churma mixture on the side to add as needed. Now apply a bit of ghee to your palms and start forming the laddoos. Press the mixture in your hands and keep pressing, till a ball is formed. set on a plate to cool. The laddoos must be formed while the mixture is hot. It can be re-heated to form the laddoos if needed. However, you don't have to wait till they cool to try one.
Churma Laddoo.
Take some (about 2 cups) of coarse whole wheat flour (for Laddoo). This is not Sooji. It's not the atta for Roti. It is also not Lapsi. It will be marked as Laddoo flour. Add about 3/4 cups of ghee and rub into the flour. Basically, if you hold the flour, it should almost form balls. This is called "Muthi Padtu Mon". Now add whole milk to form a very soft dough. Remember, the coarse flour is going to absorb a lot of Milk, so keep this really soft. Now splash some more milk on the dough, cover and keep aside for at least an hour or two. The dough will absorb a lot of milk. Knead gently and add more milk to make a soft smooth dough if needed. Now form balls the size of a lime. Turn int into an oval shape and press into your fist to make impressions of fingers in it. This is the traditional muthiya shape (Muthi = fist). This shape ensures that the muthiays cook evenly and you get a lot of brown surface. The actual shape doesn't matter, since it's all going to get ground up. Now heat half a kadai of ghee. The trick to frying this muthiya is to over-over-crowd the pot. I know that's not normal. But this recipe is not normal. The key is to keep the heat on medium, but you don't want to fry them quickly, since they won't cook from inside. You want to sort of steam them in ghee too. So, you arrange the muthiyas in the ghee in a criss-cross fashion. You want some space for the steam to escape, but you do want to cover one layer of muthiyas with another. Then, as the ones on the bottom get brown, flip the ones from top to the bottom, and so on, untill all the muthiyas get golden brown from all sides. This takes time, but you want to make sure they are cooked right, and if you cook them at the right temperature, they won't absorb too much ghee. After draining them, quickly break them into smaller pieces. Now, while they're still warm, add them to a food processor, and pulse. If you wait till they get cold, they will be harder to grind. now, using a stainless steel sieve will big holes (Charni), sieve the ground up muthiya. What you get is churma. Keep aside the pieces that remain on the sieve, to throw back in the food processor with the next batch. Continue till all the muthiyas are done. Keep regrinding and sieving the churma mixture till it's all done. This takes time. I told you this recipe calls for a lot of patience. Now set aside the churma.
Grate about 1/2 a cup of dry coconut. Roast it in a dry kadai on a low heat till golden grown and add to the churma. Also roast about 1/2 a cup of sesame seeds and add to the churma. Add ground cardamom and grated nutmeg to the churma and mix everything gently. The churma mixture is ready now. Now come the really tricky part. Heat some ghee (about two teaspoons) and gud (jaggery) in a kadai on gentle heat. The proportion of gud is really tricky. You roughly want the slightly less volume of gud than the churma. Once all the gud is melted well, switch off the flame and mix the gud and churma. If the kadai is big, you can do it in the kadai. The longer this mixture stays warm, the easier it will be to form laddoos, but if not, just add the gud to your churma mixture. You want everything to be wet, but not too wet. If you're not sure, do this in batches, and keep some churma mixture on the side to add as needed. Now apply a bit of ghee to your palms and start forming the laddoos. Press the mixture in your hands and keep pressing, till a ball is formed. set on a plate to cool. The laddoos must be formed while the mixture is hot. It can be re-heated to form the laddoos if needed. However, you don't have to wait till they cool to try one.
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