Laddu

Laddu or laddoo is a spherical sweet from the Indian subcontinent made of various ingredients and sugar syrup or jaggery. It has been described as "perhaps the most universal and ancient of Indian sweets."

Laddus are often served during celebrations and religious festivals, especially those associated with the Hindu deity Ganesha.

History
Archaeological excavations have found "food balls" made of legumes and cereals such as barley, wheat, chickpea and mung bean were consumed in the Indus Valley Civilization circa 2600 BCE.

In the 3rd-4th century Sanskrit medical text Sushruta Samhita, ladduka are described as small balls of jaggery, peanuts, and sesame seeds coated with honey. These balls were used as an antiseptic and to deliver medication. However, the first documented mention of laddu as a sweet is in the 11th-century Western Indian cookbook Lokopakara. It gives a recipe for making laddus with shavige (rice vermicelli), ghee, and sugar syrup, which were formed into balls and fried in ghee. The 15th-century Indian cookbook Nimatnama-i-Nasiruddin-Shahi gives several recipes for laddus made with white flour, dried fruits, rosewater, camphor, and musk.

Besan laddu
Besan laddu is the most common variety. To prepare it, besan (chickpea flour) is fried in hot ghee (clarified butter). Sugar and cardamom powder are then mixed in. The mixture is formed into balls and allowed to cool and solidify.

Motichoor laddu


Motichoor ("crushed pearls" in Hindi) laddu is made from boondi, tiny fried balls of chickpea batter soaked in sugar syrup.

Thaggu ke laddu
Thaggu ke ("Cheat's") laddu is made from khoa (condensed milk), semolina, and white sugar and is a specialty of Kanpur, India. It was invented by Mattha Pandey, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Pandey heard Gandhi refer to white sugar, which was popularized in India by the British, as "white poison" and disease-causing. Since his laddu was made with white sugar, he named it accordingly.

Shahi laddu
Shahi (royal) laddu is made from the sweets peda and barfi, which are ground into a paste, mixed with cardamom, dried fruits, and nuts, and formed into balls. It is decorated with vark (edible foil).

Coconut laddu


There are multiple coconut laddu recipes. Its earliest form Narayl Nakru dates back to the time of the Chola Empire, when it was a sweet that was packed for travelers and warriors as a symbol of good luck for their expeditions.

Laddu with edible gum
In India, these are traditionally given to lactating mothers as they help in the production of milk. These laddus are called dinkache ladoo in Marathi and gond ka laddu in Hindi. The main ingredient is gum arabic which is collected from the babhul tree. Other ingredients include coconut, almonds, cashews, dates, spices such as nutmeg and cardamom, poppy seeds, ghee, and sugar.

An alternative multigrain recipe will have a portion of gum replaced by grains and legume flours such as besan, urid, ragi (nachani in Marathi) and wheat.

Temple laddus
Some Hindu temples have their own laddu versions, which are offered to the deities and then served to devotees as prasada (sanctified food). The besan laddu served in the Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, India, has been called "the most famous temple laddu." The Maa Tarini Temple in Ghatgaon, India serves laddus made from coconut and khoa. The special laddu at the Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Tiruchendur, India is made from foxtail millet.

Others
Every region of India has its own version of laddu. In Rajasthan, laddus are made from wheat flour, in Maharashtra from sesame seeds, in Kerala from rice flour, and in Andhra Pradesh from rice flakes. Optional ingredients include grated coconut, roasted chickpeas, nuts, and raisins.

World record


The largest individual laddu weighs 29,465 kg and was achieved by PVVS Mallikharjuna Rao (India), in Tapeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, India, on 6 September 2016. The laddu was made to a traditional Boondi recipe. The ingredients included ghee, refined oil, cashew nuts, sugar, almonds, cardamom, and water.

In popular culture
In the Sesame Street episode "Rakhi Road", Elmo is shown eating laddus.

A laddu weighing 6,300 kg was made for a Ganesh festival in Andhra Pradesh, India in September 2012. This was claimed to be the largest known laddu.