Sonth ke laddu --- Energizing Power balls

“Food is so primal, so essential a part of our lives, often the mere sharing of recipes with strangers turns them into good friends…”

I recall as a child, whenever my mom (a complete home-maker) met her sisters/sis-in-laws/girl-friends or there was an all-women gathering/kitty party etc, ‘food’ was the inevitable topic and exchange of recipes the most popular pastime.

I remember my mom asking us in the morning at breakfast what we wished to have for lunch, and then at lunchtime, what we wanted to eat for dinner….and the cycle continued. Her world revolved around us and feeding us.
Infact my dad, a great food enthusiast, fueled it further by encouraging her to try new recipes…and inviting guests all the time. If that wasn’t enough we had guests at times who arrived unannounced, since they happen to pass by our place. And God forbid but if it was meal time, mum would go out of her way to feed them. Phew!

So exchange of recipes wasn’t really a pastime…but almost a necessity. Like, a rajasthani neighbour of ours taught mum how to make Gatte ki Sabzi, my granny’s famous Narkel Nadu was inspired by her bengali maid's cooking…etc etc.






Although a great cook, my grandmother, (I am sure we all feel that way about our grannies) never had a recipe book…so my mom has never really had one…and obviously that means there has not been any handing down of a recipe book to me, too.
So what happened to the recipes that changed hands…well that’s in the head! And now with the computer age it is a mammoth task for me to memorize all the recipes (especially because I try to explore cuisines of the world too)…so I use my blog to document them.

Here is one such recipe that I got from my grandma and then my maa. Sonth ke laddu are a sweet delicacy made of whole wheat flour, mastic gum, root ginger powder, almonds, raisins, clarified butter, fenugreek seeds, sugar, dry fruits etc. They are very healthy and provide warmth to the body, hence best eaten during winters. Its specifically great for lactating mothers. Each time there was a pregnancy in our family (sisters-in-law , married cousins, pregnant aunts etc) I looked forward to these laddus….I just couldn’t stop at one. ;p
Made them for the first time and have been having them for breakfast regularly.






These laddus are also referred to as Methi ke laddu or Gond ke laddu.

Sonth ke laddu

Ingredients-

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp methi/fenugreek powder
1 ¼ cup powdered sugar/confectioners’ sugar
½ cup clarified butter/ghee
½ cup almonds,chopped
½ cup raisins
¼ cup mastic gum/gond
1 ½ tsp root ginger powder
Milk for sprinkling

Method-

In a deep bottomed pan, sieve the whole wheat flour. Roast this flour with 2 tbsp of ghee, on medium heat. Take care not to burn it, keep moving the flour till its turns a slightly darker shade. It will release its nutty aroma. Remove from heat.

In a different wok, heat 2 tbsp clarified butter. Add the mastic gum and roast on medium high heat, till they puff up.
Remove from heat and let cool. Crush them coarsely in a grinder or by hand.

Now, in a bigger bowl mix the flour & mastic gum with all the other ingredients. Mix well with hand and make golf-sized balls.
Note: Sprinkle with a little milk, if required to bring the mixture together.

Store in air-tight jars. The shelf life is upto 15 days.





Ramblings—
My pictures are on two scales—yellow and white. Thats because the food pictures are taken as and when they are cooked- evening or day. I don’t wait to click later (for fear that we will finish the food before any pictures can be taken…lol..). I am not a pro at food-photography. A simple Canon digital camera and with practically no lighting system. Golden mellow lights are all good, nice looking and very comforting ..but when it comes to taking pictures in them they aren’t exactly the best lighting.

Thus you may not find the greatest of pics. But trust me I try and plate the tasty morsels like a pro. (The keyword is ‘try’ here.)


I send theses laddus over to Think Spice-Think Twice event, brainchild of Sunita.

And to The Alchemist Chef's Valentines' Day Recipe Competition, as this dish is a celebration of love for tradition and food!

Sesame Speculaas & Makar Sankranti

"Tilgul Ghya Aani God God Bola !"

This is a saying in Marathi dialect, which means "have tilgul (sweets made with sesame) and speak as sweetly as it's sweet taste". If ever you happen to be in Mumbai (Maharashtra, India) on the 14th of January, you will find people offering tilgul to each other while repeating the quote above.

This is perhaps the only Indian festival whose date always falls on the same day every year i.e. the 14th of January. This is because the festival of Sankranti is based on the solar calendar unlike the rest of the Indian festivals, which are based on the lunar calendar.

Makar literally means "Capricorn" and Sankranti is the "day when the Sun changes it's position from one sign of the zodiac to the other".

It is supposed to be an auspicious day and is celebrated with lots of donations/alms and cooking 'Khichdi' (a dish made with moong daal (split mung lentils), rice, clarified butter and spices) in the Indian houses. Sesame seed sweets (tilgul) with sugar or jaggery are made, eaten and offered to all.

This occasion is considered so auspicious that people think whosoever dies during this Uttaraayan (i.e. the Sun being in the Capricorn house) period goes to heaven directly.
Bhishm Pitamaah of the epic Mahabharata waited for this period to come so that he could attain 'Nirvana' (relief from the cycle of birth and death).

This festival is celebrated in almost all of India in one way or the other. It is the harvest time for farmers.In Southern India, it is called 'Pongal', in Punjab it is called 'Lohdee', in Maharashtra it is called 'Til (sesame seeds) Sankraanti' .

Now a little something on "Speculaas"--They are thin, very crunchy, slightly browned, spiced traditional Dutch biscuit/cookie that are enjoyed on the Feast of St. Nicholas (also known as Sinterklaas). For those unfamiliar with this celebration, it takes place on December 6th to commemorate the death of St. Nicholas of Myra. St. Nicholas was a man of great generosity especially to those less fortunate and his love of children is reflected in the tradition of Dutch children putting out their clogs (shoes) on the eve of December 5th so St. Nicholas can fill them with candy and presents.



So why Sesame Speculaas during Makar Sankranti?

Well, speculaas are sweets/cookies that have once been the symbol of generosity, and since Makar Sankranti is all about being gracious and benevolent to the needy and giving alms; I thought they are connected....in some way!

Hence, you are offered this rare combination and asked to talk sweetly with all. Afterall, we don't have a bone in our tongue for a reason. God never wanted us to be harsh and rude, so he gave us a flexible boneless toungue to speak. :)










I adapted this recipe from a Cookie book I borrowed from the library here. "The Best Of Baking" (International Culinary Society, NY)





Sesame Speculaas
Ingredients-
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup less 2 tbsp brown sugar (adjust according to your taste)
3 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 cup ground blanched almonds
1 1/2 cup plain flour
4 tbsp sesame seeds, for sprinkling
a pinch of baking soda

butter for greasing
flour for dusting
milk for brushing



Method-
Cream butter and sugar together. Add the cardamom, cinnamon and mix well.
In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda and ground almond meal.
First stir in the butter and sugar mixture to the flour mix, then knead vigourously.
Wrap dough in foil and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll out the chilled dough carefully placed between two parchment sheets, about a cm. in thickness. Using a round form/cookie cutter cut out discs of the dough.
Place the discs on a lined cookie sheet.
Brush thinly with milk and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
Bake on the middle rack of an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees, for about 10 mins.
Immediately remove from the baking sheet and allow to cool on a rack.
Can be stored upto a week.

This also goes out to Cooking For Kids- Milk event, held at Neivedyam . And to

Grace for her Cinnamon Celebration.

And to Priti (of IndianKhana) for her Festive Food- Makar Sankranti.

And while I was baking this I thought I would make a mention of Rose (of All about Cakes) who is giving away a 100 piece Betty Crocker Cake Decorating Kit at her blog, to celebrate her 100 posts. Good news on an auspicious day! :)