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.[1][6]
Motichoor laddu
Motichoor laddus
Motichoor ("crushed pearls" in Hindi)[7]laddu is made from boondi, tiny fried balls of chickpea batter soaked in sugar syrup.[1][8]
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.[1]
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).[1]
Coconut laddu
Coconut laddus
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.[9]
Laddu with edible gum
In India, these are traditionally given to lactating mothers as they help in the production of milk.[10][11] These laddus are called dinkache ladooinMarathi and gond ka ladduinHindi. 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.[12]
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.[13]
The largest individual laddu weighs 29,465 kilograms (64,959 lb) and was achieved by PVVS Mallikharjuna Rao (India), in Tapeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, India, on 6 September 2016.[15] The laddu was made to a traditional Boondi recipe. The ingredients included ghee, refined oil, cashew nuts, sugar, almonds, cardamom, and water.
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.[17]
^Kajale, Neha, et al. "Effect of traditional food supplements on nutritional status of lactating mothers and growth of their infants." Nutrition 30.11 (2014): 1360-1365.
^"Guide to Deepavali". Time Out. October 24, 2019. 'Sesame Street' even paid tribute with a Rakhi Road episode which shows Elmo chomping away at laddu.
