Gaund/Gond ke Laddu

Continuing my traditional Indian winter specials and in accordance with demand from friends, this post covers another great Laddu that is undoubtedly my hubby’s favourite – Gaund ke Laddu. The logic of consuming these during winters is on the same lines as of Methi ke Laddu – getting the much required warmth and strength during the cold season. However one of the biggest difference/advantage of Gaund ke Laddu is that these could be consumed by all age groups, unlike the Methi ke Laddu which are usually meant for elderly people.

This also is the continuation of my Mumma’s Guest Post 🙂 as the recipe has been prepared/narrated by my dear Mumma.

Gaund/Gond (Edible Gum in English) is derived from gum tree branches in crystal-like form. These can be used in food and beverages, and have known to be medicinal. It is mostly used in many traditional confinements specially for lactating/pregnant women; it is added in ladoos with dry fruits, added in water and made into tea, added in wheat flour to make barfi, and is also reputed to be a cure for back pain.

The ingredients for making Gaund ke Laddus are :
1. Edible Gum (Gaund/Gond): 500 grams
2. Whole Wheat Flour : 500 grams
3. Sugar : 500 grams
4. Almonds : 250-500 grams
5. Dried Coconut (Gut) : 200 grams
6. Clarified butter (ghee) : 750 grams – 1 kg
7. Black Peppercorns : 50 grams
8. Poppy Seeds (khus khus) : 50 grams (optional)

Method :

As a 1st step, grind each of these separately – dried coconut, almonds (coarsely grind), black peppercorns, poppy seeds, and sugar; keep all these aside for later use.

Heat a wok with some ghee and deep fry the edible Gum (Gond/Gaund) on a low flame; take it out on a plate and keep it aside. Note that the edible Gum will puff up like popcorn when fried. Low flame should be used to ensure that the edible Gum gets fried even from the inside.

Now add whole wheat flour in the wok, and also add sufficient quantity of ghee to sauté the whole wheat flour till it becomes light brown in colour and has a nice aroma. Add the grounded poppy seeds when the whole wheat flour sauté is almost (50% or more) done. Once the whole wheat flour gets the required light brown colour and aroma, add the ground almonds, dried coconut powder and again sauté for 2-3 minutes. Switch off the flame; then add the grounded black peppercorns and mix well.

Now add the deep fried edible Gum into this whole wheat flour mix. When this final mixture cools down a little bit (becomes easier to work with hands, but still warm enough), add the powdered sugar and again mix properly. Now make round laddus with your hands. Your healthy, sweet Gaund/Gond Laddus are ready to be enjoyed !

Keep these laddus open for 2-3 hours and then store them in an air-tight container for everyday use. You should get 20-25 medium size Laddus with this recipe. Enjoy them for breakfast / anytime during the day with or without a glass of milk. I like the laddus little warm with hot glass of milk. 🙂

Insider Tips / Finer Points :

• Feel free to add your choice of dry fruits in these laddus – like walnut (akhrot), dry Palm date (chuaara), sultanas (kismish), cashew nuts etc.

• If you don’t like big chunks of edible Gum in the laddus then break the Gum in small pieces by pressing with a rolling pin (after frying).

• The exact quantity of ghee will depend on how wet you want the laddus to be – some like them dry to semi-wet, some prefer more wet to get ghee flavour etc.

• You may increase the quantity of sugar in case you want the laddus to be slightly more sweeter.

• You may add jaggery (gud) instead of sugar or half jaggery and half sugar; but then you can’t warm these laddus as they get chewy.

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