I will tell you a funny story I heard as a kid. It goes like this. Two farmers were returning home from a long day of work. They have to cross a Kabristan on their way home, but they are not terrified of it because they do it every day. They usually returned before or around sunset. This particular day they got really late, it was past 9 o’clock. One of them said to the other, it’s late and I am afraid we might see a ghost. As they were riding on their tractors they were snacking. While hogging on motichur ke laddu or Motichur Laddu, one of them said “bhoot ko mitha pasand hota hain” and, both of them started sweating. They heard a voice saying “eh dena!”. Both of them started arguing with each other “don’t try to scare me, I know you said it”, “No, you said it, don’t mess with me.”
A frustrated ghost appears in front of them saying “I SAID IT” “CHAL LADDU DE AB!”
Farmers started crying “humein jaane do please”. The ghost was very courteous and he only asked them “eh dena”. After a while, the farmers understood this ghost is not going to do anything and they kept driving. Ghost kept following them saying “eh dena”. Ghost really got annoyed and superficially stopped the tractor and tried to snatch the Motichur laddu from the hands of the farmer. The farmer scared to death fell down from the tractor and peed in his pants. started laughing and he got really loud and that also scared the farmers. One of the farmers got an idea he said to the ghost “you know what, here” raising his arms with a bag full of motichur laddus “you can have it.” The ghost happily went for the laddus and the other farmer at the same time lit his torch and ghost got scared and ran away. They realized that the ghost is scared of light and they kept lighting the torch all through the way and the ghost followed them from distance saying “eh dena” “eh” “Please” “ok one laddu and I’ll go away…” “eh dena”.
Well, they said it was a true story.
Ghee mein bane motichur ke laddu!! Aha! Even the dead love it! Motichur laddus are usually found in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. They have a really long shelf life and are made from fine boondi. One more thing before I give away the recipe to you, do you know? Laddus were originally used as medicine in ancient india. Today they are fondly cared for in functions events and festivals, you can’t go without the sight of motichur laddu in an Indian festive season.
How are these so much loved laddus made though?
Motichu Laddu Recipe
Ingredients To Prepare Motichur Ke Laddu
– 2 1/2 cup gram flour (besan),
– 3 cup ghee,
– 2 pinch baking soda,
– 1 1/2 teaspoon green cardamom,
– 1/2 teaspoon edible food color.
How To Make Motichur Ke Laddu
Step 1 Make the boondi batter
Take a large bowl to add 2 1/2 cups of gram flour, then mix orange colour and mix it well. Then, add some water and a little baking soda. Blend the mixture well and make sure there are no lumps. Once the blend attains a perfect consistency, it’s time to move to the next step.
Step 2 Prepare the boondi
Heat ghee in a large deep frying pan. Place a perforated ladle (jhada) on top of the oil and add some of the batter. Slowly let the boondi batter fall in the oil and cook them on a low flame, till properly cooked. Once done, place the boondi on tissue paper to remove excess oil.
Step 3 Prepare sugar syrup and mix with the boondis
Take a pan and add some water and sugar, and allow this blend to boil until it attains a two-string consistency. Then add some cardamom powder and let it cook. Then add the boondis and cook till the sugar syrup and boondi are perfectly mixed. Cover it with the lid and turn off the flame.
Step 4 Garnish and relish!
Grease your hands with a little ghee and start shaping the laddus. Place them in an open tray and garnish them with some crushed nuts and indulge in the goodness.
Here’s the recipe from Masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor himself: How to make Motichoor Laddoo, recipe by MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor
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