VCC 383 - Magas Laddus

This heirloom sweets' recipe is kindly contributed by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal to the group cookbook project 'You Can Cook' for Feed a Hungry Child campaign.

In Rushina's own words, "in the Gujarati Community of India these confections, or versions of them are symbolic of a grandmother's love. Maghas (literally meaning brain) is a combination of coarsely ground flours including chickpea bound with ghee and sweetened with Sugar or jaggery. Despite being very rich they are considered very good for the brain… Family lore says that 2 or 3 of these walnut sized treats washed down with a glass of milk are enough to fill the stomach. Young mothers are advised to feed picky children a couple of these a day. (I confess in the summer months when my son's appetite wanes, I am reassured if he has a couple of these.) The process of making them is long and hot, they are made for someone who is very treasured. The Maghaz flour is roasted over high a flame until aromatic and golden. A copious amount of Ghee (clarified butter) and sugar are then added and it is further cooked till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. While it is cooling it is quickly rolled into balls or laddus."

Ingredients:
500 g gram flour
30 g ghee or butter
1/2 cup milk
300 g ghee or fat
350 g powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Method: Rub the smaller quantity of ghee into the gram flour. Sprinkle with milk, mix well and leave to rest for half an hour. Rub mixture untill it reaches the consistency of even crumbs. (This is called magaj) Now heat ghee in a pan. Add magaj and fry to a golden brown color, on a medium to slow flame. Remove from the fire. Turn onto a plate and allow to cool.Add sugar and cardamom and mix well. Shape into balls with palms moistened with milk while still warm.

VCC: VCC Q4-2006: FAHC: FAHC-campaign