Maladu/Roasted Gram Dal laddoo/Pottukadala laddoo

Maladu, a ladoo made from roast gram dal(pottukadala).Very very simple ladoo..can be put together in very less time and is very tasty too.Maladus are very popular in Tamil Nadu.Call it a cousin of the besan laddoo!!
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Honestly i do not know much about the background of these laddoos. But what i do know is that they are delicious.. very very yummy.Made from dal it is rich in protein too.

The first time i had maladu was when my friend in school ,Sushma(we studied in the same class from LKG to 12th std  and graduated from the same college in Cochin) brought these laddoos made  by her mom.I loved it soooo much.I have had those laddoos many times. Aunty had even sent a lunch box full for me to take home.I don't remember the last time i had those laddoos.It was sometime in school..but i still have that taste in my mouth.Two three years back i had tried to make this laddoo but it was a failure.But for the past few months i had this on my mind. Everytime i went to the supermarket  i would search for pottukadala and i would never get it.I wondered why this particluar item was never there on the racks.Only later i realised that i was looking for it in the wrong place.I would search for it in the aisle where lentils and beans were kept and this fellow was kept along with the dried fruits, peanuts and other snacks!! Recently i caught this fellow.And when i bought this , i started finding the pottukadala in the other grocery i used to frequent and also many blogs posted maladus.Now that was it.. i had to make it... there was no waiting.From everywhere there was  a push to make this ladoo... lol!!
And i was thinking of messaging Sushma when she who is not very active comments or likes  a photo on my fb page. Some telepathy there i suppose.I have asked her to send the recipe of her mom but till then i have to be satisfied with this version.I am not even comparing mine to Aunty's laddoos...they really are the best!!

Going ahead to how i made it.The recipe is adapted from the blog ticklingpalates.(Thank you radhika for this recipe)

Ingredients i used:

1 cup roast  gram dal(this is not channa dal, u get it in packets labelled roast gram dal)
3/4 cup sugar
3 green cardamom
1/4th cup plus 2 tbsp ghee

Roast gram dal/Pottukadala

How i made it ?

Roast the roasted gram dal(yes, it has to be roasted again,though the name says roast gram dal) for about  3 and 1/2 minutes .. a nice aroma  comes and the colour starts to change.Let it cool completely.
Powder the roast gram  dal very finely and sieve it into a big plate.
Open the cardamom pods and and powder it along with the sugar very finely.
Sieve this to the same plate as the dal.
Melt the ghee and pour it little by little into the mixture. and mix well.
Make small balls when it is warm itself.Roll it in your palms tightly.If its crumbling while rolling add a little more melted ghee.
It should be tightly rolled , otherwise it will break.
Store it in an airtight container and munch on them this Diwali..:)

Note:
The original recipe uses 1/4 th cup ghee but i needed a little more.
Radhika ,of ticklingpalates also added cashewnuts  but i omitted it as none of the maladus i have had till date had cashews.. But cashews always take it a notch higher.
I got 12 laddoos.

So try this easy sweet this Diwali.This is soooo easy , you will not  go wrong. Perfect for newbies..!!
You can also check out 7 cups ,Dates mysore pak.