How to Make Delicious Dinkaachey Laadoo? Well, you’re about to find out what I learned from the very best – my Mom! I have vivid memories of Mom making these delicious treats every winter – the sweet little balls exploding with flavor and texture like no other. So, what exactly are these Dinkaachey Laadoo (Dink-aa-chay Laa-doo, Marathi)? I suppose one would classify them as a dessert /sweet snack. “Dink” is the Marathi word for Gum, and Laadoo (Marathi; Laddoo – ‘Lud-doo’, Hindi) refers to their spherical, “ball” shape. Folks from all across the Indian sub-continent make some variation of these delicious and much-loved Dink Laadoos.
I want to point out that you must use a particular kind of edible gum to make these Laadoos: Gum Arabic (Gum Acacia). This is quite different from other edible gums, such as Tragacanth Gum (Gond Katira) and Almond Gum (Badam Pisi). It is also not the same as Guar Gum or Xanthan Gum, which are widely available in the US. I am also concerned by the the discrepancies in the information provided on some websites. So, I’m trying to clarify this issue as best as I can. Please only use Gum Arabic (Acacia) for making these Laadoos. I highly recommend that you purchase Gum Arabic from a reliable source. Do ensure that you are using the right kind of edible gum this recipe calls for.
Delectable Treat to Beat the Cold
Why did Mom make these Laadoos during winter? Apparently, the gum used in these Laadoos warm your body and help you deal with the cold weather in multiple ways. Throughout the middle-East region, northern Africa and in the Indian sub-continent, edible gum has long been used for its medicinal properties. The edible gum used here is the dried resinous sap of some species of Acacia trees that grow in these regions.
Different Gums have Different Properties
There several varieties of edible gum that are valued for their special set of medicinal properties, some of which overlap. One variety, Gum Arabic/Gum Acacia (from Acacia trees, called Gond/Gaund, Dink- from the Babool/Keekar tree in India), is believed to boost immunity against colds and coughs, to replenish Vitamin D in the body, strengthen the joints, etc. This is the variety that must be used when making these delicious Dinkaachey Laadoo. Interestingly, another variety, called Gond Katira, (Tragacanth gum, from some Astralagus species) is used in different ways for cooling the body during the hot summer months. Yet another variety, called Almond Gum (Badam Gond /Badam Pisin, from the sweet almond tree, Prunus Dulcis) is also used for its cooling properties.
So, Gum Arabic, used for making these Laadoos, is suitable for winter, while Tragacanth Gum (Katira) and Almond Gum are suitable for summer. That said, it can sometimes be confusing, since the labels on commercially available packages do not always specify which kind is in the package. I believe, if the package simply says ‘Edible Gum’, it usually refers to Gum Arabic, while the other variety is clearly marked as “Katira/Kateera/Tragacanth” or Badam Gond/Pisin.
Portion Control
I didn’t really know about all that when I was growing up. I just remember the sheer joy with which I ate these tasty gems, savoring every delightful little bite. Everyone in our family loved them, so they disappeared fast, even though Mom tried “rationing” them. “Only one Ladoo every day”, she said, but, of course, we pilfered extra ones every now and then! Today’s post is a very special one – to celebrate my brother’s birthday – with our shared memories of Mom’s very special Dinkaachey Laadoo. Oh, those carefree days when we didn’t think twice about chowing down more than just one of these delectable treats!
What’s in them?
As I grew older, I wanted to learn how to make them and often helped Mom. That was when I realized that these delicious Dinkaachey Laadoo were not exactly inexpensive to make. Several of the ingredients were rather costly – beginning with the edible gum itself. Add to that the rather pricey almonds, cashews, dried dates, etc., and the price tag went up quite dramatically. So… I began to understand Mom’s pragmatic approach, to try to “ration” the Laadoos. That said, folks living in the US (and other places), where these ingredients are not particularly expensive, might find my comments somewhat surprising.
I soon also realized another reason for her ‘one Laadoo/day’ edict – these tiny bundles are pretty loaded! Sure, they have lots of high quality nutrients, but they’re also a pretty high-calorie and high-fat food. So, probably not a good idea to eat too many of these in a single day. You might be very happy while you’re stuffing your face with them, but might regret it later. So I usually make small Laadoos, to help me with “portion control” challenges.
Fun to Make: Gum puffs up when fried!
As a child, I used to watch, fascinated, when Mom fried the little crystal-rock-like pieces of Dink in hot Ghee. Like magic, they would puff up and swell, to about triple their original size! She quickly transferred each batch out of the Ghee to prevent it from burning. The fried pieces were very crisp and crumbled easily between your fingers. Mom sometimes let me do that part – it was such fun to gently crumble the light and airy pieces of fried Gum. That distinctive taste and crisp texture of the fried gum is what I like best about these Laadoos.
Tinkering with Mom’s recipe
I have made small changes to Mom’s recipe. I’ve tinkered with a few of the ingredients: I’ve dropped a few, like ground dried dates, because I just couldn’t find them in the US. I added other ingredients because they intrigued me, such as Coconut Palm sugar and buckwheat. I also don’t roast/fry the almonds. Although roasted almonds do taste more crunchy and tasty, it is best to consume most nuts “raw” (except peanuts!). The good fats in the nuts, particularly the unsaturated fats, deteriorate upon heating.
In addition to fried gum and various nuts and dried fruits, Mom also added well-roasted whole wheat flour. I have replaced half of the whole wheat flour in Mom’s recipe with ground roasted buckwheat. Buckwheat, called Kuttu in India, is an “allowed” food during religious fasts in the Hindu tradition. Unlike wheat, buckwheat is gluten-free and is a complete protein: it provides all the essential amino acids the human body needs. It takes only a few min to roast the buckwheat, and a coffee grinder grinds it to perfection.
No syrup needed in this recipe
Also, Mom used to make a “hard-ball” stage syrup to add to the dry mixture. Then we had to work quickly to make the Laadoos while everything was still quite hot. Upon cooling, the mixture hardens and becomes impossible to shape into Laadoos. So, when we made a large batch of Laadoos, she divided the mixture and made separate batches of syrup for each portion. It can be a bit tricky: if the syrup is not perfect, the fried gum can quickly become soggy and sticky – not good at all! So, I thought I would try to simplify the recipe: the Laadoos in this recipe do not need a syrup. However, that also means we need to add extra Ghee to the mixture to enable binding and shaping into Laadoos.
Power-Ball – for New Moms
In India, these Ladoos are the traditional “New Mom” treats; they help the mother recover her strength after childbirth and provide the nourishment she needs to care for her baby. They are also believed to support lactation in nursing mothers. The soluble fiber and various minerals in the gum, along with the wide range of nutrients from the other Laadoo ingredients keep the new Mom healthy and strong. She thus has a very legitimate reason to override the “One-a-Day” advice, and chow down on India’s original “Power Bars”… er… “Power Balls”?!
I have posted another delectable and nutritious Laadoo recipe that is a traditional “New Mom” treat – Alivaachey Ladoo. Of course, these Laadoos too, are not just for new Moms! Do check out my recipe.
Special Diets
These Ladoos are vegetarian: they have Ghee, nuts, wheat and buckwheat. However, if you wish to avoid one or more of these ingredients, please see Recipe Notes for substitution ideas and suggestions.
I have also provided suggestions for making a lower-fat version, if you are trying to cut back on high-fat foods. Make the “dry” mixture with less Ghee, and serve it as a powdery mixture: one serving is about 2 tbsp. It is a bit too dry to bind into Laadoos, but of course, it still tastes absolutely delicious. It is similar in appearance, taste and texture to Khirapat (Kheeraa- put – like ‘but’, with a soft ‘t’, as in ‘both’; Marathi) and Panjiri (Pun-jee-ree, Hindi/Punjabi).
So, let’s make some delicious Dinkaachey Laadoo, and make everyone drool in anticipation!
Enjoy !
How to Make Delicious Dinkaachey Laadoo
Equipment
- Small grinder for grinding almonds, buckwheat (coffee grinder works well)
- Mortar and pestle for pounding cloves and cardamom
- Fine grater for grating nutmeg – if not available, you can do this in mortar and pestle
- Small wok for frying the gum; if not available, small frying pan /saucepan OK
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp White poppy seeds Khuskhus; do not use black poppy seeds
- 3 tbsp Dried coconut powder if not available, shred whole dried coconut with a medium-fine shredder; Note: this not the same as coconut flour
- 1/4 cup Whole wheat Chapati flour if not available, American whole wheat flour OK; spelt flour OK; Note: do NOT use All-Purpose flour;
- 1/4 cup Buckwheat Groats (cracked buckwheat) Kuttu (Hindi); if not available, whole buckwheat OK; if not available, see Recipe Notes for substitution suggestions
- 2 tbsp Almonds: ground to a powder Almond flour, or Almond meal OK too
- 2 tbsp Raisins any variety OK
- 2 tbsp Ghee clarified butter; Toop (Marathi)
- 1 tbsp Edible gum: Gum Arabic (Acacia) Dink – Marathi; Gond/Gondh – Hind, Tamili; Kothri – Bengali; Antu – Kannada; Thumma Jiguru – Telugu; Majakhniram -Malayalam; Do NOT use Tragacanth Gum (Katira), or Almond Gum (Badam Pisin) for making these Laadoos
- 2 tbsp Jaggery powder Gul (Marathi); Gud (Hindi); if powder is not available, shred or shave chunk of Jaggery carefully wih a shredder or sturdy knife.
- 2 tbsp Coconut Palm Sugar if not available, substitute with 2 tbsp Jaggery powder (see Recipe Notes)
- 3-4 pieces Whole cloves if not available, use 1/8 tsp clove powder; ideally, do NOT omit- the cloves lend a distinctive flavor to these Laadoos
- 5-6 pieces Green cardamom pods if not available, use 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/8 tsp Nutmeg – freshly grated if not available, use pre-ground nutmeg powder, or omit
Extra Ghee for binding Laadoos (optional)
- 2 tbsp Ghee for binding the Laadoos; if making vegan, use coconut oil or almond oil. see Recipe notes for details
Instructions
- Place poppy seeds in a heavy-bottomed frying pan.Dry-roast on medium heat, stirring continuously for 1-2 min, until fragrant and slightly browned. Transfer to a medium large mixing bowl.
- Place dry coconut powder (or grated dry coconut) in the same pan.
- Dry-roast on medium heat, stirring continuously till fragrant, crisp and light golden brown. It should be done in 2-3 min – be very attentive – as it can it burn fast. Transfer to the bowl with the poppy seeds.
- Place the buckwheat groats in the same pan.
- Dry-roast on medium heat, stirring continuously, till the grains start to pop a little and become toasty and fragrant, browning just a little.It will take about 3-4 min on medium heat.
- Grind the buckwheat groats to a powder. Slightly coarse texture is OK: it adds a nutty, subtle crunch to the Laadoos. Transfer to the mixing bowl.
- Grind the almonds to a powder: slightly coarse powder OK
- Transfer to the mixing bowl. Add raisins.
- Get ready to fry the Gum Arabic. It looks like small translucent rocks.
- Place about 1 tsp ghee in a small wok. Heat for about a minute on medium heat. Test whether the Ghee is sufficiently hot by add 1 small piece of Gum. It should bubble/froth and puff up almost immediately more than doubling in size; if it does not, continue to heat the Ghee for about 30 sec and test again.If a small wok is not available, use a small frying pan.
- When the Ghee is properly hot, add about 1 tsp Gum to the Ghee. Stir continuously with a small spoon (a teaspoon is perfect), while heating, turning the pieces over to ensure that every little piece and corner of the gum is properly puffed in the hot ghee. Parts that do not puff remain hard, and don't taste good in the Laadoo.Collect the puffed Gum into the stirring spoon, holding it tilted against the side of the wok, to drain some of the Ghee back into the wok. Transfer the puffed Gum to the bowl with the rest of the assembled mixture. It should take no more than about 1 min to do this. Longer time in the hot Ghee will burn the Gum and make it bitter.Repeat, adding 1 tsp Ghee and 1 tsp Gum each time,
- Add about 1 tbsp of the measured whole wheat flour to the wok used for frying the Gum. This flour will soak up and 'collect' the Ghee left over in the wok after frying the Gum.Transfer the Ghee-soaked flour to a an 8-10 inch frying pan, preferably stainless steel (or a carbon steel wok); add the remaining (measured) whole wheat flour and 1 tbsp Ghee. Roast the flour on medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is pleasantly fragrant and a rich golden-brown. Decrease the heat and taste-test a pinch to check for done-ness: it should have a pleasant nutty taste, not taste raw at all, but it should not have a burnt taste either! In Marathi, this stage of perfect browning is described as "Khamang" (Khum-ung)It will take 5-6 min. to roast it properly. Be watchful and attentive – it tends to burn very fast if left unattended.
- Add the roasted flour to the mixture in the bowl.
- Add the powdered jaggery and Coconut Palm sugar.If using chunky jaggery, you will need to shave/shred the jaggery, to allow even mixing with all the ingredients. Be careful while doing this, especially if the jaggery chunks are very hard. Some jaggery varieties are softer, and easier to work with. Stir well to mix evenly.
- Add the powdered cardamom, nutmeg and cloves.
- Stir again. If you wish, you can serve this mixture like Khirapat / Panjiri. It is lighter (less fat/calories) than the Laadoos, which need more Ghee to be added to the mixture to facilitate binding. Makes about 1 3/4 cups of mixture (12-14 servings, 2 tbsp each)
To make Laadoo
- Add 1 tbsp Ghee to the mixture- the Ghee should be semi-solid. If it is a firm solid, warm it gently for a few seconds before adding. Use your hands to work it into the mixture, squeezing a little as you do so. Mix well.Place 2-3 tbsp mixture on your palm, close your fist and squeeze tight; open your fist and see if the mixture 'sticks' together.If it is still pretty crumbly, you will need to add more ghee, 1 tsp at a time (you may need up to 3 tsp total); work it into the mixture, and repeat the squeeze test. You will notice that more mixture begins to 'stick' as you add more Ghee. Expect some portion of the mixture to not stick – that's normal.
- Make small Laadoos with about 2 tbsp mixture per Ladoo (or larger ones if you prefer)Squeeze the mixture in your fist to 'stick' and bind the mixture firmly, then gently work the bound mixture, turning and rolling in your hands to shape into smooth balls. If the balls flatten after you shape them, it means you added just a tad too much Ghee. It's OK- shape the balls, put them on a plate and refrigerate for 10-15 min. They firm up as the Ghee solidifies. Now, pick up one slightly flattened Ladoo, squeeze very gently and quickly roll again into a round ball. Repeat with all the Laadoos. They should now hold their shape, and stay round.Makes about 12-13 small Laadoos.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- whole wheat Chapati Atta (flour):
- so, use a total of 1/2 cup Atta (instead of 1/4 cup), and roast with 1 1/12 tbsp Ghee (instead of 1 tbsp)
- so, use a total of 1/2 cup Atta (instead of 1/4 cup), and roast with 1 1/12 tbsp Ghee (instead of 1 tbsp)
- roast 1/4 cup Amaranth (Rajgira) seeds, then grind to a flour
- some of the seeds may pop while roasting, that’s OK
- roast 1/4 cup Amaranth (Rajgira) flour with 2 tsp Ghee
- Amaranth provides a high quality protein, just like Buckwheat
- use only jaggery: 1/4 up total
- add other ingredients of your choice:
- walnuts, cashews, pistachios: finely chopped or powdered
- about 2 tbsp total
- preferably raw, not toasted, for maximum nutritional benefit from the nuts
- decrease the amount of Ghee added for binding the Laadoos (you will probably need only 2-3 tsp, not 2 tbsp), since the extra nuts will provide sufficient fat for binding the Laadoos
- add 1 tbsp extra jaggery: so, use 3 tbsp jaggery (instead of 2 tbsp)
- dried dates: powdered
- about 2 tbsp
- decrease the amount of (jaggery+coconut palm sugar), since the dates will provide sweetness: use 3 tbsp total, instead of 1/4 cup
- walnuts, cashews, pistachios: finely chopped or powdered
- Use Coconut oil, instead of Ghee to fry Gum and roast whole wheat flour
- For binding the Laadoos, use cold-pressed almond oil or walnut oil instead of Ghee
- Add a little extra cardamom and cloves
- Use a combination of crushed pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, musk melon seeds, etc., instead of Almonds and Coconut
- total about 1/4 cup
- preferably raw, not roasted, to get the most nutritional benefit from the seeds
- Replace whole wheat flour with a combination of Amaranth (Rajgira) flour, Finger millet (Ragi/Nachani/Kodo) flour, Singoda (water-chestnut) flour, coconut flour, etc.
- 1/4 cup total
- Roast the flour mixture with Ghee/coconut oil
- Store them in a container with an air-tight lid, at room temperature, for about 2-3 weeks.
- I do not recommend freezing these Laadoos: the fried Gum has a tendency to absorb moisture and become soggy and sticky.
- however, if you wish to do so, I would recommend storing them in air-tight sealed bags, removing as much air as possible before sealing, then double-bagging the sealed bag, before freezing.
- To thaw, remove bag from the freezer, set on the counter for several hours to allow slow thawing. Do NOT not open the bags at all until the contents are at room temperature.
- however, if you wish to do so, I would recommend storing them in air-tight sealed bags, removing as much air as possible before sealing, then double-bagging the sealed bag, before freezing.
Thank you for this. A cousin has just had a baby and I will try make some for her.
Awesome!
Just made some and sent them to my niece in San Francisco- she just had a baby too!
Good meticulous presentation. “Dinkache ladoo,” may be good for both the mother and new baby. This gum Acacia Senegal is a blend of glycoproteins, polysaccharides arabinogalactan and oligosaccharides. While most this soluble fiber is undigested and goes to colon of the mother where it offers it as “prebiotic,” for good bacteria such as Bifido bacteria, Bacillus Coagulans, etc.
It restores mother’s colon regularity, and many VFA and Butryn which are produced in the process are responsible for your brain health, anti-inflammatory, and immune modulation. Small portion of oligosaccharides from small bowel from “Dink,” do get absorbed and are excreted in mother’s milk. They help newborn baby’s colon microbiome as they are NOT digested by baby’s GI tract. Some baby milk formulas now contain some oligosaccharides in the formula to make it like mother’s milk)
Thanks for your detailed explanation! I was not aware of the addition of oligosaccharides to baby milk formulas