Giving nutritious food to family has always been my priority. With exams round the corner, she burns the night lamp and has a lot of pressure on her brain. A late night snacking to stay motivated besides being healthy is a good thought. So I made these yummy and power packed laddus and squares. These not only have natural sugars which keep the sugar craving satisfied but are high on all the nutrition that one needs. Much healthier and better than any store bought. You can add the ingredients of your choice depending on allergies and liking. If you like laddus then the moisture should be less otherwise for a fudge like feeling you can adjust the thickness. This has 30 ingredients! So 2 portions a day will be wonderful for keeping cravings away and giving the required goodness.
INGREDIENTS
List 1- Almonds-200 gms ,Cashews- 50 gms ,Walnuts-200 gms, pistachios 25 gms, peanuts 100 gms, coconut 200 gms, pumpkin seeds 100 gms, sunflower seeds 100 gms
List 2- Sesame 100 gms , flax 50 gms, halim seeds 25 gms, chia 50 gms, poppy seeds 25 gms , basil seeds 25 gms
List 3- Fenugreek 2 tbsp, ajwain 1 tbsp, peppercorns 2 tbsp
List 4- Turmeric 3-4 tbsp, nutmeg 1 tsp , cinnamon 1 tsp
List 5- Dates 200 gms, raisins 50 gms, dried figs 6-8, dried dates 200 gms, jaggery 50 gms and raw sugar( if you like) as desired
Ghee- 100 gms
Edible gum 100 gms
Brahmi powder 4 tbsp
Cardamom powder/ saffron if desired
METHOD
1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee and sauté gum on medium heat to puff up add more ghee if needed. Remove and keep aside.
2. In a huge pan add all the list 1 ingredients and sauté on low heat. Add a little ghee if you like. About 10 mins later add list 2 ingredients. These are smaller and hence need less time to sauté. Sauté everything till they get crunchy and golden.
3. Add ajwain, methi/fenugreek, peppercorns in a pan.Sauté on low heat & remove. Add these to the sautéed nuts.
4. Pressure cook the dried dates, dates and dried figs so that they are soft. Now deseed the dates and mash. Add jaggery and raw sugar and make a think paste. Now make a purée and keep to cool.
5. Add the gum, list 3 ings, list 4 ings together and grind in a course powder.
6. Mix brahmi powder to this seed mix. Add the purée of the sweet mix. Add raisins and cardamom powder/ saffron. Mix well. It’s hard to mix. Depending on how dry you like, you can adjust the thickness of the syrup. The quantity of sugar can be changed as per need. Since it’s natural sugar, it is really nice even if it’s sweeter.
7. Less syrup can just be mixed with hands and then sharped into balls. These are drier and hence have a long shelf life. Less sweeter too.
8. If you like to add more syrup and make them like fudge, add thinner syrup and start cooking on low heat. It takes time and looks very difficult to come together but keep cooking till it starts to firm up a bit. Add ghee and cook. You can take a little ball and see if it’s coming together like a thick fudge. Pour this on a greased butter paper sheet and spread well. Press with a greased spatula and make it into a nice uniform sheet. Keep to cool overnight before cutting.
9. Cut into desired shapes. This keeps well outside too but if you are not sure, refrigerate and heat a little in microwave to relish.
10. 2 portions a day with warm milk can give you so much energy and kills all the sweet cravings. It also gives long satiety due to the rich ingredients.
Extra notes-
1. Turmeric and pepper are a powder house together. Ajwain and fenugreek are good for digestion. Due to stress level or lack of exercise, this helps.
2. Brahmi is wonderful for the brain. Hence I grow it at my home too and try to eat them each day. Hence added a little to this for added benefit.
3. If you do not have ghee, use unsalted butter.
4. Halim seeds/ watercress seeds are strong in taste. Hence added just enough. It’s an acquired taste. They are great in iron and very good for periods and hair.
5. Edible gum is great to give energy and good for bones. In India it’s given to elderly in winters, new moms and to active kids in winters.
6. In India you get very dry dates, these need to be cooked well so that you can grind. I also added date paste that is available here. Add the sugar as desired.
7. Feel free to omit ingredients you can’t have, get or don’t have in your kitchen. These taste good even if few ingredients are missing. In over 30 ingredients, few missing won’t hurt.
