Dreamt of Laddoo but got Boondhi

So, it was our anniversary yesterday and as usual my husband wanted me to make his favorite Pound Cake but I wanted to try something different. I typically experiment with atleast one new sweet during Deepavali but last year since we didn't celebrate, the family was not subject to that tasty torture. It so happened that I saw this recipe few days ago and the laddus looked absolutely tempting (even though I'm not usually a fan of laddus). The recipe seemed simple enough that I started floating the idea of making 11 laddoos for our anniversary (no prizes for guessing how long I've been married :) ) My husband said that he preferred boondhis but I said 11 boondhis is nowhere exciting as 11 laddoos and vetoed this desire of his.

Next, I chose a quiet afternoon when my daughter was at class and son was napping to proceed with the laddoo making and everything seemed to be progressing well except at the last stage when the boondhis were added to the sugar syrup they showed no signs of sticking together. I tried to form laddoos at different stages of the sugar soaking process but no such luck... Eventually my husband got what he wanted - tasty boondhis :)  My daughter returned from class and exclaimed "Wow! amma you made so many mini laddoos!" and loved having them for snack.

BOONDHIS - makes about 3 cups

Ingredients

For Boondhi
Besan (Kadalai maavu) - 1 cup
Water - half to 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp + 2 tsp
Oil - to deep fry
Raisins - 1 tbsp
Cashew pcs - 1 tbsp

For Sugar Syrup:Sugar - 1 cup
Water - half cup
Cardamom/Elaichi - 4 to 5 powdered


Method:

1) Combine sugar and water and heat on med-low flame until melted and begins to boil. Let it heat through until it thickens a bit for boondi (about half string to 1 string consistency). NExt time I try to make laddoos, I'll probably switch off as soon as sugar melts. Stir in the cardamom powder.

2) Heat 1 tbsp of the ghee and fry the raisins and cashews till golden (I didn't use any cashews since my daughter is allergic). Keep aside.

3) Meanwhile heat oil. Whisk together the besan, 2 tsp ghee and water until you form a paste with no lumps. It should be smooth. Add water as necessary to get a thick yet pouring consistency. You can adjust the water/besan content if you feel that the batter is too thick or thin.

4) I used my 'kannu karandi' - which is a perforated stainless steel ladle to form boondhis. Hold this slotted spoon over the hot oil and pour a ladleful of the besan batter and swirl it over the slotted spoon with the ladle. The batter will fall through the holes and form boondhis. I didn't care about the shape at that point since i figured they'll all be smushed into laddoos anyway.

5) No need to fry boondhis till crisp. In a couple of minutes the bubbles will subside and the boondhis can be removed from the oil and drained.  Keep them aside (Another thing I plan to change when making laddoos next time is to drop them in the sugar syrup at this stage instead of waiting for all batches to complete).

6) Finish all the batter in this manner. Warm up the sugar syrup on a low flame and mix in the fried boondhis along with the fried raisins and cashews. Mix well. It will taste like besan initially and seem wet with the syrup  but once cooled and after a few hours the boondhis will taste great. Enjoy.