Laddu

"Ladoo" redirects here. For the Malayalam film, see Ladoo (film).

Laddu

Type	Sweet
Region or state	Indian subcontinent, Caribbean
Main ingredients	Flour, sugar, ghee, dry fruits
Variations	Gram flour, rava

Laddu or laddoo is a spherical sweet from the Indian subcontinent made of various ingredients and sugar syrup or jaggery. It has been described as "perhaps the most universal and ancient of Indian sweets."<ref name = "bloom">The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2023. pp. 269–270. ISBN 978-1-350-12865-1. Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-03-14.</ref>

Laddus are often served during celebrations and religious festivals, especially those associated with the Hindu deity Ganesha.<ref name = "bloom"/><ref>"Sweet shops make hay in Diwali shine". The New Indian Express. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2019.</ref><ref>Sangeetha Devi Dundoo (31 October 2013). "As good as home". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.</ref>

History and etymology

The word laddu is derived from a Sanskrit term meaning "small ball."<ref>Roufs, Timothy G. (2014). Sweet Treats Around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 171.</ref>

In the 3rd-4th century Sanskrit medical text Sushruta Samhita, ladduka are described as small balls of jaggery, peanuts, and sesame seeds coated with honey. These balls were used as an antiseptic and to deliver medication.<ref name = "bloom"/>

However, the first documented mention of laddu as a sweet is in the 11th-century Western Indian cookbook Lokopakara. It gives a recipe for making laddus with shavige (rice vermicelli), ghee, and sugar syrup, which were formed into balls and fried in ghee. The 15th-century Indian cookbook Nimatnama-i-Nasiruddin-Shahi gives several recipes for laddus made with white flour, dried fruits, rosewater, camphor, and musk.<ref name = "bloom"/>

Varieties

Besan laddu

Besan (chickpea flour) laddus

Besan laddu is the most common variety. To prepare it, besan (chickpea flour) is fried in hot ghee (clarified butter). Sugar and cardamom powder are then mixed in. The mixture is formed into balls and allowed to cool and solidify.<ref name = "bloom"/><ref>Collingham, Lizzie (2007). Curry : a tale of cooks and conquerors. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0195320015. Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2018-12-22.</ref>

Motichoor laddu

Motichoor laddus

Motichoor ("crushed pearls" in Hindi)<ref>"Motichoor Ladoo (Laddu): A Sweet Dip in the History of India's Favourite Festive Treat". Archived from the original on 2022-09-02. Retrieved 2022-08-15.</ref> laddu is made from boondi, tiny fried balls of chickpea batter soaked in sugar syrup.<ref name = "bloom"/><ref>Krondl, Michael (2011). Sweet invention a history of dessert (1st ed.). Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Press. p. 17. ISBN 9781569769522. Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2018-12-22.</ref>

Thaggu ke laddu

Thaggu ke ("Cheat's") laddu is made from khoa (condensed milk), semolina, and white sugar and is a specialty of Kanpur, India. It was invented by Mattha Pandey, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Pandey heard Gandhi refer to white sugar, which was popularized in India by the British, as "white poison" and disease-causing. Since his laddu was made with white sugar, he named it accordingly.<ref name = "bloom"/>

Shahi laddu

Shahi (royal) laddu is made from the sweets peda and barfi, which are ground into a paste, mixed with cardamom, dried fruits, and nuts, and formed into balls. It is decorated with vark (edible foil).<ref name = "bloom"/>

Coconut laddu

Coconut laddus

Coconut laddu originated in the medieval Chola Empire, when it was packed for travelers and warriors for good luck on their expeditions.<ref>Madhulika Dash (16 October 2004). "Food Story: The journey of ladoo from a medicine to the much-loved Indian sweet". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.</ref>

Gond ke laddu

Gond ke laddus

Gond ke laddu is made from roasted and powdered gond (gum arabic), ghee, jaggery, and sometimes battisa or keoka powder. It is commonly served in North India as a postpartum food.<ref name = "bloom2">The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2023. p. 322. ISBN 978-1-350-12865-1.</ref>

Temple laddus

See also: Tirupati Laddu

Some Hindu temples have their own laddu versions, which are offered to the deities and then served to devotees as prasada (sanctified food). The besan laddu served in the Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, India, has been called "the most famous temple laddu." The Maa Tarini Temple in Ghatgaon, India serves laddus made from coconut and khoa. The special laddu at the Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Tiruchendur, India is made from foxtail millet.<ref name = "bloom"/><ref>Collingham, Lizzie (2007). Curry : a tale of cooks and conquerors. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0195320015. Archived from the original on 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2018-12-22.</ref>

Others

Wheat flour laddus

Til (sesame seed) laddus

Rice flour laddus

Every region of India has its own version of laddu. In Rajasthan, laddus are made from wheat flour, in Maharashtra from sesame seeds, in Kerala from rice flour, and in Andhra Pradesh from rice flakes. Optional ingredients include grated coconut, roasted chickpeas, nuts, and raisins.<ref name = "bloom"/>

World record

An advertisement depicting the world record holder

According to Guinness World Records, the world's largest laddu to date was created by PVVS Mallikharjuna Rao in Tapeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, India in 2016. It weighed 29,465 kilograms (64,959 pounds) and was made using a traditional boondi recipe with ghee, oil, cashews, sugar, almonds, cardamom, and water.<ref>Guinness World Records.</ref>

In popular culture

In the Sesame Street episode "Rakhi Road", Elmo is shown eating laddus.<ref>"Guide to Deepavali". Time Out. October 24, 2019. 'Sesame Street' even paid tribute with a Rakhi Road episode which shows Elmo chomping away at laddu.</ref>

See also

• Tirupati laddu
• Sweets from the Indian subcontinent
• List of Indian sweets and desserts