Laddu | How To Make Ladoo With Jaggery

Laddu | Ladoo | Laddoo | Black Chickpea Laddu | Kadale Unde | Ashtami Undo | Ganesh Chaturthi Ladoo | Til ke Ladoo | Aralu Unde | Popped Rice Laddu | Laaye Pitta Undo | Astami Ladoo | Chanepitta Undo

Laddu with jaggery is a traditional recipe from the Mangalore and Udupi region, part of Coastal Karnataka in India. Ladoo is prepared mainly during Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi and offered to God in the form of naivedyam and then distributed as prasad.

I am from a Konkani household, and this laddu is sometimes called layi pitta undo or chane undo or Ashtami undo. If you have observed, I have mentioned multiple names for this laddu in this region. The recipe is the same, but this laddu is known by different names in local languages. If you prepare something similar, do mention what you call in your local language. It feels good to learn new things each day.

This post is for my mom, who continuously supports me on my blogging journey. From the day she learned that I have a food blog, I cannot tell in words how much she is excited and supportive about it.

Shravan Month or Saavn is the holiest month in the Hindu calendar, and from very little knowledge I have, all the Hindu festivals start this month.

My mom is from the Udupi region, which is popularly known for Sri Krishna Temple. When I asked her what recipes are prepared for Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi, she told me about this laddu (ladoo and laddoo). Also, she asked me to prepare these laddus and post the recipe on my blog so people can try them during the festival season.

The happiest part was, I not only prepared the recipe but was also lucky enough to serve her these laddus during her recent visit and take her feedback 🙂

Ingredients used to make laddu or ladoo with jaggery

• Sticky Jaggery (Gur) (chikki jaggery or Anta god) - should be used while making laddus for foolproof results. If the regular jaggery is used, it still tastes great, but you need some practice until you get the perfect one-string consistency. 
• Kala Chana or Black Chickpea is used. If you can't find kala chana you can use besan flour or gram flour or laddu besan to make this ladoo.
• Til or Sesame Seeds - traditionally, black sesame seeds or til are used. You can even substitute it with white sesame seeds.
• Cashews - I love adding cashews or other dry fruits and nuts while making laddus. But for this laddu recipe, you can substitute cashew with peanuts or shenga.
• Coarsely powdered Popped rice or Puffed rice (Laaye pitto) is easily available in the Mangalore-Udupi region. If you cannot find the powdered version, you can even make coarse powder by grinding whole popped rice.

Ingredients for Laddu or Ladoo with jaggery

¾ cup kala chana (black chickpea)
¾ to 1 cup Jaggery (Antu bella , sticky jaggery, chikki god)
2 tablespoon Til (Sesame seeds)
3 tablespoon Cashews
¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
1 cup Popped rice, powdered (Layi Pitto)
1 tablespoon Ghee (you may add up to 3 tablespoon if needed)

How to make Laddu or Ladoo with jaggery

In a pan on medium to low heat, dry roast kala chana till aromatic. Make sure you keep stirring for even roasting and avoid it from burning. Let this cool down, and then grind it in a blender or mixer to a fine powder.

In the same pan, dry roast cashews till aromatic and transfer them to a plate. Then dry roast til or sesame seeds till rawness goes off on medium to low flame. Transfer this to the same plate as cashews and keep this aside.

In a heavy-bottomed pan, add jaggery and ¼ cup water, bring it to a boil, and continue cooking till you reach one-string consistency. Take syrup from the back of the spoon and touch it between your thumb and index finger (Note: the jaggery syrup at the back of the spoon will be hot, so give it a few seconds to cool off before touching it with your fingers) to check for one-string consistency. Switch off the flame. For a better understanding, check my video on how to make laddus.

To this jaggery syrup, add powdered chickpeas, roasted cashews, til, and cardamom powder, and mix to combine.

Now add layi pitto or powdered popped rice, starting with ½ cup and adding as needed till you can form a ball from the mixture. Finally, add ghee and mix.

Laddus made with this sticky jaggery is one of the easiest to shape and the best laddu recipe to try, especially for a beginner. You can never go wrong. While the mixture is still warm and easy to touch, grease your hands and shape them into balls of the desired size.

Store it in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

If the mixture cools entirely and turns hard and you cannot form laddus, put the mixture back in the pan on medium flame, warm it up, and make laddus again.

Tips to make laddu or ladoo

• You can substitute kala chana or black chickpea with roasted chickpea flour or gram flour or laddu besan to make besan laddu.
• I just added 1 tablespoon of ghee to prepare a healthy version of laddu. You may add more ghee if desired. 
• In the laddu recipe, you can substitute cashews with peanuts (groundnuts) or almonds.
• In this recipe, you can vary the amount of layi pitto or popped rice powder. Start with ½ cup and add just until you are easily able to bind the laddus.

How to store Laddu or Ladoo?

Laddu can be stored in an airtight conatiner for up to three weeks.

Video recipe for Ladoo or Laddu

Detailed recipe for Laddu or Ladoo with Jaggery

Recipe card

If you like this Laddu or Ladoo with Jaggery,

Don't miss to check out some of my favorite and delicious Indian desserts and sweets (meetha or mithai) to try this festival season or any time of the year.

Milk Barfi / Milk Powder Burfi	Kaju Katli / Kaju Barfi
7 cup Barfi	Sabudana Kheer
Carrot Halwa, Carrot Pudding	Besan Laddu

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