Ram Laddoo..A Street Chaat From Old Delhi

Hi!

Delhi is a place famous for it’s food and especially it’s chaats. Tourists never miss an opportunity to taste the chaat at Chandani Chowk/ Purani Dilli. To top the list is surely paani-poori , aloo chaat and dahi bhalla but another chaat which is extremely popular here is Ram Laddoo.

When I heard this name for the first time I thought it’s a sweet dish as the name  laddoo suggested that but later when I came across this chaat in a local market here, I realized it’s a savory dish. We thought of trying it, so ordered  a plate and then the taste simply caught us, we could not resist ordering a second one. Since then, we do make it a point to have this chaat whenever we visit the local market. It’s best to be eaten in winter as the hot dumplings melt in the mouth or in monsoon, enjoying the rains.

The laddoos are golden balls of lentils which are light and fluffy, crunchy on the top and soft inside. They are served with a spicy, tangy green chutney and grated radish. An amazing and lip smacking combination. I had been planning to attempt making them at home and  thought it would be an apt entry for my event ‘ONLY’- CHAAT hosted here.

The laddoos turned out excellent and needed a few precautions while making them. The lentils are ground coarsely and then beaten vigorously to get a light and fluffy mixture. It is very essential that the lentil be ground using minimum or no water to get the perfect texture, the mixture is so light that while frying it fluffs to almost double the volume.

These can make a great appetizer for parties, in that case they can be fried partly in advance and then re fried in hot oil just before serving. It is essential that these laddoos be served hot with chutney to relish them completely.

Ingredients

For the Ram Laddoo

1/2 cup dhuli moong dal/  yellow lentils

1/2 cup chana dal/ bengal gram

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

For spicy and tangy Green Chutney

1/4 cup mint leaves

a cup of coriander leaves

3-4 tbsp onion

2 garlic pods

5-6 green chilies

a tsp lemon juice

1 Indian gooseberry/ amla chopped

1/4 tsp rock salt

salt to taste

1/8 cup water

and

grated radish

Method

Wash and soak both the lentils separately for 3-4 hours. Decant the water completely and grind the lentils to a coarse paste.

Mix the lentils and then beat them till the mixture attains a white color and becomes light and fluffy. I used my beater to beat and it took almost 3-4 minutes to become light. One can compare the colour of the mixture before and after beating.

 

The mixture should have a dropping consistency like that of a cake. Heat oil and using a spoon  put the laddoos in the oil. The oil should be hot enough (use medium flame) so that when the laddoos are put they immediately rise to the surface. Deep fry from either side till golden in color, in batches of 7-8 laddoos per batch and remove on a kitchen towel.

 

Grind together all the ingredients under green chutney using water.

Serve hot with green chutney and grated radish.

Sending it to my event ‘Only’ Street Foods of The World hosted by Archana of Mad Scientist’s Kitchen.

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