Verkadalai Ladu| Peanut Laddoo With Jaggery

Peanuts and jaggery are a match made in heaven. The two ingredients taste absolutely heavenly together, and when sesame seeds, coconut and ghee enter the equation – well, the taste is mind-blowing! These are the very ingredients that come together in the making of the Peanut Laddoos that I’m sharing today. These are balls of bliss, alright!

A closer look at these Verkadalai Ladu or Peanut Laddoo

Verkadalai Ladu (Tamil for ‘peanut laddoos’) are very, very simple to prepare. It requires minimal cooking, and can be made within a matter of minutes. They are perfectly suited for festivals, poojas and similar occasions and, like I was saying earlier, are utterly delicious.

The ingredients used in these Verkadalai Ladu contain ‘good fats’, and there’s no refined sugar involved. There is very little ghee that goes in. The laddoos are rich in iron and protein, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are relatively healthy sweet treats.

These laddoos are quite kid-friendly, too. Everyone at home loves these laddoos, the bub included. I made a batch for Ganesh Chaturthi recently, and the box was wiped clean within a couple of days. 🙂

Peanut Laddoo recipe for A-Z Recipe Challenge

I’m sharing this recipe for Peanut Laddoos in association with the A-Z Recipe Challenge.

The A-Z Recipe Challenge is undertaken by a group of enthusiastic food bloggers. Every month, we share dishes cooked using an ingredient starting from one letter of the English alphabet. The letter of the month is P, for which I chose to present this dish made using ‘peanuts’.

I joined the A-Z Recipe Challenge group when they were doing the letter B, and I had shared our family recipe for Beetroot Poriyal then. I have come a long way with this group, sharing a recipe for Oat Milk Payasam for the letter O last month.

How to make Verkadalai Ladu

Here’s how I go about it.

Ingredients (makes 12-14 laddoos):

1. 1 cup peanuts
2. 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
3. 1/4 cup sesame seeds
4. 3/4 cup jaggery powder
5. 1 tablespoon ghee or as needed, slightly warm

Method:

1. Roast the peanuts on medium flame, in a heavy-bottomed pan, for 4-5 minutes. Take care to ensure that they do not burn. The peanuts should begin to start browning. Transfer to a plate and allow them to cool down completely.

2. Now, dry roast the sesame seeds and dessicated coconut together in the same pan for 1-2 minutes or till the ingredients start browning. Transfer to a plate and allow them to cool down fully.

3. When the peanuts have fully cooled down, rub them between your palms to get off the skin. Blow on the peanuts to discard the skin.

4. Take the de-skinned roasted peanuts in a mixer jar. Add in the roasted and cooled sesame seeds and dry coconut. Pulse to an almost-fine, just slightly coarse powder, stopping at intervals to mix up the ingredients with a spoon.

5. Transfer the ground powder to a plate. Mix the jaggery powder well.

6. Add in just enough warm ghee to bring the mixture to a malleable consistency. Shape into balls using your hands. Transfer the laddoos to a clean, dry, air-tight box.

Are these laddoos vegan and gluten-free?

These Peanut Laddoos are entirely vegetarian and gluten-free. However, due to the addition of ghee, they are not vegan or plant-based.

To make a vegan version, you could use a plant-based butter instead of the ghee. I have not tried that out, though.

Tips & Tricks

1. I prefer pulsing the roasted ingredients till they reach an almost-fine, just slightly coarse consistency. You can grind everything to a smoother consistency if you so prefer.

2. Take care not to burn the ingredients while roasting them.

3. Adjust the quantity of jaggery you use as per personal taste preferences.

4. I have used jaggery powder here. If you are using solid jaggery, you would need to pound it to a powder.

5. A bit of cardamom powder can be added to the laddoos, too. I haven’t, here.

6. The ghee needs to be a bit warm, when you add it to the roasted ingredients. Add in just enough to bind the ingredients into laddoos. I needed about 1 tablespoon. The oil from the peanuts is just about enough to bind the laddoos.

7. Make sure all the roasted ingredients completely cool down, before grinding them.

8. These Verkadalai Ladu can be stored at room temperature for up to a week. They should be stored in a clean, dry, air-tight box.

9. I have used store-bought dessicated coconut powder. This refers to finely shredded and dried coconut.

10. You can use fresh coconut instead of the dessicated coconut too, but the shelf life of the laddoos decreases to 3-4 days in that case.

Did you like this recipe? Do tell me in your comments!

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