Quick and easy vegan maladu or maa ladoo prepared with roasted gram/pottukadalai with a hint of quinoa flour. Here is a delicious laddu recipe that is perfect for any festival.
Maladu is one of my favorite sweets, which I grew up eating a lot, especially during my undergrad days. My mom used to make these a lot for me during my UG hostel days. These stay for up ten days when stored in an airtight container. Rain or shine always from my home to hostel(dorm), maaladu will be there for sure in my luggage.
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Other names & spelling
Indian dishes are known by different names and also with different spellings. This maladu is also known by maaladu, maa ladoo, roasted gram ladoo, fried gram ladoo, pottukadalai urundai, odachakadalai urundai – all meaning the same!
Now, let me get straight into the ingredients and explain why I used certain ingredients.
Ingredients
Roasted gram: We call it pottukadalai in Tamil, and it is the roasted split chickpeas. Some call it fried gram; it is the one that we use in coconut chutney. We need ¾ cup of a roasted gram.
Sugar: I have always tried this maladu with sugar, and we need ¾ cup of sugar. You can try this with powdered jaggery or brown sugar too. In that case, reducing the ghee as the moisture from the sugar/jaggery will help to bind the laddu.
Green cardamon: I used three green cardamoms and ground them along with sugar and roasted gram. You can also use ground cardamom instead of the whole cardamom.
Quinoa flour: It’s an optional ingredient but adding in these recipes is a great way to get acquainted with its taste.
Ghee: I have made this recipe with both vegan and dairy ghee, and if you are getting started with vegan ghee, this recipe would be your best bet—more details on vegan ghee are below.
Note if you are making a big batch of maladu – In that case, portion the prepared flour and add ghee as required to the small batch. Do not add the entire ghee at once.
Vegan maladu with vegan ghee
Please, don’t raise your eyes. I did not use any oil here. I have been looking for some vegan ghee options, and I think I finally found something we all liked. I went with store-bought vegan ghee, which is a blend of different oils but trust me, it’s very close to ghee in color and texture, and in this maaladu, you won’t find any taste different. I used Nutiva brand ghee, and it worked well in this recipe. (PS – This is not a sponsored post)
Taste: Ok, tastewise, we are not comparing apples to apples, but at the same time, we are not comparing apples to oranges. It’s one of the great substitutes for sure.
Quantity – I have been experimenting with quite a few traditional recipes with vegan ghee, and I found that you go with less vegan ghee when compared to the dairy-based one. So far, for the two recipes that I tried, I went with 1:1 substitution, which I am sharing here.
Calories: Both vegan ghee and dairy ghee has the same calories—no significant difference in that aspect.
Why vegan?
I don’t follow a 100% vegan diet, but I try my best to adhere to it. This Diwali, I want to share recipes that cater to everyone’s dietary needs – like vegan gluten-free, nut-free, etc. I want everyone to have something to make for this festive season and enjoy. That’s the sole purpose. I respect each and everyone’s food choices and opt for the one that best suits you. As a food blogger and recipe developer, I want to share different options.
Why quinoa flour?
I included quinoa flour for that little extra protein, but it’s optional. It took us some time to acquire the taste of quinoa and quinoa flour, and I started including the quinoa flour in other recipes to get used to it. It’s flour in my multigrain roti, and I also make cookies and Indian snacks like murukku, deep-fried savory snacks.
Watch me make maladu
Dietary specifications and yield
It’s a vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free sweet recipe. The below measure yields 12 to 13 laddus/balls. Store in an airtight container. And it stays good for about ten days at room temperature and more when refrigerated.
Maladu recipe with detailed step-wise pictures
- Dry roast the quinoa flour over medium-low heat for 4 to 5 minutes and set it aside. Roasting helps to remove the raw taste of the flour.
- In a mixer jar, add the roasted gram, sugar, and green cardamom. Grind the roasted gram along with sugar and green cardamom into a fine powder.
- Combine this ground powder with the roasted quinoa flour. Now add 4 tbsps of vegan ghee and mix well. Do not add all the ghee in one stretch. Then add 3 or 4 more tbsps of ghee and mix well. I used 8 tbsps of ghee for this recipe. (refer recipe notes for the ghee measure)
- Now take a small amount of the prepared mix and shape it into a small round ball. Press the laddu tightly so that it stays intact. Similarly, make laddus with the remaining flour.
- Store in an airtight container. It should stay well for about ten days at room temperature and more when refrigerated.
Recipe notes
- You can use dairy-based ghee instead of vegan ghee. Also, you atleast need a minimum of 6 tbsps of ghee for this measure. If you add too little ghee, you will not be able to shape the ladoo, and if you add too much ghee, the ladoo will be soft and a bit sticky. Initially, when you shape the ladoo, especially with the hand’s warmth, the ladoo will be shiny, thanks to the ghee. But as it rests, it will be stiff and intact.
- Quinoa flour is optional too. If you are skipping, then increase the fried gram or pottukadalai to 1 cup.
- I used green cardamom for the flavor, but you can add saffron too. In the case of saffron, just roast it for a minute and grind it along with sugar.
- I did not add any nuts but you can 2 to 3 tbsps of slivered nuts of your choices.
Easy ladoo recipes
Loved this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Maladu | Maa Ladoo | Vegan Maladu Recipe
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp= 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- ¼ cup quinoa flour
- ¾ cup roasted gram/pottukadalai
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 green cardamom
- 8 to 10 tbsp vegan ghee or as required
Instructions
- Dry roast the quinoa flour over medium-low heat for 4 to 5 minutes and set it aside. Roasting helps to remove the raw taste of the flour.
- In a mixer jar, add the roasted gram, sugar, and green cardamom. Grind the roasted gram along with sugar and green cardamom into a fine powder.
- Combine this ground powder with the roasted quinoa flour. Now add 4 tbsps of vegan ghee and mix well. Do not add all the ghee in one stretch. Then add 3 or 4 more tbsps of ghee and mix well. I used 8 tbsps of ghee for this recipe. (refer recipe notes for the ghee measure)
- Now take a small amount of the prepared mix and shape it into a small round ball. Press the laddu tightly so that it stays intact. Similarly, make laddus with the remaining flour.
- Store in an airtight container. It should stay well for about ten days at room temperature and more when refrigerated.
Video
Notes
- You can use dairy-based ghee instead of vegan ghee. Also, you atleast need a minimum of 6 tbsps of ghee for this measure. If you add too little ghee, you will not be able to shape the ladoo, and if you add too much ghee, the ladoo will be soft and a bit sticky. Initially, when you shape the ladoo, especially with the hand’s warmth, the ladoo will be shiny, thanks to the ghee. But as it rests, it will be stiff and intact.
- Quinoa flour is optional too. If you are skipping, then increase the fried gram or pottukadalai to 1 cup.
- I used green cardamom for the flavor, but you can add saffron too. In the case of saffron, just roast it for a minute and grind it along with sugar.
- I did not add any nuts but you can 2 to 3 tbsps of slivered nuts of your choices.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
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