Happy Dussehera to all my friends, family and fellow plant-based community. Dussehera is one of the very auspicious festivals, celebrated at the end of Navratri. Various regions in India celebrate it in different ways.
Festivals in India bring family and friends together to celebrate these special days. Sweets and desserts are very common on dinner tables but also act as a great gift between families. As I experimented in my kitchen on how to make these amazing desserts, I learned what past ingredients like ghee and sugar added to the texture and taste of these ladoos. Now that we enjoy the whole-food plant-based lifestyle, we can still enjoy these desserts with a slight modification to the texture but not to the taste.
Ingredients
1 cup besan (chickpea flour or garbanzo bean flour)
1/2 cup unsalted cashew; flour (make flour in your food processor)
1/4 tsp green cardamom; crushed
5 tbsp organic agave(adjust to taste)
1/4 cup milk (oats milk unsweetened and unflavored used in the recipe)
Preparation
1. Heat the medium size skillet on low heat.
2. Dry roast besan (chickpea flour) in the skillet. Stir besan (chickpea flour) on low heat for 17-20 mins (do not leave the besan. Flour burns quickly). Notice very light browning of the flour.
3. Transfer the roasted besan (chickpea flour) in a mixing bowl.
4. Let the roasted besan (chickpea flour) cool down completely.
5. Add cashew flour to the roasted besan (chickpea flour). Mix both of them well.
6. Add milk, green cardamom, and agave to the mix of besan and cashew flour. Mix all the ingredients and try to make a soft dough ball.
7. Take the small piece of dough. Roll it with the help of your palms to make a small size ball.
8. Garnish ladoos with your choice of nuts. I cut a few almonds to garnish.
