Laadu walks into a bar…a health bar that is :)

Makes 12 small size laadus

In India, tea is generally served with sweet and savory snacks.  Laadus are the ‘roly poly’ traditional sweet snacks. In Maharashtra, they are enjoyed with the afternoon tea, along with a savory snack like chivda.

Laadus are also served on festive occasions and are great as travel snacks. There are many varieties of laadus, some healthier than others. The same is true for the snack bars we get, right?

So I thought why not combine the healthy goodness of the two? I am happy to report that the experiment worked and the laadus are nutritious and so yummy, that they are addictive.

‘ Dinkacha Laadu’ as it is called in Marathi, is a laadu made with edible gum Arabic, that is known for its health benefits. It is also packed with almonds, poppy seeds and dried shredded coconut. The laadu is generally bound with a sugar syrup. I used dates for their natural sweetness and as the binder in this recipe. I also added oats, walnuts, pistachios, flax seeds….yes snuck in as much of the healthy stuff as I could…….

My children have a lot of funny stories to tell about me sneaking in nutrition when they would have been perfectly happy with ‘junk’ food:)…a story for another time!

 

Ingredients-

• 1 teaspoon ghee
• 1 tablespoon dinka (food grade gum Arabic), powdered

  

• ½ cup quick cooking oats- I used Quaker quick cooking oats
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds, freshly ground
• ¼ cup shredded coconut- I used Angel flake sweetened coconut
• ½ cup mixed nuts, toasted and roughly chopped. I used a mix of almonds, walnuts and pistachios
• 10 green cardamoms, shelled and seeds powdered
• Pinch of sea salt
• 12 to 14 seeded dates

To make the Laadus-

1. Warm the ghee in a pan and add the powdered dinka. Stir, remove pan from heat. When cool enough to handle, rub the ghee into the powder and set aside.
2. Dry roast the oats and the poppy seeds in a pan, over low heat until toasted and fragrant, about 8 minutes.
3. Add to the powdered dinka in ghee. Add the ground flax seeds, coconut, nuts, cardamom powder and the sea salt. Mix all together.

   

4. In a food processor, process the dates until they are finely chopped and start clumping together. Add in the combined ‘laadu mixture’ of oats and nuts etc.(in step 2) and pulse a few times until the mixture comes together in a ball.
5. Roll the mixture into little balls.

These laadus are adorable little pick me ups, giving a boost of nutrition and energy. The kids will find these granola laadus appealing too:) and you can enjoy your with an afternoon tea with friends!

I am taking my roly poly laadus to the fiesta at Angies hosted by Justine and Jhuls! See you there!

Love,

Sandhya