Diwali Sweets - Cardamom Rosewater Laddu

I had the chance to try a bunch of new Indian sweets today to celebrate Diwali. So many delicious sweets! I especially loved the cardamom in many of them.

I've had this recipe, made it several times, and really enjoy it. It's got a heavy Indian influence with flavors of cardamom, coconut, and rosewater which can be a very exciting combination if you are not accustomed to the flavors. Originally referred to as a "raw gulab jamun", this is much more like a laddu/ladoo in spices, texture, and sweetness than anything else. I recommend using a VitaMix dry blade to make the flour, otherwise you'll need to purchase the oat and coconut flour and sub in. I also really like the flavor of cardamom and don't mind larger chunks of the seed in with the balls; feel free to use ground cardamom if you want it a little more uniform.

Cardamom Rosewater Laddu

Adapted from Ani Phyo's Raw Gulab Jamun

Ingredients

• 1/2 C oat flour, from 1/2 C ground oat groats
• 3/4 C coconut flour, from 1 C ground coconut flakes
• 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds, or ground cardamom
• 1/2 C almond meal
• 1/2 C agave nectar
• 1 tbsp melted virgin coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp rosewater

Method

1. Grind the oat and coconut flours using a VitaMix dry blade.
2. Transfer flours to a food processor, or wet blade VitaMix container. Add the remaining ingredients and slowly pulse mixture until combined. This will form a sticky dough.
3. Remove dough from food processor / blender to a bowl. With clean hands, take about 2 tbsp of dough at a time and roll into a ball. Continue until all dough is used.

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yellow dal

I mentioned homemade chicken stock yesterday--I decided to make yellow dal with it. I found this recipe in the foodday section of the newspaper while browsing through the recipes. It also happens that I bought yellow split beans at an Asian grocery store this weekend.

I have absolutely no experience with Indian cooking so I didn't know what to expect. The recipe was really easy to make, though, and tasted pretty good. Unfortunately, I forgot to add salt when cooking but it's a fairly easily remedied mistake. Here's my lunch, served over brown rice--



Yellow Dal

the peas:
1 C yellow split peas
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp tumeric
3 cups chicken stock (obviously not vegetarian, but I don't mind)
Salt

1. Rinse the peas extremely well with running water in a sieve. Water should run clear. Add the peas to a pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until tender. Season with salt.

the tadka:
1/4 C vegetable oil (or ghee)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 C thinly sliced onion
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1. In a pan, heat the oil over medium high to high heat. Add cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds, then add the onion. Cook the onion over medium heat for 12 minutes until golden brown. Add in the crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
2. Serve the tadka over the top of the dal.
   

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