Bajra laddu

Bajra laddu turns the same flour that goes into bajra rotis into a sweet. The flour is roasted in ghee until it smells nutty, a hot one-string jaggery syrup is poured over it, and the whole thing is rolled into balls while it is still warm. Roast, syrup, rest, roll: the method is short, and every step shows in the finished laddu.

This recipe uses a jaggery syrup rather than jaggery powder. A syrup laddu keeps its shape longer and holds a firmer bite, but the syrup has to reach the one-string stage, and the only reliable way to know is the thread test: a drop cooled in cold water and pressed between your thumb and forefinger pulls into a single thread. Eight to ten minutes of boiling is the usual range; the test, not the clock, decides.

The roasted flour makes the laddu deep brown, faintly coarse and nutty, with the cardamom sitting behind the grain. Use jaggery cubes if you prefer, weighed after chopping; swap the groundnuts for cashews or almonds, or leave them out for a plain laddu, and the method does not change. A pinch of dry ginger powder in place of half the cardamom gives a sharper, spicier note.