Maladu - Dalia laddoos

This is one of the first sweets that come to mind which amma used to make in a jiffy. Appa and I had the sweet tooth in the house and usually it started off with "onnume illai chapadarathukku" (there is nothing to eat)
amma: "murukku, mixture irukke, poyi eduthukko". (there is murukku and mixture, go take it)
me: "sweet onnum illai" (but there are no sweets)
amma: "maladu pannatuma." (shall i make maladu? )
me: ok (very very happy that amma consented to make something sweet)

In the present day my son loves this quickie and it is one of very few sweets he likes. He is more of a savoury person and I make it quite often. In tamil brahmin weddings, maladu is one of the primary sweets given to the invitees as cheeru. It is usually made to order and is big in size(almost the size of an apple) than the ones made at home.

Ingredients

Dhalia(pottu kadalai, porikadalai) - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Method

1. Powder the dhalia and sugar together in a mixie to a fine powder. Set aside.
2. Add cardamom powder and mix well.
3. Heat ghee. Add it little by little and roll the mixture into small lemon sized balls. You will need to re heat the ghee often to make the laddoos as warmer the ghee the less it is needed for making laddoos.

Store in an air-tight jar for upto 2 weeks (if it will last that long!). The powdered dhalia- sugar mix can be prepared and stored ahead until needed and will be even quicker to prepare.