Poha Laddus - Sweet Balls of Joy

I know you want one or two; or maybe the whole plate!

We've heard a lot from our readers that they like multipurpose ingredients. We agree with that too. No one wants to buy uni-purpose ingredients that aren't affordable. With that in mind, we looked into our spice rack and cupboard to see what sweets to make for Diwali that everyone can make. After chatting up my infamous aunt, we decided on making Poha Laddu. She said it was really easy to make and required minimum ingredients; that works for us.

Just a recap, Poha is another name given for flattened rice. There are two kinds of poha: thick and thin. It is important to choose the right one when cooking with it as results vary. It can be used to make dishes like Garden Poha or mixture (Indian snack). Let's begin making our sweet as we have lots to show you. This recipe makes twenty to twenty-two lime-sized balls. 

Ingredients:
- 1½ cup of thick Poha
- ¾ cup of Sugar or Brown sugar
- ¾ cup of Dry Coconut Powder
- 10 Raisins
- 20 Nuts (Any combination of Cashews, Almonds or Pistachios), cut into pieces
- 3 to 4 tbsp of Butter
- 6 to 8 pods of Cardamom, seeded & powdered
- 4 tbsp of Evaporated Milk (or as needed to hold the mixture)

Procedure:

Melt butter in a pan and add all the nuts and raisins. Toast them lightly, remove from butter and set aside. Then add poha into the butter and fry on a reduced flame until it is well roasted. Transfer it to a plate and let it cool. Powder the poha, sugar and coconut separately in a blender. Transfer all the powders into a mixing bowl including cardamom powder and mix well. Add evaporated milk and take portions of the mixture and roll into a ball. Finally take nuts and raisins and press them gently into the ball. Arrange them on a tray and let them dry before serving. 

***Quick Tips: 

- For a longer shelf life, use melted butter instead of evaporated milk. 

- You can use fresh coconut, if grated coconut is not available. 

Celebrate For A Cause...

We believe in giving back to the community and helping the less fortunate. That is why we make time to volunteer and participate in charitable events as much as possible. Sometimes with our busy schedules, it's tough to engage in such activities and so we try other ways to fulfill that duty. In that same respect, it's great to see corporations getting involved as well. They do it by giving deals or promoting an charitable event. For example, every time someone buys their product, a percentage gets donated to charity or by hosting charitable walks and giving away products.
We would like to recognize Tandoor Chef in their efforts in giving back to the community. Tandoor Chef, the leading manufacturer of restaurant quality, all natural frozen Indian cuisine, is hosting a virtual charity drive benefiting the Deepkiran Foundation, which helps provide education to children in remote villages in India. Through the end of October, they will donate $1.00 to the foundation for every new Fan at Facebook.com/TandoorChef. This special donation comes in addition to their regular contributions to the Deepkiran Foundation. They are creating this social media and cause campaign to make a positive impact on the futures of young children through schooling.

The Deepkiran Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports children’s education in the remote villages of Gujarat, India. Education is often not a priority of village elders and the foundation works to give the children various skills, including reading and writing. Both Tandoor Chef and Deep Foods are owned by the same family, who created the Deepkiran Foundation in 2005. This new charity drive is part of Tandoor Chef’s celebration of Diwali, the Hindu New Year. Charity and gift giving are central focuses of the Diwali celebration. “Tandoor Chef is honored to regularly donate to the Deepkiran Foundation, but we want to do even more through this special drive,” said Mike Ryan, VP Sales and Marketing, Tandoor Chef. “Deep Foods is proud to support this important foundation and we hope Facebook users everywhere will be proud to rally behind it.”