UDUPI KRISHNA'S FAVOURITES FOR
KRISHNA JANMAASHTAMI
LADDIGE
The divine taste and flavour of Prasaadams of the age old temples in India have remained constant through out many centuries. In all these years the ancient methods of cooking the prasaadams for the presiding deities have been strictly adhered to. The secret formulas of the ingredients used, and the methods used for preparing the prasaadams set by the ancestors eons ago have been safely guarded even to this day. It is not an exaggeration to say that the ancient temples of India are repositories for a number of traditional Indian recipes.
My daughter's family came back with a bag of Sampoorna prasaadam from Udupi recently. The taste of the prasaadams of Udupi Krishna was something out of the world.The names of the sweets which were printed on the cover stirred my curiosity to learn more about them. I found this link where in all the prasaadams offered to Udupi Krishna are listed in detail.
Laddige is one of Udupi Krishna's favourite Prasaadams.
INGREDIENTS
Puffed rice obtained by popping paddy/
Or Battada Harulu in Kannada - 4 cups / 2 glasses
Round jaggery - 1 ball
Cardamom powder - 1 pinch
METHOD
1. Clean the puffed rice and coarsely grind in the mixer for only a few seconds.
2. Take out the puffed rice pearls in a greased bowl or plate.
3. Crush and dissolve jaggery in 1 glass of warm water.
4. Filter the jaggery water and boil it up to one thread consistency in a sauce pan.
5.When the syrup becomes sticky and starts foaming add cardamom powder and pour it all over the puffed rice pearls.
6. Mix well using a spatula.
7. Grease your fingers, scoop out a ladle of the sweetened puffed rice and make it into a big ball.Use up the entire sweetened puffed rice pearls to make more Laddiges.
Offer the golden balls studded with small white pearls to Sri Krishna on Janmaashtami and savour the prasaadam.
I could make four Laddiges with the quantity of ingredients given above and they looked like mini laddiges in comparison with the huge Laddige Prasaadam from Udupi.
