Maa ladoo (also known as maladu, maa laddu, pottukadalai urundai) is the easiest sweet recipe you can make for Diwali, especially if you are a novice at making traditional Indian sweets like I am. Maa ladoo also holds a special place in my heart because growing up, it was one of my favourite ladoos and so we included this sweet in the return gift bag for my wedding. My mom, sister, and I made close to 500 ladoos the day before my wedding to pack and give away, since my mom insisted on the sweet being homemade as my wedding was a small one by Indian standards – 450+ guests!
Now, TH is not a sweet-lover beyond a few favourites like rasmalai, or rasgulla, or his all-time favourite kaju katli so I don’t make maa ladoo at home often. Diwali is a special time though and we need to look beyond the calories and effort and indulge, right? Right! So that’s why I made around 20 of these ladoos and gave them away last month which was a practice run for Diwali coming up soon 😀
As I mentioned, there are so many ladoo varieties in India but from among the traditional kind, maa ladoo are surely one of the easiest. The roasted gram we use is already, well, roasted and there’s no cooking and mixing needed which makes it super easy to get the right consistency before you shape the ladoo.
A quick word on the type of dal we use in this ladoo recipe. It’s roasted Bengal gram and is known as pottukadali in Tamil, bhuna chana in Hindi (skinned variety), pori kadala in Malayalam. It’s the same stuff you add to Tamil-style coconut chutney recipe. I have a picture below, in case you are still a bit confused.
I have a bunch of super easy sweet recipe ideas for Diwali. If you just want a list from me, here you go:
Date and nut ladoo
Coconut ladoo in 15 minutes
Coconut sesame ladoos
Rava ladoo (another super easy ladoo recipe)
Besan ladoo
- 1 cup of roasted gram (pottukadalai)
- ¾ cup of powdered sugar (more or less)
- 2-3 green cardamom pods
- ½ cup of ghee (more or less)
- 2 tbsp of chopped raw cashew nuts
- Measure out your roasted gram.
- Powder it finely in a spice grinder or mixer. Make sure the powder is smooth when you rub it between your fingers.
- Tip this into a bowl and in the same grinder, powder the sugar along with the cardamom pods
- Add this to the roasted gram powder and mix well
- Heat the ghee in a pan and add the cashew nuts
- When the cashew nuts turn golden brown, add the ghee and cashews to the bowl with the powders
- Stir immediately with a spoon (it will be very hot so be careful) until the mixture comes together. It will be fairly thick at this stage
- Let the mixture cool down just enough to handle with your fingers
- Pull out enough of the ladoo mixture to make a lime-sized ball
- Shape into a smooth ball on your palm and set aside on a plate
- Repeat with the remaining mixture until you have shaped all the ladoos
- You can dip your fingers in some warm ghee as you shape, if the mixture gets too dry
- If it's too moist, let it sit for a bit and you should be able to shape the ladoos just fine
- Work swiftly, while the mixture is still hot. If you are making a larger batch, divide the flour mixture into portions and add ghee only to a smaller portion which you can made ladoos with first and then move on to the remaining
- The ladoos will harden as they sit.
- Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Maladu will keep well for up to 5 days
Step by Step Maa Ladoo Recipe Instructions
1. Measure out the roasted gram (pottukadalai)
2. Transfer to a clean, dry spice grinder or mixer grinder
3. Grind to a fine powder
4. Transfer the roasted gram powder into a clean, dry bowl
5. In the same grinder, add the sugar and cardamom pods.
6. Grind to a fine powder.
7. Add to the powdered roasted gram and mix thoroughly. Keep aside.
8. Heat a pan and add the ghee to it.
9. Heat it until you start seeing bubbles on the surface and then add the cashew nuts
10. Fry the cashew nuts until golden brown. The ghee should also be very hot by now. Add this to the roasted gram-sugar mixture.
11. Start mixing immediately with a spoon. You will find the mixture quite thick and that’s the way it’s meant to be.
12. You should get a thick ladoo mixture that looks more or less like the below picture
13. When the ladoo mix is warm enough to handle, pull off lime-sized amounts and make smooth ladoo balls between your palms
14. Lay them on a plate without touching and proceed with the remaining until you are all done.
That’s it! Gorgeous maladu is ready for Diwali. The ladoos will harden as they cool so you can pack them away or store then in airtight containers as soon as they are completely cool.
Recipe Notes:
– the quantity of ghee and sugar will depend a lot on many factors like quality of roasted gram, moisture levels in sugar, etc
– the quantities and proportions mentioned here worked perfect for me. If you want to be cautious, add only half the ghee, mix, and then keep adding as needed
– you can roast the cashew nuts separately in 2 tbsp of ghee and mix it in and add the melted ghee separately before shaping, I just found this method to be easier (it may be a bit unconventional to some)
– if the mixture is too moist because you added too much ghee, just top up with some powdered roasted gram, it should absorb any excess moisture fairly quickly
– the number of maladu you get will depend on the size of your ladoos. The numbers I have given are approximate
For Maa Ladoo recipe in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, etc please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.
Sally says
October 21, 2017 at 5:01 amI just made these and they turned out great. I didn’t have cashews, but I did have some hazelnuts… a bit untraditional, but they came out really wonderful. Thank you.
nags says
November 13, 2017 at 12:17 pmhazelnuts sound delicious too!
Anonymous says
February 25, 2013 at 10:18 amHello Nags, I tried making the maladu yesterday. I used cardomom essence instead of cardomom powder, as i had a new bottle of essence and chose the short cut way instead of making cardomom powder. Turned out the maladu, tasted a little bitter, but it was still eatable with the taste of ghee and cashews etc, but it was not fully sweet. I suspect the cardomom essence to be the culprit, may be the pottu kadalai maavu turned bitter when the essence was added to it?? and i added a good 2 tea spoons. Thoughts?? Ooph, was a little discouraged that even a simple recipe like this could go wrong.
Nagalakshmi V says
February 25, 2013 at 10:44 amhey there, definitely sounds like the essence was the culprit. the cardamom in maladu should only give it an undertone of flavour and not at all overpower the flavour of the pottukadalai. very sorry it turned out disappointing 🙁
prettylife says
November 10, 2012 at 2:12 amTried these today. They came out so well. Thanks for sharing this simple yet delicious laddu recipe.
Nonny says
August 9, 2012 at 12:31 pmI just tried your recipe for Malladu and it came out really well. Maaladdu has been an all time favorite sweet of mine and being a mallu , I always thought that is confined to Tamil and Telugu kitchens only and today I myself broke that long time belief of mine by having made the garam Maaladoos in my Kitches..Thank you so much Nag , its just coz of you I made it !!
Nagalakshmi V says
August 10, 2012 at 3:00 amoh thank you nonny! i am so glad you tried the maladu. it's a special recipe for me too because we made it for my wedding 🙂
Drifter says
January 21, 2012 at 2:07 amMouthwatering…
Nags says
May 29, 2011 at 1:21 amNone of those would work, actually. Do a Google Image search to see what these lentils look like. Its closely related to channa dal but not the same. you can eat pottu kadala raw.
Anonymous says
May 28, 2011 at 8:56 pmI really want to make this but am not sure of which dal it is…googled but did not understand..Is Pottukadalai/Dariya Dal/Pori Kadala/Split Roast Gram Dal the same as chana dal? I live in Australia and my local indian grocery only stocks chana dal, urad dal and masoor dal. Which can I use?
Nags says
July 11, 2010 at 11:40 amYes chitz, its the same thing!
Chitz says
July 11, 2010 at 3:23 amhi,
may i know whether pottu kadalai and pori kadala are same?
chithra says
July 9, 2010 at 3:33 pmHi,
May I know the english word for Pori Kadala.?Is it the other name for Pottu Kadala?
Nags says
June 26, 2010 at 12:33 amThank you so much Padma. These maaladu were made 2 days before my wedding so its super special to me 🙂
Padma says
June 25, 2010 at 7:44 pmI was searching this recipe for quite a long time.
And found yours.It was exactly the same as I used to get in Adyar ananda bhavan 🙂 Missed those so much but now am having it at home :)Thanks to you.
Hima says
August 28, 2008 at 2:21 pmI saw these being made by a tamil aunty on the TV. I missed to write it down. Thanks for sharing nag.
Rajani says
August 27, 2008 at 1:18 pmwelcome back 🙂 hey you n bharathy are sisters!! how wonderful!! i discovered her blog while i had just started blogging and she kind off stopped blogging, i just went over to her plog and glad to find that’s there’s some action there! (i can see HER PICS) 🙂
A_and_N says
August 26, 2008 at 5:28 pmBack! 🙂 I love Maa ladoo. Forgive me for the spelling 😉
Bhawana says
August 26, 2008 at 5:28 pmThis is new to me. But looking very tasty, really. I looooooooooove laddu 🙂
Aparna says
August 26, 2008 at 5:06 pmWas wondering where you were.
Btw, You might now have an idea what my marriage was like!:D
Nags, this is my favourite traditional sweet after mysorepak!I just love the way maaladoo melts in your mouth.
Laavanya says
August 26, 2008 at 3:14 pmWeddings are always fun, albeit tiring. That’s a lot of laddus to make but I love the ones made with pottu kadalai.
Nags says
August 26, 2008 at 7:24 amYes am back! and omg, we DID use 5kg dal. woahhh!!
Bharathy says
August 26, 2008 at 6:12 amHmm so even these were not spared by your camera..didnt notice you clicking! :)!..
Yeah! we had a nice time making them right!..
All the 5kgs of pottukadalai was used up!..
Sig says
August 26, 2008 at 5:48 amHey,you are back! Hope you had a great time in India….. 🙂
Maheswari says
August 26, 2008 at 3:17 amThose laddus look perfect..450 of those, that too made by the bride herself..kinda makes it more special..
LG says
August 26, 2008 at 2:28 amYou made 450! phew…fantastic! and those laddus look yummy!
Namratha says
August 25, 2008 at 7:25 pmI was gonna ask what Sra asked, I thought no one had the time these days to make anything at all for the wedding. 450 is awesome! 😀
This sounds like a good variation from the besan laddoos..good one!
Divya Vikram says
August 25, 2008 at 6:31 pmThis is my perfect snack..Easy one to make..I have a similar one in my blog..I use very little milk to it though..
Priya says
August 25, 2008 at 2:25 pmWow! 450 of these and just 2 days before the wedding! Phew 😀 I miss being at weddings, they are so much fun.
Jayashree says
August 25, 2008 at 9:21 amMaladu is a favourite of mine too. Can never say no to it.
Nags says
August 25, 2008 at 8:44 amSra, thanks for missing me 😀 . Yes, all other food for my wedding was cooked by a person we hired for that. My mom is crrrazy and she is the perfect hostess. She insisted that this is easy-peasy and got us all to dig in, even the bride was not spared 🙂 was fun and a nice memory associated with the big day. i may not do so many again though. too tiring..
sra says
August 25, 2008 at 8:42 amI was wondering what happened to you, you know!
And I didn’t know people made stuff for weddings anymore! Thought it was all catered. That’s a huge amount, 450 pieces!