Maa ladduRoasted gram flour laddus
Maa laddu (maladu) is the simplest of the Tamil Deepavali sweets, made in a quarter of an hour from pottukadalai, the roasted split gram sold in every Tamil grocery. Ground with sugar and bound with hot ghee, it melts on the tongue, nutty and cardamom-scented, and it's the laddu grandmothers teach children to roll. The mistake is pouring cold or too little ghee: the powder won't bind and the balls crumble, so add it smoking hot and in stages. Chef's tip: warm the pottukadalai in a dry pan for two minutes before grinding; it brings out the toasty flavour and grinds finer.



