Ram Ladoo

Ram Ladoo, a savory little yellow mung beans fritters with green chutney made of cilantro and tamarind chutney topped with shredded radishes is a very popular street food in Delhi, India. I am not sure how this name came from and the confusing part is "ladoo" refers sweet confection in Indian cuisine. It's kind of unsuitable name. But, who cares! It's that tasty and vegan too. This recipe serves three.

Chutneys can be made ahead of time; so is mung beans paste. Instead of deep frying it can be easily air fried as healthy alternative. All you need to do is add two table spoons oil in the 

mixture and fry on medium heat turning once depending on the size of the air fryer. Just make sure it doesn't get overcooked. 

Ingredients~

1/2 cup yellow mung bean,waded and soak for at least two hours
A fistful of Bengal gram

A fistful of roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cumin seeds
2 fresh chilies, finely sliced

2 cups shredded radish

Coriander Chutney~
1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro leaves with thin stalks, washed and cleaned
1-2 green chilies or as per heat tolerance
1/4 Cup Water
2 tsp lime or lemon juice or as per taste
1/8 tsp salt or as per taste

~Blend together coriander/mint leaves, green chilies to make a smooth consistency as much as possible. Mix with lemon/lime juice and salt. Store in a glass container.

Tamarind Chutney~
1/4 cup seedless tamarind, tightly packed 
1 cup water
1/8 teaspoon red chili powder
1/8 tsp black salt 
1/2 cup jaggery or sugar as per taste

~Boil tamarind, sugar and water in a medium sauce pan, then simmer over low heat until the mixture turns a medium thick consistency. Turn off the heat, cool it completely and sieve it through a strainer by pressing with a back of a spoon. Keep it aside.

Dry Spices~
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/8 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp black salt

~Dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds till light brown and fragrant. Let it cool completely. Grind to a smooth powder. Mix with black salt and chili powder.

Skip this process and use store bought chat masala.

For the Ladoo~

Drain lentils well and coarsely grind to a thick batter using little water. Take a big bowl and transfer lentil paste in there. Add rest of the ingredients except radish. Whip lentil mixture with a metal with whisk or hand until fluffy for about 4-5 minutes.

Heat oil in a kadai/wok or a pan on high heat. The moment it is smoking hot reduce heat to medium. Using hand or a small ice cream scoop drop batter carefully into hot oil. Turn the heat on medium high heat again and fry both sides till golden brown. Drain  on a paper towel.

To assemble Ram Ladoo, place them on a serving plate or bowl. Top with shredded radish and drizzle with coriander and tamarind chutney and sprinkle dry spice powder and red chili powder. Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!