Oats, Corn Flakes & Almond Laddu : Deepavali Special

Oats, Cornflakes & Almonds Laddu is a sweet dish and we can munch them any time of the day. Deepavali is nearing and the preparation of sweets and savoury starts. Oats & Cornflakes, Almond Laddus are healthy and perfect for festival celebration. It is easy to prepare and can be kept for at least 10 to 15 days. It is my own creation and I am very happy to say Oats, cornflakes & Almond Laddu is delicious to eat and not worry much because there is not much of ghee and no coconut is used in this recipe. One more good thing is that instead of sugar, jaggery is used and you must be knowing the benefits of having jaggery instead of sugar. It contain loads of healthy benefits.

Lets see some benefits of having jaggery in our diet.
Jaggery helps to cleanse our body and act as digestive agent. It provides good amounts of minerals. It adds sweet to the dish in a healthy way. It is always better to use jaggery. It prevents constipation and good for people who suffer from anemia. It has excellent source of Iron and produce good amount of haemoglobin. It helps to detoxify our liver by flushing harmful toxins from our body. It is also good for cough and cold.
I have used Oats, cornflakes and Almonds, a few cashew nuts and raisins.
Oats, cornflakes & Almonds Laddu can be prepared for festivals, kitty parties, kids parties and even you can box them and give it as sweet packs.
Lets see the recipe now.

Ingredients :

Oats : 1 Bowl
Corn flakes : (any brand ) : 1 Bowl
Almonds : 1 Small cup
Raisins : 1/2 Cup
Cashew nuts : 1 Handful or as you wish
Ghee : 2 to 3 Tablespoons
Jaggery :  5 to 6 Tablespoons (Grated ) or 1 small bowl.

Method :

1. Keep a pan on the fire and dry roast oats on low flame for  2 to 3 minutes and keep it aside. Let it cool.

2. Now add cornflakes to the same pan and add 1 teaspoon of ghee. Fry them nicely and remove from the pan .(2 minutes).

3. Fry almonds in the same pan for one to two minutes and remove from the pan. Let it cool.
4. Now fry cashew nuts and raisins till they turn golden brown and remove from the pan. Keep them aside.

5. Dry grind all the roasted or fried ingredients and keep is separately. ( Dry grind them one by one). (Except cashews and raisins).

6. Keep a bigger pan on the fire. Add powdered or grated jaggery and add 1/4 of water to it.
7. Let jaggery melt nicely. It starts to boil. Let the jaggery syrup get one string consistency.

8.Now add powdered cornflakes, oats and almonds. Mix it well. Add fried cashews and raisins. Mix it thoroughly. Put off the fire and    shift the mixed ingredients to a big bowl.

9. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ghee and mix it well.
10. Take a small portion of well mixed laddu mixture and form a laddu. Press it nicely between the palm and fingers and give a ball shape.Prepare the same with all the ingredients,

11. Oats, cornflakes and almond laddus are ready to serve.

12. You can pack them in a box and give it to your near dear ones.

Note :

Frying cornflakes in ghee gives good aroma to laddu. It is better to dry roast oats as we dry grind it. Adding more almonds adds taste to the laddu. Raisins help to add sweet taste. Adding more cashew adds to the taste. Just take care while preparing jaggery syrup. When it melts completely, it starts to bubble. Let it boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the ground powder of ingredients and mix it well. Adding coconut is optional. I have not added.If you are not able to form a ball shape and the mixture is bit dry, sprinkle some hot milk and then prepare laddu. Hot milk helps the mixture to hold it. You can use dates instead of jaggery. (10 to 15 dates should be dry ground and add it to the mixture and then prepare laddu).
Time : 30 minutes.
Serving : 20 Laddu can be prepared.

Onion Bonda ( Onion Fritters)

Onion Bonda is a fried dish. A cup of hot coffee or tea and a plate of these onion bondas are perfect snack in the evening. It makes us munch more and more and no doubt onion bonda is a good combination for lunch or dinner too.
Onion Bonda is prepared using besan,rice flour and some spices. Though eating fried dish is not good for health but once in a way it is ok to have them. It is simple, easy and quick to prepare. Most of the ingredients will be always at home and when ever you feel like having some pakodas you can prepare it quickly. It is always better to have home made dishes.

Lets see the recipe now.

Ingredients:

Besan/Channa flour/ Kadale hittu/Kadale Maavu : 1 Cup
Rice flour : 1 Cup
Onions : 2 to 3 (Medium sized)
Green chilly : 2
Red chlli Powder : 1/2 Teaspoon
Jeera/Cumin seeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Coriander leaves : 2 Tablespoons
Curry Leaves : 6 to 8 
Ginger : a small piece
Oil : 1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons
Sodium bicarbonate/ Cooking Soda :  a pinch

Method : 

1. Remove the outer skin of onions and wash it. Wash coriander leaves, curry leaves and green chilly.
2. Wash and remove the outer layer of ginger and remove the outer skin and wash it again. Grate it.
3. Cut onions, green chilly, coriander leaves and curry leaves into thin pieces.
4. Put rice flour, besan/channa flour, salt and a pinch of sodium bicarbonate in a big bowl.

5. Add cut chilly, red chilly powder, grated ginger and jeera to the rice flour mixture. Add hot oil to the mixture.
6. Mix all the ingredients nicely and then add required water and mix it nicely and prepare the dough.

7. Keep a frying pan on the fire. Put oil and heat.
8. Take little dough and just roll it a little (giving a round shape) and leave in hot oil.
9.Fry them nicely on both sides, remove from the oil and put it on the kitchen tissue.

10. At time you can prepare 4 to 6 bonda at time.

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11. Repeat the same with remaining dough and prepare onion bondas.
12. Serve with ketch up or coconut chutney.

Note :

Mix all the ingredients nicely and then add water little by little. The dough should be thick. Thick dough helps to give a a ball shape while dropping the dough to the frying pan. These onion bondas are soft in side and crispy outside. Adding more or less chilly is optional. Adding 2 Tablespoons of hot oil helps the bonda to get crispy. The size of the bonda according to your wish. (small/big). You can also add little raw coriander seeds. Crush the coriander seeds and then add it to the dough while preparing. Adding little water helps the bonda to be soft. Do not make it more liquid. Then you can not make it as round and it absorb more oil while frying.
Preparation time : 5 Minutes
Cooking Time : 15 minutes
Total Time : 20 minutes
Serves : 3 to 4.