Gond ke Laddus for a Cosy Winter Breakfast

Ridhi Agrawal on why edible gum forms a big part of the Rajasthani winter.

Winters at home are synonymous with gond ke laddus. My now octogenarian dadi makes laddus using gond or edible gum, flour, dried fruits, ghee and sugar. But living in a joint family also means this winter delicacy arrived from relatives and extended families throughout the winter.

Gond or gaund is an edible gum that comes in golden, translucent crystals of varying size; a summer extract from the acacia tree, preserved in air tight containers, sealed from heat and moisture.

Gond is an edible gum extracted from acacia tress, usually in summer.

“Gond from the babool tree is considered the very best,” explains chef Prem Singh Rathod, Oberoi Hotels, Delhi, who writes at Rawali Rasoi. His grandmother would serve it for breakfast, to be eaten “on an empty stomach, even before morning tea.”

“We believe what you eat in the morning powers you through the day,” says Abhilasha Jain, Jaipur-based home chef of Marwadi Khana. “Eating a laddu every morning with milk is a tradition within the community.”

My own grandmother points out that in Rajasthan, gond in the winter months keeps the body warm, and strengthens the bones. “Gond is not given to pregnant women, but instead, offered post-pregnancy to build immunity and aids in the recovery from childbirth,”says Abhilasha.

I am a fourth-generation Marwadi in Nepal, and much of the food in my kitchen has its roots in Rajasthan; gond has a special place our kitchen in the winter months, consumed in the form of these laddus.

RECIPE FOR GOND KE LADDUS

Ingredients 

500 g home-made ghee
100 g wholewheat flour (atta)
250 g gond
250 g finely chopped almonds
250 g powdered sugar
5-10 pods powdered cardamom
100 g finely chopped pistachio (optional)

Method
Heat ghee on a medium flame then allow it to cool
Now, add wheat flour to the ghee, stirring until the mixture turns a reddish brown. It will release a distinctive aroma, and will eventually come together, releasing ghee along the edges.
Now, add gond. Once it becomes fluffy, stir the mixture well, and add in the powdered almonds and pistachios.
Set the mixture aside to cool to room temperature. Add sugar and mix to combine.
Apply some ghee on your palms, then take small handfuls of the mixture, and roll into balls of equal size.
Store the laddus in an airtight box, and warm gently in the oven before serving.

Ridhi Agrawal is a freelance writer, currently based in Eastern Nepal. She writes on arts, culture, travel and food.

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