Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Sesame Ladhu

Sesame Ladhu


One of my favorite treats I learned about from an Ayurvedic practitioner are sesame ladhu, which are rich in minerals ( especially calcium) , healthy fats, warming spices, smooth ghee and fiber rich sesame seeds. I can whip up a batch of these in about 10 min, put them in the fridge for 15-30 min and then enjoy almost right away. It is suggested to eat one ladhu per day for menstrual problems, but I can't seem to keep them around long enough to eat just one a day.
Here's the recipe:

1/2 c whole Sesame seeds — * lightly roasted
1/4 c Jaggery sugar — (raw sugar works just fine too)
25/50g Coconut — grated from block,or use dessicated
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Cardamom — powder or seeds ground
1/2 tsp Ginger — ground
2 tbsp Ghee - warm and runny (you could probably make lovely ladhu with coconut oil or melted butter, but ghee is especially good, Make your own or buy it at the indian grocery.)
Grind seeds in a blender to a coarse powder, then add other items and mix in a blender.
Roll into small balls. I find they fall apart easily so gently round them into a ball and place on plate gently. An ice cream scoop or melon baller would work well too to form these.
refrigerate for 20-30 min, and store covered. Eat one a day ( I bet you can't eat just one. I can't)

*Note: Roast sesame seeds at low heat (electric 2) until they are golden brown for richer toastier flavor; any darker gives a more bitter taste.

*Note: You may want to add other powdered herbs to this blend to make them more therapuetic.  I'd suggest ashwaganda, shatavari, maca, peony, licorice root, schisandra, eluthero, or others.  A twist might add a few cacao nibs in the mix as well.


These are delicious, and everyone in the household can take part in your treat, and enjoy it. They might complain if you eat them all to yourself though, they are that good.

3 comments:

April said...

mmm, sounds yummy. i must try these! i bet kids would like them too! i could hide all sorts of things in these i'm betting! thanks for the recipe!

Unknown said...

Sounds amazing. One of the things I'm noticing from being in India and watching Pushpa (the lady I'm staying with) cook, is that she uses medicinal herbs in everything. Fenugreek, asafoetida, turmeric, coriander-- everything has a purpose, and seems to be such a normal part of the way she approaches eating. Our Western food traditions could use a little bit of that I think :).

tansy said...

mmmm, i'm looking to have more healthy snacks sitting around waiting to be eaten...i'm going to try this one out!

"The mother of us all, the oldest of us all, Hard, splendid as rock, Let the beauty you love, be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth"~ Rumi ~