“Wheat- Nachani- Oats- Putani- Kharik Churmundo (Choormundo/ Laddoos)” … prepared these delicious laddoos as an offering of Naivedyam to Shri Ganesha on the 5 th day festive occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi Celebrations … God Bless All ... Jai Guru Ganesh ....
** Churmundo are delicious laddoos prepared on almost all festive occasions to offer as Naivedyam/ Prasadam to God. These are tight bound laddoos were in a mix and match of flours can be used and the only binding ingredient to hold them together here is ghee. Now, the addition of ghee differs from person to person as is their ability to bind the laddoos. Those with experience like my mom can bind them to a smooth finish with lesser addition of ghee while I need a little bit extra, while a few more do add on more to make it easier and faster.
** I usually prepare these laddoos when Mom comes over to stay which really makes it easier for me. I do all the roasting and mixing while she does the binding of laddoos. Now that she is over 86 yrs old, she cannot travel nor can she do the binding properly. So in the last year or so I decided to learn the binding method too as we love these laddoos very much. Moreover, the recent trend of addition of millet, oats or other flours have given on more choices on preparing them, so its sort of a new tasty ones every time.
** I am always thankful to God for this beautiful technology that we are enjoying these days. You just Google and you get a lot of information on each and every subject you desire to study. I am always reading something or the other and over years I have learnt a lot about food, spiritual matters, stories etc. I came across so many laddoo combinations when I browsed that were similar to our churmundo which were named as churmaladoos. I came up with my own mix and match of ingredients and these laddoos turned out delicious.
** To get a good practice on binding using lesser ghees which will give drier textured laddoos, I will be preparing these often with mix and match of different ingredients. So do keep a keen eye on my Blog for more yummier laddoos. Children love laddoos and these are healthier than the sweets you purchase from stores, so try making them at home and I am sure you will not regret doing so. There are many more options shared in my Blog to which I will be sharing a common link at the bottom of this recipe, you may browse through the same.
** Roasting of flours or ingredients on low to medium heat taking good care is the important step here, so be careful about that and do not hurry. Also sieving the sugar powder is also and important step otherwise they tends to remain as small balls in the laddos without proper mixing so take care of the same too. Again, see to it that you use good fresh homemade ghee for the laddoos or from reliable source, so that they remain good for a longer period. Do try these delicious churmundos and enjoy them with your family and friends.
** Here is my simple recipe for … “Wheat- Nachani- Oats- Putani- Kharik Churmundo (Choormundo/ Laddoos)” … My Style ….
** Ingredients :
Gonva Peeta/ Wheat Flour/ Atta : 1 cup
Nachani/ Ragi/ Finger Millet Flour : 2 cups
Putani/ Roasted Gram : 1 cup
Oats : 1 cup
Kharik/ Kharuka/ Dried Dates pieces : 1 cup
Fine Rava/ Barik Chiroti Rava/ Sapooru Rulavu : ½ cup
Besan/ Chane Peeta/ Gram Flour : 2-3 tblsp
Sugar Powder/ Sakhre Pitti/ Pitti Shakkar : 2 cups (Approx)
Cardamom Powder/ Yella Pitti/ Ellaichi Powder : ¼ tsp
Pista : One handful
Cashew nuts : One handful
Ghee/ Toop : 1.5- 2 cups (Appox)
** Roast putani in a thick bottomed kadai till it rawness goes away and it is slightly crisp. You can use the microwave method too, just put them on a glassware mw safe dish and run at 100% for 2 minutes, mix well again run for 2 minutes, mix well, check and if needed run for another minute. Do not burn it or over roast the same, so be careful.
** Roast Oats also in similar manner as above using either using a kaai or microwave method. Be careful in both methods and see to it that you do not brown them, just warm and crisp roasted is enough. Whichever method you use for roasting, once both putani and oats are roasted separately put them on separate plates and allow to cool down.
** Add the roasted putani in a mixer grinder and grind to a very smooth textured powder. Do not run the mixture continuously or the moisture created will make it sticky. To avoid it run the mixer for ½ minute and then mix well and only if needed use pulse method for further grinding. Remove and put this in a wide large bowl and keep it aside.
** Now add roasted oats into the mixer grinder and grind it also to a very smooth textured powder. Remove and add this into the bowl in which putani powder is added. Now add Kharik pieces into mixer grinder and grind it also into a smooth textured powder. Be careful as sometimes it turns out sticky. Remove and add it into the same bowl.
** Now add in the pista and cashew nut into mixer grinder and powder them into a semi coarse powder, there is not need to make it smooth. If the nuts are fresh you can straight away powder them, in case stored ones then roast it slightly if necessary only. Add this also to all the ingredients ground into powder and added in the bowl.
** In a thick bottomed large sized Kadai/ Pan add in the nachani powder and roast on low to medium flame heat till well done. Be careful and avoid roasting it on high flame, you should just remove the rawness of the flour. Remove and let cool a bit and then add this to the ingredients in the bowl and mix all well till all the ingredients have mixed in well.
** Sieve the sugar powder through a fine holed sieve and keep this separately ready aside. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP, the sugar powder should be sieved otherwise if they are lumps or pebble like powder formed in them, they will not mix in well with the powder later on and will remain so or will be difficult to break them down later, so do sieve it.
** About using Ghee : It is difficult to exactly mention on ghee addition as it depends upon individual binding of laddoo capacity. As mentioned above by me on my written matter some are able to bind the laddoos easily with lesser ghee/ drier mixed ingredients while some need a little bit more, and a few more need a lot more especially beginners.
** That is the very purpose I have given the quantity about 1.5 to 2 cups depending upon how much you need. However, do not add the ghee in one go, but follow the same in the steps as mentioned in the recipe carefully. The ghee should be hot and in melted form for using, so do so and keep it ready aside and add on as is necessary only.
** In a thick bottomed kadai add in all of the ghee and let it melt and be hot enough, now remove about half the quantity and keep it aside to added on later as and when necessary. Lower the heat and add besan to the melted ghee in the kadai and fry well for 5 minutes on low heat, till you get a lovely aroma and the besan has changed slightly in color.
** Now add in the rava and further fry for another 5- 8 minutes again till well done. Add the wheat flour and mix well, continue frying for another 5-8 minutes on medium to low heat till the flour has changed slightly in color and the rawness has gone. Do not raise the heat or leave the mixture on fire unattended or it may burn at the bottom.
** Lastly add in the mixed and kept aside mixture and mix well till all the ingredients have been evenly mixed. At this stage you may need more of ghee, so add in a few tablespoons of melted ghee kept aside and mix well. Continue mixing well for about 5 minutes. All the ingredients should have mixed well and been thoroughly heated well.
** Remove from fire, add in sugar powder and cardamom powder to the same when hot itself and mix well with a spatula till the sugar has mixed in evenly. You should do this step fast and not allow the mixture to get cooled down much as the laddoos can be bound easily into shape when the mixture is warm and on cooling you will not get the desired effect.
** Remove a little bit of mixture and knead it into the side of bowl a bit and then try binding them into laddoos. You will have to press hard the lump of mixture in your right hand to get it well done, while with the left hand you should just apply pressure on the fish formed right hand just to enable in preparing the laddoos.
** If you are unable to still prepare the laddoos evenly and they collapse or break up on preparing, then you may need to add in a little bit more of melted ghee, that is the very reason I keep it melted and ready aside, add in a tablespoon or two and mix well and check the same again. As I said, the addition of ghee depends on individual’s capacity to bind.
** Once you are able to do so, prepare even sized laddoos and place them on a try to cool. You can take a measuring bowl to take the mixture and bind it, this way you will get same sized laddoos, though with practice you will not need that. However, do the process fast and do not allow the mixture to get completely cooled, they need to been warm.
** “Wheat- Nachani- Oats- Putani- Kharik Churmundo (Choormundo/ Laddoos)” are done and ready to be offered as Naivedyam to God before distributing the same among family and friends. Store them in air tight container/ stainless steel dabba/ utensil and relish as and when needed. Do share naivedyam with all, as it multiplies your blessings.
** These Churmundos usually remain good for 2 weeks at room temperature and over a month in the fridge. Do remember to use a air tight container for the same. I usually store in fridge in a stainless steel box, so that it remains good for more time. It also keeps me tension free if I have sudden friends visiting me unannounced.
** Sharing My Tips and Tricks of preparing Churmundo Below ...
** Note : Do not add in the sugar powder to mixture into pan when on heat, first remove from fire and then only add the same, you should not do so on flame or the sugar will start caramelizing and the whole thing will turn into a mess by turning softer.
** Note : While preparing, you should press down and keep all prepared mixture to one side of kadai. Then keep removing a little bit from the same to the other side, knead it and prepare the laddoos. By keeping, the mixture tightly pressed down on one side the heat remains within and the cooling process is curtailed making binding of laddoos a easier procedure.
** The trick to get them right is to remove a large fistful of the mixture and make a strong fist to put pressure to the mixture to get set into a round form. Let the excess fall back on the bowl and then keep pressing applying milder pressure to mixture in hand till laddoo has been formed evenly. Then just roll the ball in your palm to get a smoother texture gently.
** Note : While preparing churmundo keep kneading mixture well with hands, and then proceed to prepare the laddoss with the kneaded mixture, this way the ghee within the mixture leaves out and the mixture gets softened and binding become easier and smoother. Once done, remove some more and knead them and continue to bind laddoos and follow similar pattern till all mixture is done and over.
** Note : Binding of churmundo is slightly difficult task and takes a little bit of practice. You can ask you friendly neighbor or relative who knows the same and watch them binding the laddoos live, as I believe there is nothing better than having an experience of preparing food by keen observation. If not you can always refer to any video for the same.
** Note : The addition of ghee should be curtailed as much as possible, to get a dry appearance on the surface of churmundo/ laddoo. If you add too much of ghee you get a glassy/ glaze look which may look appealing, but does not taste so good and gets somewhat stuck to the tongue as you relish the laddoos, making it unpleasant.
** Note : To be on the safer side, keep some melted ghee ready beside if need be and add on a little bit if binding the churmundo/ laddoo becomes difficult till you get the experience of binding them drier. It does take practice, trust me I myself am not able to bind the laddoos in the texture my Mom does and I am still learning the same.
** Note : Finally do not give up on preparation of these laddoo, taking it to be tedious, the challenge always lies in achieving that which is difficult, Isn’t It ?? Also the powder will not go waste you can always relish them a with a spoon if still not able to do them till one day you will finally be able to do so. So its not at all a wastage.
** Note : I have shared a common link for “Chrumundos” below, there are a few step by step pictures there, which will help you in learning the method easily. You can also check up on the link given below for the traditional recipe of "Churmundo", the way my mother prepares, though each home has its own method.
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