Celebrating spring with Indian sweets
Across the Northern Hemisphere, spring is starting to bloom! The days are getting longer, the weather is warming up, and there are pops of colour appearing in nature – cherry blossoms and daffodils, and gardens that are starting to come back to life. Around the world, cultures celebrate the arrival of spring with festivals. In Thailand, Songkran is a water fight festival that marks the start of spring and the arrival of a new year; in Japan, people attend the annual Cherry Blossom Festival; in Iran, people celebrate the season with Nowruz, and, across India, there are many celebrations including Holi, the festival of colour celebrated by Hindus, and Hola Mohalla, a Sikh martial festival. Food is a large part of this celebration, as Sikhs perform community service and organize large community kitchens to feed hundreds of thousands of people for free in Anandpur Sahib (one of the most important pilgrimages and religious sites in Punjab) during the three-day festival.
When we think of these festivals, we think of bright colours—like pink, yellow, and orange—and two of our top-selling ingredients come to mind: Tutti Fruity Whole Food Topper and Summer Berry Dip Mix. This also got us thinking about how we could incorporate these flavours into food that’s eaten during these festivals. So, we took a trip to an Indian sweet shop, called the Ladoo Factory, in Surrey, BC, (owned by the Tumber family) to learn more about some popular sweets eaten during Hola Mohalla. Let’s take a look:
JALEBI
Jalebi is an Indian sweet snack popular across Asia. It is made by deep-frying a batter of maida flour (all-purpose flour) in swirls which are then dipped in sugar syrup and served warm or cold. They have a chewy texture and a crystallized sugary exterior coating.
GULAB JAMUN
These little balls of goodness are popular across the world, including India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. They can also be found in areas with substantial populations of people with South Asian heritage, like Mauritius, Fiji, the Malay Peninsula, Great Britain, and South Africa. This dessert is super sweet, consisting of fried dough balls made from milk solids and semolina, soaked with an aromatic syrup spiced with green cardamom, rose water, saffron, and more. Pictured below are regular gulab jamun and coconut gulab jamun.
LADOO
These are some of the most popular sweets at weddings, festivals, and celebrations. Ladoos are typically made with gram flour, sugar, and ghee—only a few ingredients but they are super flavourful. A new trend is adding additional ingredients to ladoos like Oreos and Smarties (a Ladoo Factory speciality) or adding colouring for a modern take on a traditional dessert! We asked the Ladoo Factory if they could make ladoos using our Summer Berry Sweet Dip Mix and Tutti Fruity Whole Food, and they went for it! We’re so excited to share these Epicurized Ladoos! They turned out so well and are the perfect colour to celebrate spring! With hints of strawberry, turmeric, coconut, and more, Summer Berry and Tutti Fruity pair well with the nutty flavour of ladoos.
Make your own ladoos
Ingredients
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons ghee
1 cup chickpea flour, sifted
Seeds of 3 green cardamom pods, finely ground
3 tbsp Summer Berry or Tutti Fruity
1 cup confectioners' sugar
In a large Wok melt the ghee over medium heat.
Add the flour and cook for 5 -8 minutes, stirring constantly, until the it’s golden brown.
Add in the ground cardamom and cook, stirring constantly for 40 seconds.
Remove from heat and add the mixture to a cool mixing bowl. Let it cool to room temperature.
Once it has cooled, add the sugar and Summer Berry/Tutti Fruity and mix well.
Divide into 12 equal parts.
Shape the ladoos with your hands into 1 inch-diameter balls—press firmly into balls. Add more melted ghee (1-2 tablespoons) if the balls are sticking together.
Enjoy!
Thanks for the Ladoo Factory for taking the time to share Punjab sweets with us and for Epicurizing ladoos to celebrate spring!
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