Thandai laddu | oats coconut ladoo

Thandai ladoos are a mix of oats, coconut and chickpea flour laddus flavoured with thandai spice mix. These are perfect treats for your Holi gathering, doubling up as snacks for the week. the mix of oats, coconut and chickpea flour that comes together with jaggery and ghee.

Hand-rolled laddus are a treat! It talks about all the love and effort from simple ingredients that make it as a treat. In our house laddus predominantly becomes our snack box treat or an afterschool snack. Since there is plenty of variety to choose from, one or the other type gets in the meal prep and is ready for the week
Some of our house favourites are
Peanut ladoo
Dates and nuts laddu
Sattu ladoo
Mango pineapple ladoo
Bread ladoo
Since Holi was fast approaching   I wanted to test out a thandai-flavoured laddu with the fresh batch of thandai masala mix from the super hit instant thandai masala mix. The pantry was limited this week so the base was pretty much whatever I had left in lesser quantities. oats, coconut and chickpea flour all went in together to make this ladoo.  The resultant ladoo turned out so good I had only a few to take photographs with as we kept munching on them as we made them.

Ingredients for Thandai Laddu

As I said before, I had a few things that haven’t made enough into my grocery list and the laddu that was done with no rethought took some necessary mixing of ideas.

Oats: Rolled oats form a great base for this recipe that is going to double up as my snack for the week (well if any remains). It was soft and starchy was crisp when roasted and held up pretty well in the laddu. 

Coconut: the desiccated coconut that is shredded adds nuttiness and crunch to the ladoo. Moreover, it has the oiliness to hold this laddu together.

Chickpea flour: besan or chickpea flour has been the top pick for most Indian laddus. This is because of its smooth texture and the superb nutty aroma when noted. Needless to say, the protein-rich nature of the flour makes it a great choice for ladoos.

Jaggery: I liked making this laddu with jaggery powder. Is it the only sweetness provider, no, you can use simple sugar to make this laddu. As we are going for a bit more healthier ingredients, jaggery is my choice.

Thandai masala mix: The instant thandai masala mix that we had to make again as it was loved more than I thought is the one that lends its flavour to this laddu. We loved the slight bit of spices and black pepper that added great flavour to this recipe.

Ghee: ghee is used to hold the recipe to shape. Use melted ghee as it adds the liquid content that helps to hold this ladoo together. 

Let’s make the Laddu

Dry roast the base: the oats, coconut and chickpea flour are roasted at first. This gives the nutty aroma and makes the base crisp. Use a heavy pan and on low heat with constant mixing so that there is no burn. Since it is a mix of flour and grains it can easily burn. once crisp and the oasts snap well, Remove from heat and cool the mix.

Blend to a smooth flour: Once the base ingredients are cooled at room temperature, Blend them to form a smooth flour all together. Add the thandai masala mix and blend again. This is your base mix.

Blend with the sweetener: Crush the jaggery cubes into smaller bits. Add jaggery and the grain base together into the mixer and pulse to blend. when blended smoothly, transfer to the mixing bowl and set it aside.

Shaping the laddu: warm the ghee till it melts and spoon in a teaspoon at a time in the centre of the mix. Mix in the flour a little at a time and when the flour starts to hold together, press and shape into little balls. keep the hand moving so it forms a smooth surface. Watch this quick reel to see how that is done. 

Meal prep and storage.

This oats coconut ladoo that I have made is our double-up for snacks. It stays well outside in a closed jar and fairs as well as any other classic cookie. So can easily be stored for a month. Ensure that you have it in an airtight dry food container and that there is no moisture in your hands when you remove some for consumption.

Why does my laddu not bind?

Laddu mix usually does my bind well for two reasons. Firstly, shallow liquid content leaves a dry mix. This is hard to bind. The liquid part is ghee, so ensure the ghee is in a melted state and add a little at a time so you know the laddu is good to hold. If this doesn’t seem to work well, sprinkle some milk to help with the binding.
The second reason for the ladoo not binding well may be the pressure applied. Once the mix holds to shape upon pressing the balls are made by gently pressing them and constantly turning them. Since these are made with a flour mix, excessive pressure will break them easily.

Can this laddu be sugar-free?

Absolutely. You can make this ladoo with stevia powder or any of the sugar-free powders. If you are using agave or maple syrup the liquid content will be higher, so you need to avoid adding any ghee. As for the quantity, it is better to add a bit of the syrup at a time, till the mix feels soft. Then coat your palms with ghee and roll the balls.

Can this be a nut-free laddu?

Unfortunately, this is not a nut-free laddu as the flavour relies on thandai masala which is made with nuts. You could try the dates and poha ladoo instead for a fulfilling snack.

Stay connected

Hope you like trying out this thandai laddu. We enjoyed creating some unique dishes for this festival season. It is a long time since we celebrated Holi so we have the custard and the masala doodh ready to go. If you have tried our instant thandai mix, the easy thandai custard or this thandai ladoo, do tell us in the comments which you liked the best.
Happy Holi!
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