Minapa Sunnundalu or Urad Dal Laddu Recipe

Minapa Sunnundalu or Urad Dal Laddu is Andhra's favorite sweet dish that is enjoyed by all ages. 

Sunnundalu or Urad Dal Ladoo is an all time favorite sweet, made and consumed in almost all parts of India. These traditional Andhra sweets are mostly considered as the best sweets for diwali. Irrespective of the occasions and festivals, sunnundalu is made and enjoyed on any day in Andhra, India. The recipe of the delicacy given here is very simple and takes just few minutes for preparation.

Urad dal, jaggery & ghee - a rare combination that acts as an instant energy booster, are used into the preparation of sunnundalu or roasted urad dal laddu. The ingredients used for the preparation are as simple as the preparation steps.
Now let us see how to make Sunnundalu or Urad dal ladoo.

Minapa Sunnundalu Recipe (with Jaggery):

Ingredients:

• 1 cup roasted whole Urad dal flour
• 1 cup grated Jaggery
• 1/2 cup Ghee (in melted form)
• Cardamom powder-------1/2 tsp
• Cashew nuts : 50gms

     Cooking Directions:

1.     In a frying pan, heat and dry roast the whole urad dal (can used split urad dal also) on low heat till they turn very light brown in color and you get nice aroma.

2.     Leave the urad dal to cool.

3.     Grind the urad dal to very fine sand-like powder.

4.     Mix urad dal powder and  jaggery powder in a bowl.

5.     Take a little ghee and fry the cashew nuts in the ghee.

6.     Mix the fried cashew nuts and cardamom powder in the urad dal-jaggery mix.

                     

7.     Heat the remaining ghee and Pour the ghee in the above prepared urad dal-jaggery mixture and mix well.

8.     Leave the mixture to cool down to lukewarm.

9.     Make the mixture into round balls and arrange them in a plate. (laddu size can be varied)

                     Once the sunnundalu (urad dal ladoo) are cooled completely, store them in an airtight container. By the way, the laddus can be stored for over a month.

    Variations:

1.    The same sunnundalu recipe can also be made using black whole urad dal. Black whole urad dal is preferable for its extra nutrition in the skin.

2.    Jaggery can be replaced with 1 cup of sugar powder for the preparation. The quantity of jaggery (or sugar) can be adjusted as per taste.

3.    We can even add almonds and pistachios along with cashews while frying (at step 5).

4.    Adding nuts to this recipe is optional as it gives extra taste and nutritional value to the laddus.

     Sunnundalu Health Benefits:

                  Urad dal, called as black lentil in English, is considered to be a good protein and fiber source. It helps reduce cholesterol.

                  Jaggery, a healthy substitute for white sugar, is good source of iron and minerals. It helps stimulate bowel movement and prevents constipation. It detoxifies the liver as well. Thus is considered as the medicinal sugar. 

                  Ghee is rich in vitamins A & E. Helps in better digestion.

      Calories Alert:

         Check on the intake of the laddu's calories as it is slightly heavy in terms of calories. Needless to say, one will never consider the calories count against the laddus count, considering its taste and nutritious values. Above all, Sunnundalu health benefits offer a great value to kids and pregnant woman.

                  Final Words! Sunnundalu or Urad Dal Laddu made up of sugar or jaggery, make a very healthy and tasty bite for all age groups !