Ram Ladoo or Ram Laddu or Moong Dal Pakode Chaat are fried moong dal pakoda or vadas served with green chutney, sweet-tangy tamarind chutney, juicy grated radish drizzled with some whisked sweet curd and chaat masala.
Ladoos/Laddus are normally sweet in taste, but Ram Laddus are salty and sour crisply fried dal fritters which is spicy snack perfect during winters. Its very famous street food in Delhi. The city boasts endless eateries and yummy winter hot food to provide you with much-needed comfort.
Delhi street food is famous for its flavor and taste. There are several different types of snacks recipes like Samosa Chaat, Katori Chaat, Aloo Tikki Chaat, Gobi Manchurian, Kathi Roll, Pav Bhaji, Pani-puri, Kachori, Veg Momos etc. started in the small Delhi streets but has taken over the entire India.
I have visited Delhi a couple of times, but have never seen this particular dish on the street. I realized, that I haven’t explored Delhi, with the huge variety of foods that it has to offer.
If you happen to visit Delhi you could find local vendors outside every shopping mall or a famous shopping place like Lajpat Nagar, Chandi Chowk, Central Market CP, Janakpuri, South Ex vendors set up their mobile stalls and sell these tempting ladoos dipped in chutneys and topped with shredded radish.
The recipe requires a fair bit of prepping of ingredients, but you can make the green chutneys, tamarind chutney, whisked curd and grated radish salad in advance, then throw everything else together really quickly on the prepared hot crispy fried moong pakoda just before eating and enjoy the chaat.
In this recipe I have used a combination of split moong dal, urad dal and chana dal in a ratio of 4:2:1. However you can tweet the ratio as per your preference and taste just make sure to keep the ratio of moong dal more as compared to other dals. Also do not miss to add couple of tablespoon of radish leave paste or radish leaf-coriander chutney to grounded batter to give these small crunchy bites a unique flavor.
Yesterday we planned to have a movie night at home and my son was super excited to watch his favorite movie “The Croods-A new age”. So I planned to make them as a evening snacks and to play a pretend game like after finishing the movie we all will go to the vendor stall (Kitchen counter) to eat some chaat like we do after coming out of the movie theatre in India 🙂
These are so easy to make that anybody who knows frying can make these without any difficulty. The unique taste and texture of the Ram Ladoos, together with the crunch of radish and the taste of the chutneys is simply awesome!
Dunk them into a paper plate with green chutney, date-tamarind chutney, beaten curd to eat your chat like a real Indian. A plate filled with these yummy and lip-smacking ladoos is a thing any photographer would be tempted to capture.
The dish is sweet, savory, spicy, tart, soft, crunchy all at the same time. You need to try to really understand what I mean. My mouth is watering just by thinking about it. Give it a try you will definitely love this recipe.
Do try other snacks recipes :
- Aloo Tikki Chaat
- Katori Chaat (Air-Fried)
- Pyaaz Ki Kachori
- Mini Dry Samosa
- Samosa
- Samosa chaat
- Layered Samosa
- Potli Samosa
- Dahi Ke Sholay
- Air Fried Stuffed Mushrooms
- Sabudana Vada
- Methi Pakoda
- Paneer Dum Tikka
- Veg Lasagna Poppers
- Paneer Tikka Pizza Sliders
- Veg Momos
- Tandoori Paneer Tikka
- Air-fried Crispy Chickpeas
Preparation Time: 20mins(+Soaking Time) ∏ Cooking Time: 15mins ∏ Servings: 2-4
Level: Intermediate(Medium) ∏ Measurement: 1 Cup ≡ 250 ml ≡ 250gm
Ingredients Checklist:
For Pakoda
For Radish-Coriander Green Chutney
For Radish Salad
For Garnish and Serving
How to make Ram Ladoo:
Soak Dal
Step1: Wash and clean the yellow moong dal, urad dal and chana dal in a deep bowl and soak it in enough water for 5-6 hours or overnight.
Step2: Drain all the water and keep aside.
Make Radish-Coriander Green Chutney
Step3: Wash radish, coriander and mint leaves and remove the hard stems. In a blending jar add them along with roughly chopped 1/2 inch ginger, 2-3 garlic cloves, 2-3 green chili, 1 teaspoon lemon Juice and salt as per taste.
Step4: Now blend it till smooth paste. Add 1-2 teaspoon water if required. Check and adjust salt. Keep aside. Reserve 2 tablespoon chutney which we will add in the pakoda batter.
Make Radish Salad
Step5:In a bowl, add grated radish, green chili, coriander leaves, radish leaves, salt to taste. Add lemon juice and mix well. Keep aside for future use. In a separate bowl take some curd/yogurt add some sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of chat masala whisk until its creamy and smooth, keep it aside.
Make Pakoda Batter
Step6: Transfer the soaked dals into the blending jar along with roughly chopped 1-inch ginger, 2 green chili, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon coriander leaves. Grind them in intervals on pulse mode for 5 to 10 seconds. Scrape off the sides of the jar and then continue to grind.
Do not add any water while grinding. If you are not able to grind, then add very less water (a few teaspoons and then grind).
Step7: Transfer the grounded dal mixture to a large mixing bowl/plate. It should be very fine and not grainy. Should feel like a dal paste. Add a pinch of hing along with Radish-Coriander Green Chutney prepared in Step 4.
Step8: Before frying, using a hand or whisk beat the batter for about 3-4 minutes. Whisk the batter in one direction this will help to incorporated air into the batter and the batter will become light and fluffy and the pakoda will become super soft from inside and crunchy from outside.
Step9: To check if the batter is ready, drop some batter in a bowl filled will water. If the batter floats on top this means batter is light and pluffy and ready to make pakoda.
Step10: Add a pinch baking soda along with salt as per your taste. Mix it well. Batter is ready.
Frying Pakoda
Step11: Meanwhile heat oil in a kadai/wok on medium flame as you whisk the batter. Once the oil is medium hot using a spoon or hand drop the batter one by one into the oil. Do not over crowd the kadai with the pakoras. Add depending on the size of the kadai/wok/pan.
When one side is golden and crisp, gently turn over with a slotted spoon and fry the other side.
Step12: Fry the dal pakoras (fritters) for 3-4 minutes on both sides or until they are golden brown, crisp and cooked from inside. Stir occasionally.
Step13: Remove the dal pakoda with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels.
Step14: Prepare the remaining pakodas by frying them in batches. Reserve some batter for making Chili Pakoda.
Frying Chili Pakoda
Step15: This step is optional but these chili pakodas are great companion of this recipe. To the same batter add some chili. Make a cut/slit in the chili otherwise they may burst in the oil. Coat them well in the batter from all sides.
Step16: Fry them on medium flame for 3-4 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy. Once done drain them on paper towel.
Assembling Ram Ladoo
Step17: You can assemble ram ladoo as soon as they are made or while they are warm. In individual serving bowls or plates, take 7 to 8 ram ladoo. Generously top them with green chutney. You can add less or more. you can also add sweet tamarind chutney at this step along with curd.
Step18: Top up with the radish salad and beetroot julliennes (optional) . Sprinkle some chat masala. Ram Ladoo is ready. Enjoy!
Tips:
- While grinding batter try not to add water otherwise the batter will turn watery.
- Whisk batter for atleast 3-4 minutes in one direction so that batter will become soft and pluffy.
- Do not keep the batter too thick. This is because very thick batter produces somewhat hard and dense dumplings. Similarly, if the batter is thin then the pakoras would absorb a lot of oil. So, keep a medium consistency.
- Fry the pakoda on medium low heat for best result.
[…] Ram Ladoo – Ram Ladoo or Ram Laddu or Moong Dal Pakode Chaat are fried moong dal pakoda or vadas served with green chutney, sweet-tangy tamarind chutney, juicy grated radish drizzled with some whisked sweet curd and chaat masala… […]
[…] Ram Ladoo – Ram Ladoo or Ram Laddu or Moong Dal Pakode Chaat are fried moong dal pakoda or vadas served with green chutney, sweet-tangy tamarind chutney, juicy grated radish drizzled with some whisked sweet curd and chaat masala… […]