Gond ke laddu are a rich, delicious and wholesome sweet treat enjoyed during the winters in North India. Gond is a kind of plant derived edible gum that has been enjoyed in traditional Indian foods as it is believed to have medicinal values. Whole wheat flour, almonds, cashews, desi ghee are the other key ingredients used to make these energy balls.
Gond ladoo are most often given to women recovering from childbirth. However gond ke ladoo are good for people of all age groups including kids and toddlers. Gond laddu are rich in iron, protein and calcium.
Regular consumption of gond ke laddu for several weeks is said to rejuvenate the entire body by strengthening the bones, improving immunity and digestion. Gond ke laddu provide heat to the body due to the addition of wheat flour (atta), gond and nuts. So these can prevent seasonal cold not only in kids but also in grown ups.
There are many variations you can make to these ladoos by adding poppy seeds (khus khus), dates, dried dates, sesame, makhana etc. In this post I have used only the ingredients that are basic and can be eaten by women after childbirth.
Health benefits of gond or edible gum
1. Gond has about 50% calcium and 20% of magnesium in it. So regular consumption of gond helps to strengthen the bones, spine and teeth.
2. Gond also helps in constipation and corrects minor digestive disorders.
3. It is also believed that regular consumption of gond (for 3 to 4 weeks) helps in managing arthritis as it is anti-inflammatory.
4. It is proven to be great for women with chronic back pain as it helps to strengthen and rejuvenate the backbone.
5. Gond helps in lactation and improves the quality of breast milk.
6. Lastly it helps the uterus to regain its strength and size after the childbirth.
Tips on using gond
1. If you are a breastfeeding mother and has never eaten gond, then please consult your elders, gynac or an Ayurvedic expert.
2. Do not confuse gond with gond katira, another kind of ebdible gum. Both are different. Gond is known as Dink in marathi and Antu in Kannada.
3. Please buy gond from a reliable source. Uually Ayurvedic shops sell this in India and is also sold in grocery or super markets. In abroad it is sold only in Indian stores and is a seasonal product, not available through out the year.
These gond ladoo can also be made during festivals and are great to enjoy as a snack anytime.
More Ladoo recipes
Badam ladoo
Ragi ladoo
Coconut ladoo
Rava laddu
Dry fruits ladoo
Gond ke laddu
Gond ke laddu recipe | Gond laddu recipe | Edible gum balls
Wholesome and nutritious gond ke laddu made with edible gum, whole wheat flour, nuts, jaggery and ghee. These are high in calcium, protein and iron. Gond laddu can be eaten by women recovering from childbirth, kids and people of all age groups.
Ingredients (240 ml cup used)
- 1¼ cup wheat flour or atta
- ¾ to 1 cup jaggery powdered or gud (I used ¾) or powdered sugar
- 5 to 6 tbsp ghee (more if needed)
- 1/3 cup gond about 65 grams or edible gum or antu
- 2 tbsp dried coconut or copra - optional
- ¼ cup almonds & cashews (chopped or pulsed in mixer)
- 1 tbsp chironji optional
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder or elaichi
How to make the recipe
Preparation for gond ke laddu
Clean gond well removing pieces of bark or stones if any. It is good to buy cleaned gond.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Fry the almonds, cashews and chironji until slightly golden. Then add coconut and fry just for a minute. Remove and set aside.
Pour 2 tbsp more ghee and fry gond on a medium heat stirring well. Soon the gond will puff and turn light. Remove this as well to a plate and coarsely crush this with a rolling pin. If you like it fine, blend it with few fried nuts. Keep this aside.
Next pour 2 tbsps more ghee and heat. Saute wheat flour in this stirring often until it turns aromatic and golden. Remove from the stove.
Add the fried cashews, almonds and gond. Also add in cardamom powder. Mix all of these and let the temperature slightly come down but still hot.
Then add in jaggery and mix well to incorporate the ghee in gond with the laddu mixture. If using sugar, powder it and use.
Making gond ke laddu
When the mixture is still hot, take small portions of this and roll to balls. If the mixture is too dry heat 1 to 2 tbsps ghee and pour it.
Store gond ke laddu in air tight jar and use upto a month.
Recipe Notes
Under cooked or under puffed gond can cause stomach problems so make sure to use enough ghee and puff it well.
Preparation for gond ke laddu
1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee.
2. Fry chopped almonds and cashews until lightly golden. You can also fry the whole nuts, cool and coarsely crush in blender.
3. Add dried coconut and fry lightly. You can add more or skip this. Dried coconut is a rich source of calcium. Do not use fresh coconut as it reduces the shelf life.
4. Saute just for a minute.
5. Remove all of these to a plate. If you are using khus khus add them now and fry until they turn golden & crunchy.
How to fry gond
6. Add gond to a plate and clean up if it is not clean. You may find tiny pieces of the bark or stones stuck to the gond, just discard them.
7. I used about 2 tbsp ghee to fry the gond. It will puff well if a good amount of ghee is used and fried well on a medium high flame. Unpuffed gond can cause stomach problems and sticks up to the tooth while eating.
8. When the ghee turns hot, add the gond to it. Do not use a nonstick pan as it will scratch up.
9. Keep stirring and fry until all of it has puffed well. If needed add another tbsp ghee at this stage.
10. Remove it to a plate. Gond will absorb all of the ghee. Crush it well with the base of a cup or just pulse it in a mixer.
Frying atta
11. If you think your gond is not very clean, then clean up the pan with a tissue. You may find some unclean particles in the pan. Pour 2 tbps more ghee and heat up. Add atta or wheat flour.
12. Saute on a medium to low flame until it turns deep golden and aromatic. The atta should not have any raw taste in it.
13. Turn off the stove. You can add crushed gond or pulse it in a mixer. I went ahead pulsing it with some nuts as my kids don’t like the crushed one.
Making gond ke laddu
14. Remove it from the stove. Add the nuts, cardamom powder and gond. Mix everything well.
15. Add powdered jaggery or powdered sugar. If using grated jaggery, make sure you grate it fine.
16. Mix well to incorporate the ghee in the gond with the rest of the mixture.
17. Roll to balls when the mixture is slightly hot. If needed pour some ghee if you have a trouble binding them. I did not use any extra.
Store gond ke laddu in a air tight jar and use up to a month.
Nitu says
When to add Khus Khus. Should we dry roast it separately before adding to the mixture.
swasthi says
Hi Nitu
Sorry I am late in replying. Yes dry roast the khus khus separately on a low flame until crunchy and add to the mixture
Mamatha says
How to make these Laddu without wheat flour? How much jaggery and ghee to reduce? Pls reply
swasthi says
Hi Mamatha
I am not sure how to adjust the jaggery and ghee. I have another recipe in drafts without using atta. I can share it in sometime.