Healthy Foxtail Millet Snack - Simple Thinai Laddu

Thinai/Foxtail millet has the longest history of cultivation. It is even considered to be the first crop cultivated by human. In South India, it is still a staple diet among people. It has loads of nutritional and health benefits. This sweet Laddu recipe is a healthy indulgence. It has no added white sugar or food colouring.

Ingredients

1 cup foxtail millet (thinai arisi)

8 - 10 cashewnuts

1 cup jaggery

2 tablespoon water

3 cardamom

Preparation

• Wash and soak the millet in water for about five minutes. 
• Drain the water and spread the millet on a cloth lined plate and let it dry for about an hour.
• Dry roast thinai in a pan and once the colour slightly changes and you smell a nice aroma from it, stop roasting and allow it to cool.
• Once cooled, grind coarsely in a mixer jar. 
• Meanwhile take equal measure of jaggery to the powdered thinai. Melt it in hot water and strain it. 
• Heat a tbspn of ghee and fry cashews till golden brown.
• To the same pan, add the pulsed thinai and add the jaggery syrup little by little till the powder can be shaped into balls. 
• Roll into balls and enjoy this traditional snack!

Tips:

1. Most recipes we can find online ask us to powder the dried thinai finely, but the laddu tastes crunchy good if we powder it coarsely.
2. Adding a pinch of cardamom powder can elevate the aroma goodness of this laddu.

CHEF's Corner.

I'm Sowmya - a mom who loves tweaking foods-that-my-kids-love and making it healthier. Dishing out few-minute-recipes is what I consider myself good at.