GINGER COFIELD LAKHANI’s LASAN KE LADU
Lasan ke Ladu is a Gujarati breakfast dish made out of millet flour and green garlic. I learned how to make it from my father-in-law and mother-in-law, and prior to making it on my own had only ever had it at their house. From what I understand, it’s a dish that would only be made at home and not found in restaurants. Typically, after I eat breakfast I’m hungry again in under two hours, but this dish sustains me until lunch. Green garlic is the early sprout of garlic, harvested before it turns into a bulb. It has a fresh, less pungent garlicky taste, somewhere between garlic and an onion. It’s hard to find throughout the year, so last year when it arrived at the farmer’s market in early spring, I bought several bunches and attempted making Lasan ke Ladu for the first time. While it does require several steps these can be done over a few days if time is tight, as it often is for me with three kids. This year with the farmer’s market not operating in April, I contacted a garlic farmer who personally delivered six bunches to my house and was just now happy to see another bunch arrive in my Blossom bag, a weekly service from Squash Blossom that is full of produce from farmers of and around Northern New Mexico.
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups millet flour (If possible, use the Bajri flour found in Indian grocery stores).
Butter or ghee
Salt to taste
1 cup chopped green garlic
1 cup olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
The first step is to make rotla (millet bread) with the flour and water. Mix the 3 cups of flour with 1 1/2 cups water in a large mixing bowl and knead with hands until a paste is formed. Add more water if needed until the below consistency is reached. Form the batter into balls that fit into the cup of your hands, and then flatten each one by one, adding them to a hot, buttered skillet or skillet with ghee as you go. Allow one side to get golden with some brownish spots before flipping to cook the other side. Store rotlas on an uncovered sheet pan for a few hours or overnight if possible to allow them to dry out as this will be better for the ladu mixture the next day.
Heat olive oil in a medium-sized sauce pot until hot but not smoking. Add chopped green garlic. Fry garlic for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Remove the oil and garlic from heat and set aside to cool.
Break up rotla inside a large mixing bowl using your hands until it is fully crumbled. Add the cooled green garlic and oil and a few teaspoons of salt. Continue to mix with hands until everything is thoroughly combined. Taste for salt and add more if desired.
Shape the mixture into balls using your hands. Keep rotating and pressing the ball together until it is able to hold its’ shape. Bake what you plan to eat right away in either the oven at 400 degrees or an air fryer for 7-8 minutes until the outsides have turned a darker brown and some bits of the garlic are golden. The ladus may break apart a bit, so just add all pieces to the plate. Serve hot with yogurt. This dish is also traditionally served with Baingan Bharta, a spicy eggplant dish. One version of this recipe can be found here.
The remaining ladus can be stored in either the fridge to eat within a week or in the freezer. If freezing, defrost at room temperature before baking.
Posted May 29, 2020