Damtyache ladu / Besan Poori laddoo / Puriche ladu / Crumbled Besan Poori Ladoo / दामट्याचे लाडू

Directions

• In a bowl, mix the besan with the salt and knead to a tight dough by adding water a little at a time. Besan sticks to hands so keep a little bowl of oil handy and keep your hands greased. Alternatively, if you have a dough mixer, pop the dough hook attachment on, chuck the flour into the mixer bowl and let it run on low speed for 10 minutes. The dough should be neither too tight nor too loose.
• Transfer the dough onto a pastry board and make it pliable with well-oiled hands. Roll into a log. Divide the log into lime-sized balls and set aside.
• Lightly grease the dough balls with oil and roll out into pooris (2-3mm thick discs) using a rolling pin. It doesn’t matter if they’re not perfectly round.
• Lay the pooris on grease-proof paper on a baking tray or flat surface.
• Heat the ghee in a karahi or deep bottomed frying pan over a low to medium flame. When the ghee is hot enough deep fry the pooris one or two at a time until ever so lightly golden.
• Allow the excess ghee to drip back into the karahi as you remove them to a kitchen paper lined bowl or plate. Repeat until all the pooris are fried.
• Transfer the pooris onto a wide flat surface and tear them into small pieces. Rub them between your palms to crumble them.
• Grind the crumbled pooris to make a coarse flour. It should be a little grainy, like semolina.
• Transfer to a wide bowl. Throw in the raisins and half the slivered pistachios. Drizzle the melted ghee and mix thoroughly.
• In another pan over a medium flame, make a sugar syrup by adding the sugar and water. As it starts to bubble and thicken, check the consistency by dropping onto a plate. If the sugar syrup is ready if it doesn’t run when you tilt the plate. You can also carefully try stretching the sugar syrup between your thumb and index finger. If it forms a single strand it’s ready.
• Once the sugar syrup has achieved the correct consistency, tip in the cardamom and saffron. Add the grated nutmeg.
• Pour the sugar syrup a little at a time over the ground pooris as you mix with a spatula or spoon.
• Pop a lid or plate over the bowl and allow the mixture to rest for an hour.
• Mix again. Using an ice-cream scoop or by hand, pull together a walnut-sized ball of the mixture. Grease your palms with a little ghee. Roll each ball of dough between your palms  until a perfectly round  ladoo is formed. Place a sliver of pistachio, if you like, on top of your ladoo and gently press it down. Repeat until all the poori flour mix is finished.
• Lay the ladoos in a flat and moisture free airtight container with a lid where they’ll keep for well over a month. Leave them either at room temperature or in the fridge.