Aralu unde / Puffed paddy laddu

Aralu unde or puffed paddy laddu is a traditional sweet from coastal Karnataka. These are jaggery based sweets with an earthy flavour. They are crunchy laddu with nutty flavors from peanuts and sesame seeds.

Aralu unde are traditionally prepared with aralu (puffed paddy rice), peanuts, sesame seeds, ghee. These are mainly prepared during Krishna Janmashtami and Ganesha Chaturti.

The recipe of aralu unde or puffed paddy laddu is like puri unde or murmura laddu.

If you have ever tried making laddu using puffed rice or murmura then this time try this laddu for a change. I am sure everyone in your family will like it.

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Check a quick video of how to make Aralu unde or puffed paddy laddu in the recipe card and try this in your kitchen. If you have enjoyed the video do subscribe to Dice n Cook Youtube channel for more food videos.

About the recipe

In kannada, we call this laddu as aralu unde or bhattada aralu unde a delicacy from coastal Karnataka. These are crunchy with earthy flavours from jaggery and delicate aroma of cardamom or yellakki.

The key dry ingredients like puffed paddy, roasted peanut powder and roasted sesame seeds are mixed in a bowl. To this we add soft ball consistency jaggery syrup along with ghee and cardamom. Well mixed and laddu are made quickly when mixture is still warm.

Making jaggery syrup is very much like puri unde. So I suggest using a thick bottomed pan or wok or kadai.

From the given recipe measurements, you can make about 22 to 24 medium sized ladoo.

They are great teatime snacks and healthy mid-day dessert for kids lunchbox.

Why will you love this recipe?

Easy to make festival sweet

Jaggery based sweet recipe

Festival laddu recipe

South Indian sweet

Coastal Karnataka style laddu

A great after meal dessert

Party dessert

Healthy dessert

Homemade and better than store brought ones.

Its glutenfree sweet recipe

Here’s a list of some of the most popular South Indian laddu recipes from my blog

Puri unde or Murmura laddu

Rava Laddu

Dice n Cook is a participant in Amazon Services LLC Associate Program. Hence this site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Dice n Cook will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost of you. Read the privacy policy here.

Equipment

Thick bottomed wok – this is used to make jaggery syrup. I recommend using a thick

Mixing bowl – I have used a glass mixing bowl to mix the dry ingredients like puffed paddy, peanut powder. You can use any wide mouth bowl like stainless steel to mix.

Ingredients Notes

Aralu or Puffed paddy powder –

Puffed paddy or battada aralu is commercially available as making at home is cumbersome, we get good cleaned aralu in Mangalore stores in Bangalore. If you are in coastal Karnataka, then you can easily find them in every shop in towns and villages.

Sun dried paddy is heated on sand at high temperature, the grain swells and burst into a soft white product called puffed paddy, details here

Store brought dust free puffed paddy is used to make this laddu.

Jaggery powder –

Any variety of jaggery can be used. Coconut jaggery, palm jaggery or liquid jaggery, powder jaggery.

You can use any variety of jaggery but cooking it into soft ball jaggery syrup is very important, otherwise you cannot make a laddu.

I prefer not to use huge chunks of jaggery instead use grated or crushed jaggery, that gets easily dissolved in water.

Roasted peanut powder –

Homemade roasted peanut or groundnut (kadalekai beeja) is used in this laddu recipe. (Method to make roasted peanut powder is given in detailed recipe below section) You can also use store brought roasted peanuts.

Roasted white sesame seeds –

I have used homemade roasted sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are available in two forms, non-roasted and roasted. It’s very easy to make. Simply roast white sesame seeds on low flame until few of them turn golden and

We can use directly store brought roasted sesame or yellu seeds in making laddu.

Ghee –

Homemade ghee was added to get the best flavors. Butter doesn’t work

Water –

We use water to melt jaggery and prepare the syrup used for making laddu

Cardamom or yelakki –

Powdered cardamom is added for flavors. Yelakki as we call in Kannada is commonly used in most of the Indian sweets.

Rice Flour –

We use rice flour to shape laddu. This prevents the sticking of aralu to the palm.

Detailed recipe of aralu unde

Aralu unde recipe can be divided into these parts

These are the preparations before making aralu unde

How to make puffed paddy powder at home ?

If you don’t have puffed paddy powder, can always make at home. Clean the store bought puffed paddy aralu, check for any pest or rice hulls (outer covering of paddy).

Always powder them in small quantities and mix it well. You can completely powder it very fine and use it or make a coarse powder so that there are bits of it.

My family doesn’t like completely powdered aralu so coarsely powdered it in the laddu recipe.

After making the powder, keep it aside.

Mixing dry ingredients

Keep all the dry ingredients mentioned above ready before making the jaggery syrup. In a mixing bowl, add powdered aralu, roasted peanut powder, roasted sesame seeds. Mix all these. Keep it aside until we make jaggery syrup.

How to make jaggery syrup?

Making jaggery syrup is an important step to make any laddu. Soft ball consistency jaggery syrup is important step to a perfect laddu. If the syrup has not reached soft ball consistency the aralu powder doesn’t hold its shape and falls apart. Otherwise, if the syrup is hard ball consistency then the hot laddu mixture hardens up very quicky and you will be unable to make the laddu. The laddu will be very hard to bite.

So let’s see how to make a perfect jaggery syrup.

Firstly, use powdered jaggery to make the process of dissolving in water easier. Add water to powdered jaggery and dissolve it completely in a thick bottomed wok.

Filter this jaggery to remove any impurities. Always do this whenever you make any kind of laddu.

Pour this filtered jaggery solution back into the wok and start boiling again. As you boil it thickens and starts forming thread like consistency.

To check the consistency, drop little jaggery syrup into a bowl of water. Syrup settles down, bring it together and it should form a soft ball. This is right consistency of jaggery syrup to make laddu.

If the syrup doesn’t reach the consistency, you cannot form the ball. So, continue to boil further until you get soft ball consistency.

After you reach this consistency, switch off the heat and add ghee and cardamom powder. Mix well.

Mixing jaggery syrup with dry ingredients

Pour the soft ball consistency jaggery syrup into the aralu mixture.

Now quickly mix the entire mixture and jaggery syrup together.

Everything comes together becoming sticky, now dust your palm with rice flour and take a fist full of laddu mixture and make laddu.

Instead of rice flour you can grease your hand with ghee and make laddu.

Greasing your palm with ghee or rice flour helps prevent the sticking of laddu mixture and makes it easy to make laddu.

Make all laddu before everything cools down. Otherwise, mixture dries out and you cannot make the laddu.  

Storage suggestions

Allow the laddu to cool at room temperature for an hour and then store them in airtight container.

You can keep these at room temperature and enjoy them. However, if you keep them in refrigerator, thaw it to room temperature and then serve them. Since the ghee solidifies after refrigeration, the ladoo becomes hard.

Do not store them hot or warm in airtight container, laddu becomes soggy and soft. Also do not overload the container and press them, they tend to break apart. So carefully place them in airtight container.

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Recipe Card

Recipe variations

1. Whole puffed paddy can be used instead of powdered puffed paddy.
2. I have used homemade puffed paddy powder instead store brought ones can also be used.
3. Halved roasted peanuts can be used instead of powdered roasted peanuts.
4. We can also use cashewnuts and almonds for extra crunchiness.
5. Roasted chana dal or hurigadale can be used in this recipe.
6. While making laddu we can apply ghee instead of dusting our hands with rice flour.
7. Clove powder or lavanga pudi can be used instead of cardamom powder to make these laddu. Just take care not to add too much of it as it becomes overpowering.
8. You can also add roasted poha along with aralu.

Important key notes to make perfect aralu unde

1. Preparing the aralu is important step: Always use cleaned, free from rice hulls, stones to make this laddu.
2. This recipe is good for powdered aralu however we can make laddu with whole puffed paddy also. Simply replace powdered ones with whole puffed paddy in the recipe.  
3. Jaggery should be crushed or grated as it helps melting fast in water.
4. It is always best to use thick bottomed pan or kadai to prepare the jaggery syrup.
5. Always use fresh ghee to make laddu. If you want to make the laddu use can also use ghee
6. Do not leave the aralu mixture after mixing it with jaggery syrup. It will dry up soon and further you cannot make laddu.
7. It’s always right to store in airtight container and keep them at room temperature. They keep good for 10 days at room temperature.

Frequently asked questions

How to make roasted peanut powder?

Select good quality peanuts or groundnuts. Using a thick bottomed pan, fry the peanuts on medium heat until the outer skin turns roasted or charred. This in turn roasts the inner peanuts. Do not over roast it or burn them. If it becomes completely dark or black, they do not taste good. So, take care to roast on medium heat.

Put these roasted peanuts on a kitchen napkin and fold the one side of napkin on the peanuts and start rubbing it. This way the outer skin peels away. Blow away the peels and separate out the roasted peanuts.

You can powder these coarse or fine and use in making laddu. Do not powder it continuously as peanuts will release oil and becomes peanut butter. So simply churn for few seconds and it will perfectly become powder.

If you don’t have time and feel difficult making these roasted peanuts, then you can use store brought deskinned roasted peanuts and powder it at home.

Can we use sugar to make this laddu?

Yes we can use sugar to make aralu unde, however jaggery laddu taste earthy and more flavourful. Use little less sugar than mentioned in the recipe.

Why is the laddu mixture falling apart?

If the jaggery syrup is thick or hard ball consistency the laddu mixture hardens fast and doesn’t hold.

Why is my aralu laddu very hard to bite?

Aralu laddu becomes hard if the jaggery syrup is hard and you have boiled it too much. So carefully make soft ball consistency jaggery syrup for perfect laddu.

Can I refrigerate the ladoos?

Yes you can store them in airtight containers under refrigeration. However they slightly hard up, you can serve them by bring into room temperature.

Can we serve this to kids?

Yes these can be served as snacks to kids of all ages as they are healthy and delicious.

How long can these be stored?

They stay fresh for 15 to 20 days and if refrigerated can be stored for a month.

Are these glutenfree sweet laddu?

Yes these are glutenfree ladoos.

Can these be made dairy-free?

Yes these can be made dairy-free by skipping ghee added to the jaggery syrup or use only rice flour to make laddu.

Can we use condensed milk to make laddu?

I have never tried using condensed milk to make this laddu, however you can try using it. Add little less than the quantity of jaggery as mentioned in the recipe.

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