Laddu: The National Sweet Dish Of The Subcontinent
Laddu is the nation’s favourite dish. From old to young, everyone enjoys having laddus. Laddus are a permanent feature during celebrations and festivals be it religious festivals or some personal life event, for example, when one’s wedding is announced, laddus are shared among relatives and friends. Laddu, the sweet, really brings sweetness and joy to one’s life. If you know how to make laddu like the character of Sridevi in English Vinglish, you are considered an asset to the family! In the Hindu religion, the sweet is even associated with Lord Ganesha who loved laddus. There is not just one laddu; there are several types of laddus. Every region of India has come up with its own version of laddu — this is surely telling how the citizens of India are crazy about this round-shaped sweet dish! There are so many different types of laddus from Foxtail Millet laddu to Narayl Nakru to makhana laddu.
The History Of The National Sweet Dish
It comes as a shock to many when they learn that the sweet dish was never invented to be eaten as a dessert or to satisfy one’s sweet tooth; instead the dish was invented to make patients consume some seeds or bitter concoctions made by the veds without throwing many tantrums, because who likes having that bitter taste of the herbal concoction in their mouth? Hiding the sesame seeds or coating them with honey and then shaping them into round balls made the patients more willing to take their medicines. The sweetness drowned the bitterness of the herbs and the seeds. There is one story where a ved’s assistant accidentally put too much ghee in a mix. To balance that out and to cover his mistake, he made the mix into small round balls — that is laddus got their circular shapes. Historians ad culinary experts believe that laddus apart from being used as medicines they were also used to keep the hormones of teenage and preteen girls in check.
There is another story that tells all sweet lovers how til ke laddus were discovered. Once in 4BC, there lived a legendary surgeon who was popular throughout the subcontinent for his skills and expertise in the field of medicine. His name was Susruta, The Elder. While you may love your til ke laddu recipes, the oldest til ke laddu recipe which only consisted of sesame seeds, jaggery and honey, was used as an antiseptic by Susruta to treat patients. Honey coated sesame seeds were more easily digested by the patients. Since the aftertaste of the sesame seeds would not linger anymore, patients did not have a problem taking the medication.
Laddus went through a change with the arrival of British and Sugar, also known as the White Poison. One laddu was named Thaggu ke Laddu by the creator of the dish Mattha Pandey because one of the ingredients used was sugar.