There have been many horrendous after-effects of the lockdown, one of them is how healthy young children in the slums have fallen back into malnutrition. As slum families were left with no job and income to feed their children, many have survived the lockdown with one single meal a day. This is how children aged 5 and under have started to fall back into malnutrition in the slums.
The young children in ASHA communities are rapidly falling into malnutrition due to severe financial disadvantages in the families. To arrest this process, Asha Great Britain Board Member and author of Hope and Spice Amanda Clegg has created a wonderful high-calorie high protein Laddoo (round-shaped Indian sweet). We have decided to call it ‘Asha High Energy Laddoo’. This Laddoo was inaugurated by me today at Zakhira, and the children absolutely loved it. Each Laddoo is approximately 387 calories. It contains peanuts, gram, jaggery, milk powder, desiccated coconut, ghee and cardamom powder. Please find below some pictures of the children enjoying the laddoo.
Here is the recipe. Do try it. It’s delicious. Maybe your children will love it too.
Asha High Energy Ladoo- Makes 13
This recipe has been developed to provide a nutritious ladoo that is high in calories and therefore is a good source of energy. Packed with roasted gram, peanuts, milk powder, coconut, each ladoo is a good source of fat, carbohydrate, and protein.
The peanuts provide magnesium and iron, the milk powder is high in calcium, the coconut is high in manganese and the jaggery provides iron and potassium. The ghee is an excellent source of energy and also contains omega 6 fatty acids. Dietary fibre comes from both the peanuts and the roasted gram.
Each ladoo is approximately 387 calories.
The cup measurements used are UK cups ie 1 cup= 250ml, ½ cup =125ml, ¼ cup =60ml.
1 ½ cups roasted gram
1 cup raw peanuts
¾ cup milk powder (full fat)
¼ cup sweetened desiccated coconut
1 cup jaggery
1 ¼ cups ghee
½ teaspoon ground cardamom (elaichi)
Dry roast the peanuts in a frying pan over a medium to low flame for 5 minutes, until toasted and golden. Cool and de-skin (if necessary). Grind to a coarse mixture and set aside.
Toast the coconut in the same pan over low heat until just golden, stirring regularly so it does not catch or burn. Set aside.
Grind the roasted skinned gram into a fine powder and set aside. (You may be able to get this ready ground?).
Melt ½ cup of ghee in a large pan and when it is completely liquid, add the gram powder and stir well. Cook gently for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time, then add the ground peanuts, toasted coconut and milk powder. Mix together and then cook over very low heat, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is a deep golden colour. Be careful it does not burn. Remove to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Melt the remaining ghee in the same pan, and when it’s melted, add the jaggery. Let it dissolve slowly into the ghee, stirring well. Take it off the heat and pour the liquid into the gram mixture. Sprinkle in the ground cardamom, stir well and mix until fully combined. The mixture will look like wet crumbs.
Form the mixture into 15 even-sized round ladoos, then leave them to firm up for 2-3 hours. Store in an airtight container.
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