Sunnundalu Recipe

Sunnundalu are festive delights made in Andhra pradesh. They are made with urad dal , sugar/jaggery and ghee. These ladoos are high in protein and fats.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Servings10

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

With Sugar

1 cup urad dal (215 grams)
10 tablespoons organic sugar ( ½ cup + 2 tablespoons, reduce to use refined sugar)
4 green cardamoms (⅓ teaspoon cardamom powder)
¼ cup ghee (2 tablespoons optional, if needed)

With Jaggery

1 cup urad dal
¾ cup jaggery (140 grams, not jaggery powder, adjust to taste, read notes)
4 green cardamoms
6 tablespoons ghee (more if required)

How to make the recipe

Preparation

Optional – You may skip this and the next step. Add urad dal to a bowl and rinse well thrice with lots of water. Quickly drain to a colander. Shake the colander well to get rid of any excess water.
Spread it on a clean cloth and pat dry. Alternately you may spread it on a tray and fan/air dry it for 10 mins.
Without Rinsing Lentils: If you did not rinse the lentils, start on a medium low heat & roast for 5 mins. Later reduce to completely low and roast until aromatic, deep golden and crunchy. Turn off the heat.
With Rinsed Lentils: Add the rinsed urad dal to a heavy bottom pan and begin to roast on a high flame, stirring often for 5 mins. Then reduce the heat to medium and roast for 2 mins. Later reduce the heat to low and roast for another 3 to 4 mins.
Urad dal should turn golden but not burnt. (Check the pictures). You should smell it nutty, aromatic and the dal should be crunchy. Cool the lentils completely.
Test the lentils: Eat a few lentils to make sure they are cooked well. You should not feel them raw or undercooked.
Later add to a grinder jar and make a powder that is slightly coarse like fine semolina or chiroti rava. Make sure it is not too coarse nor too fine. Take 1/8 teaspoon of this mixture and taste it. You should feel a very fine crunch but not too coarse.
With Sugar: Transfer the urad dal flour to a mixing bowl. Add sugar & cardamoms to the same grinder. Make a super fine powder and add that with the urad dal powder. You may want to start with lesser quantity of sugar, taste test and add more. Mix and taste test, adjust the sugar as required. You can also store it in an air tight jar for several months and make ladoos later.
With Jaggery: Keep the urad dal powder in the grinder. Add chopped or grated jaggery (start with lesser quantity) to the grinder and grind for a few minutes until well blended. Taste test and add more if you want. Transfer to a bowl.

How to Make Sunnundalu

Heat ghee in a small pot until it melts and becomes slightly hot. Start by adding 4 teaspoons to the sunnundalu mixture. Mix only a portion of the flour with the ghee until you get a fine wet sand like texture.
Take 3 to 4 tablespoons (a small handful) mixture with your fingers and begin to press down into your palm with your fingers to shape the ladoo. It takes a few minutes to form a ladoo. If the ladoo doesn’t bind, it means you should add more ghee. If it is too soggy and loosely shaped, it means it requires more flour.
Add a few teaspoons of ghee at one time to the mixture and form balls. The jaggery version takes a little more ghee than the sugar ones.
Cool them completely and if you want you press them again to shape properly and smooth. Store sunnundalu in a steel or glass jar. Store at room temperature for a month and in the refrigerator for 3 months.

NUTRITION (estimation only)