Ram Ladoo recipe

If you have ever lived in Delhi or visited the capital city, there is no way you never tasted this delicious snack that is so synonymous with Delhi street food! Ram Ladoo or popularly called Moong Daal Ke Ladoo, is famous street food from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh regions.

You will find vendors selling this street food at almost every lane and street of Delhi. A platter full of Ram Ladoos in front of you is enough to make you forget about everything else happening around you. It tastes so delectable that you would instantly want to dig into it!

Especially during the rainy season or winters when you crave something fried, Ram Ladoos completely take care of your cravings.

What is Ram Ladoo Recipe

Ram ladoo is a popular street food snack from Delhi made with lentil batter. The finely churned lentil batter, along with spices, is used to prepare small bite-sized nuggets, which are then turned into the chaat with an exciting topping of juicy shredded radish, tangy tamarind chutney, and spicy green mint chutney. 

These golden, crispy, and crunchy magical moong dal vadas have become a favorite starter or snack dish that satisfies every soul craving spicy, flavorful, and delicious street food!

Reasons You’ll ♡ Ram Ladoo Recipe

There is no one reason to fall in love with these crispy delicacies! But the most apparent ones are —

• Super easy to prepare.
• Pure bliss on a rainy day. In fact, they are perfect for any weather.
• Perfect appetizers for any get-together or party.
• Completely scrumptious, with a punch of flavors coming from the savory chutneys.
• Gluten-free and vegan too!

The best part, the irresistibly delicious Ram Ladoo recipe is loved by all age groups and make a perfect accompaniment to the evening tea.

Ingredient list for Ram ladoo Recipe

Lentils — Split Peas/ Gram dal and Moong dal form the base ingredients for these ladoos. Lentils are rich in proteins and as such, they make for a protein-rich snack. You can use gram dal in place of split peas for this recipe.

Cumin Seeds — Roasted and ground cumin seeds powder is sprinkled over the Ram Ladoo chaat for its distinctive aroma and intense flavor.

Ginger paste — Added to the Ram ladoo batter for flavor and gingerly spiciness.

Cilantro leaves — Chopped cilantro leaves are used for garnishing the chaat and making it completely drool-worthy.

Asafoetida (Hing) — It adds a distinctive flavor and aids digestion.

Chili powder — Red chili powder is added to the batter for that spicy zing to the Ram ladoos.

Baking Soda — It is added to the batter for the ladoos to become more fluffy and soft. It helps the batter to aerate properly.

Radish — Shredded radish makes the presentation look more irresistible! The juicy shredded radish also adds more flavor to the chaat.

Green Chutney — Made with mint, coriander leaves, and spices, the green chutney, along with the tangy tamarind chutney, creates the real magic in the chaat.

Tamarind Chutney — The tangy tamarind chutney collabs with the spicy green chutney to bring about a burst of flavors in the chaat.

Chaat Masala — A pinch of chaat masala is added for more flavor and zing.

Lemon Juice — Just a squeeze of lemon juice adds tanginess and gives an irresistible effect to the tongue.

How to make Ram ladoo recipe

Let us begin with this straightforward recipe and check out for ourselves what it takes to create a super-indulgent street food that we all love so much!

Soak the lentils — Before you begin, check the lentils for small stones. Take a fine-meshed sieve and rinse the lentils under cold running water to clean any dirt or dust. Set it aside to drain.

Transfer the rinsed lentils to a bowl and cover them with 1 inch water. Cover and let sit for 3-4 hours. 

Grate the Daikon Radish — Rinse and peel the outer layer of radish. Cut the radish lengthwise. Take a small bowl, and using the bigger side of the grater, grate the daikon radish at a 90-degree angle. Once you are done, press the grated daikon in between your palms to squeeze out the water. Cover and set it aside. 

PROTIP — This squeezing of water is an essential step. If there is water in the radish, it will make the Ram ladoos soggy and unappetizing. Also, make sure you do not squeeze it too much because the radish shreds will become dry and unpalatable.

Grind the lentils — Drain and rinse the lentils again after the soak time is over. Add the lentils to a food processor or blender, and pulse into a fine paste.

Open the blender, scrape the lentils from the sides, and pulse again. Prepare a thick batter that is finely ground and smooth textured.

Prepare Ram Ladoo batter — Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl. Add the spices and whisk until combined. Whisk the Ram ladoo batter for about 5-6 minutes or until it is well aerated and double in size.

You can use either a hand whisk, electric whisk, or a stand mixer to aerate the Ram ladoo recipe batter. 

Fry Ram ladoo — Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, drop golf-ball-sized batter into the oil. Fry the ram ladoos for about 7-8 minutes over medium-high heat, turning them occasionally until they turn golden brown.

Remove from heat and set them on a paper napkin to drain. Let them cool.

PROTIP — Do not fry the Ram Ladoos on high heat. The oil should be medium-hot. To check that, drop a little batter in the oil; if it gently floats to the top, the oil is ready. Frying them in hot oil will result in uncooked ladoos.

Likewise, if the ram ladoos are cooked in moderately hot oil, they will soak up oil. 

Assemble Ram Ladoo — Place 5-6 warm ram ladoos is a plate; top them with radish shreds and cilantro leaves. Now, pour the green chutney and tamarind chutney on top. Finally, finish it off with a generous sprinkle of chaat masala and red chili powder.

Serve warm.

Expert tips and variations

Soaking the dals — This is an essential step to making the dals soft. Soaking the dals for at least 3- 4 hours will make the lentils soft and ideal for grinding.

Do not add water to the batter — Prepare a thick batter that is finely ground and smooth textured. Do not add water while churning, as the runny batter will not be easy to handle. The ladoos will not take the round shape as well.

Substitute for baking soda — If you run out of baking soda, you may add ½ tsp of Eno to the batter as it will also help the batter rise and result in fluffy Ram ladoos.

Can alter the size — Ladoos can be shaped to the size you prefer. You may choose bite-sized ladoos, just the way I prepared, or you may prepare a little bigger. It’s entirely your call. However, a bite-sized ball cooks evenly from inside out.

Smooth batter — Churn the lentils to a fine smooth batter. It should be almost like a paste: very fine and not grainy.
When making a big batch- Grind the dals (lentils) in small amounts if you are making ladoos in a big batch. This will ensure a proper grinding that produces a smooth paste-like mixture.

Whisking is important — Whisking the batter is the key to fluffy ladoos. The ladoos should be soft and smooth too, and this depends on how much time you give into whisking the batter. Whisking aerates the Ram ladoo recipe batter, an essential step for getting fluffy ladoos.

Keep the flame medium when frying — Too hot oil will burn the outer covering of the ladoos and keep the ladoos uncooked from the inside. If the oil is not hot, ladoos will soak up the oil and become soggy. So to be sure of frying ladoos in the correct way, keep the heat to medium.

Do not over-fry — Over-fried Ram ladoos turn out to be hard. Do not over-fry the ladoos as they will become dark brown and get hard. Keep a watch over the timing for preparing the perfect golden ladoos.

Non-fried version — You may also prepare these ladoos without frying them in oil. The other way is to prepare them in the appe pan. Though they might turn out to be a little dense due to prolonged cooking, both taste equally good and crunchy.

Variation — You can add grated carrots and beetroot along with the grated radish to bring out a colorful variation to the Ram Ladoo chaat. This is indeed a great way to add a variation to the otherwise also lip-smacking recipe.

Which part of Radish to use — I prefer to use the middle part of daikon radish for this recipe. This part is balanced with sweetness, spiciness, and soft texture.

But if you like it spicy, use the lower part of the radish as it has less water and an intense spicy flavor. Avoid the top piece, as it has a hard texture and is packed with water but has a sweet taste.

Let me know what you think!

If you have never tasted Ram Ladoos and somewhere feel you are missing out on delicious street food, don’t worry; preparing street food has never been easier than this.

This simple and easy-to-prepare Ram Ladoo recipe will walk you through every step so that you can treat yourself and your loved ones to this street-style chaat right away.

Should you make this recipe, please let me know your thoughts by sharing your comment below. And don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.

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