Panam Kizhangu Laddoo

Tradition and season always go hand-in-hand. Jan-March is an exclusive season for Panan Kizhangu. Introduce our traditional snack of palm sprouts to pizza snacking kids. Fibrous and nutritious snack of palmyra palm sprouts definitely outweighs fibre-free pizzas and burgers!

Our traditional way of snacking on cooked palm sprouts could be enjoyed only after 3 yrs of age as this demands firm teeth. Still, you can introduce palm sprouts in the form of laddoo from the age of 1. Addition of peanuts(in the below pic) yields very tasty laddoos.

Preparation

1.Cut out the head part and peel out the skin of palm sprouts. Wash and put it in a pressure cooker. If required, break and bend the tail part as below.2.Pressure cook for 5 whistles. Once pressure releases, take them out of water and let it cool down. Slit open along the mid-line. The white soft end part of the middle stalk(shown in the middle pic below) will be sweet. Just give it to the kid to chew on! Remove the outer fibrous coverings by just breaking the sprouts roughly and tearing away the coverings.3.Cut them into small pieces thereby removing the obvious fibre wherever possible. Spread it in a wide plate and let it dry in sun for 1 day.4.Grind it in mixie and it will still have some moisture in it and so you won’t get powder form. Grind in batches and collect the granules and let it dry in sun for 1 more day to lose all moisture.5.Grind the granules in mixie and if it is completely dried, you will get powder form by now. Sieve it well and discard the tiny fibre particles.6. Grind fried chana dal to fine powder. Add chana dal powder and palm sprouts powder to a mixing bowl.7.Grate jaggery and add water till immersing level. Add a generous pinch of cardamom powder. Once nicely bubbled up and thickened to honey-like consistency, switch off and filter for impurities.8.Mix the flours well in the mixing bowl. Then add melted ghee and filtered jaggery syrup.9.Mix well with ladle. When its still warm, grease your hand with ghee and shape into laddoos.   Healthy Palm sprouts laddoo can be offered to eagerly awaiting kids!

Tips/Tricks

• You shall boil panam kizhangu with skin and then skin out once boiled and cooled. This way, nutrients in the skin too will be absorbed.
• Do not over-dry on the first day. You should be able to break the pieces with hands. If over-dried, mixie blades can’t blend it. In such scenario, allow it to dry completely for 2-3 days and give it to Flour mill to crush to powder.
• Do not worry if granules stick to mixie jar when grinding after first day drying. Just grind and dry again in the sun for it to turn non-sticky by losing all moisture in it.
• I have not used the full jaggery syrup and so laddoo looks lil dry. Pls do not judge on the look and increase water. The given measures should be perfect.
• For 1-2 years kids, make laddoos without peanuts(If you worry for any allergies or if Peanuts are not yet introduced). For 2-3 years kids with no peanut allergies,  do add peanuts and offer the tasty laddoo. For 3+ years kids, just cook , remove the outer fibre, cut into small pieces and offer as such !