Vegan Dry Fruit Laddoo Recipe

A tasty yet healthy laddoo that vanishes the moment it gets made! Zero Added Sugar, Zero Jaggery, Zero Ghee. 100% Whole Food Plant Based.

Recipe by Prathima Prashanth, Health Coach & Plant-based Cooking Expert, NutritionScience.in

Whole Food Plant Based Dry Fruit Laddoo Recipe

Course: Snack, Course 1 (Raw Dish) or Dessert in Course 3 (Grain Dishes) at Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Indian Recipe
Servings: 15 Small Laddoos

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Dates
1/2 cup Nuts mixed
1/4 cup Raisins
1 pod Cardamom

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak dates overnight or at least for 30 minutes in hot water.
2. Dry grind the nuts coarsely
3. Add dates and raisins to the mixie along with nut powder and grind coarsely  using pulse function
4. Powder cardamom kernels and mix in.
5. Make small laddoos with your palms. The sweet is now ready to be eaten. 🙂

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Dry Fruit Laddoo Recipe

1. To make it more tastier, garnish with nuts.
2. If this recipe is too sticky to work with, use a greater proportion of nuts.
3. This recipe needs to be consumed immediately. To make a dry fruit laddoo that stays good for a week, substitute soaked dates with soft dates.

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Dry Fruit Laddoo Recipe

1. Why not honey, sugar or jaggery? Sugar and Jaggery are processed foods. Although jaggery is healthier than brown sugar, which, in turn, is healthier than white sugar, all forms of processed foods are unhealthy when compared to whole plant foods. Honey is healthwise as good as jaggery, which isn't saying much. In addition to not being very healthy, honey production kills millions of bees every year, affecting our environment adversely. The best sweetener alternative is a whole fruit or dry fruit. The easiest method of using these is date syrup, as it does not involve peeling or chopping.
2. Why raw dishes at meals? Every meal we consume has an immediate, measurable effect on the antioxidant capacity of our blood. Consuming raw fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices at every meal can help us always have a positive blood antioxidant response to our meals. This is perhaps why every traditional Indian meal began with fruits and salads (kosambari / kosumalli)
3. Why nuts instead of oil? Whole foods are healthier than processed foods. When nuts are pressed and oil is extracted, fiber and phytonutrients are lost, along with many other nutrients. Therefore, whole nuts are much healthier than oils, whether cold-pressed or refined. In addition, they provide the oil content we need to absorb fat-soluble phytonutrients from other whole plant foods! This may be why nuts are used to garnish nearly every traditional Indian dish!