Ladoo - Popular Pakistani Sweet

Pakistani Sweet- Lado

Ingredients

• 320G of Gram Flour 2.5 cups of Gram Flour (Besan)

• 4.7G of Ground Cardamom

• 500 mL of Milk

• 3 cups (681G) of Clarified Butter/Ghee

• 2.5 cups Cane Sugar

• 2 tbsp. of Milk

• 3.5 cups Water

• Saffron

Materials

• Strainer with small holes

• Pot

Directions for Syrup

• Mix the 500G water and 2.5 cups sugar and bring to boil.

• When sugar dissolves, add in milk

• Boil for 5 minutes, remove top layer and strain (return to stove after)

• Add saffron & cardamom powder then mix

• Set aside under low heat

Directions for Pastry

• Mix flour and milk to a soft batter

• Heat the Ghee in large pan.

• Pour the batter through strainer (may need to add butter to strainer to make easier) into the hot ghee

• Stir and remove batter when lightly brown

• With the small pellets cooked, add them to the syrup.

• Remove from syrup and take off excess.

• Add few tsp of hot water to the pellets.

• Cover for 4-5 minutes

• Shape the pellets into small round pastries and put into refrigerator.

• Enjoy!

Research

Gram Flour - Less calories than wheat flour, low glycemic index, gluten free, rich in iron, rich in vitamin b6

Cardamom - fights against digestive issues, freshens breath, and is related to ginger

Milk - high in vit. D and phosphorus

Cane sugar - high in antioxidants, amino acids, and potassium, riboflavin.

Research the ingredients used in your dish and write up an analysis of this meal.  The analysis should be approximately 200-250 words.

Choose 3 of the following 5 lenses to analyse your dish. You don’t have to answer every question suggested for each one.

•Approximately what percent of the meal is processed vs. whole food?

•Political/economic:  How much did this meal cost? How does this compare to fast food? How are these food items regulated?  Who made money off your meal?  What small and/or large corporations/businesses are involved?

•Social:  What are some of the social ramifications of your meal choice?  Trace a few parts of your dish from the farm to the plate, including all intermediate steps on the way.  Where were these food items purchased?  Pick 2-3 ingredients and compare a commercial production process vs. a self-sufficient process.  (For example, how does the commercial tomato growing and delivery system compare to growing tomatoes yourself?)

The snack, Ladoo, is mostly unprocessed food. The majority of ingredients can be found naturally, and apart from your choice of sugar are all healthy. The main ingredient, Gram Flour (or Besan as it's called culturally) is natural, and has less calories than wheat flour, a low glycemic index, it's gluten free, rich in iron, and rich in vitamin b6. Cardamom fights against digestive issues, milk is high in vitamin D and phosphorus. Finally, cane sugar is high in antioxidants, amino acids, and contains potassium and riboflavin. Averaging cost for ingredients, it is a very cheap snack to make.

In India and Pakistan, where this snack is most commonly found, all the ingredients are a common find in every household. While it's hard to say who benefits off of a meal, street vendors often make this along with other sweets to sell.Small local businesses which sell ingredients to street vendors and individuals will benefit from this purchase, and in Pakistan, everything is grown locally, almost nothing will need to be imported as all spices etc grow locally. The largest organizations involved would be the farms in which sugar is refined, but it's  not uncommon to see sugarcane growing naturally and families processing it at home.

Social ramifications would be largely detrimental. Due to the popularity of sweets in the poorer, and more rural areas of Pakistan, it is hard to state health detriments. Eating such large amounts of butter, and sugar can cause diabetes, and this is rampant. Sugarcane is often processed by workers who are poorer, and labor is difficult. Often being paid less than others, and without any age restrictions, sourcing these ingredients can indirectly be equated to situations such as Apple's use of child labour.