pori urundai recipe with step by step photos  – pori urundai is a crunchy, crisp, light, delicious, easy ladoo recipe which gets ready in minutes. these are made from puffed rice and are also called – murmura ladoo, puri unde recipe.
i had prepared these ladoos on the occasion of ‘tulasi pooja’. whichever part of the world we may be, we cannot forego our traditions. a couple of days ago, 23 rd november 2015, was a special day, the twelfth day in the lunar month of karthik as per the hindu lunar calendar; celebrated as ‘uttana dwadashi’.
a few words about the significance of the occasion first..
‘uttana’ meaning to wake up, ‘dwadashi’ which means the twelfth day. it is believed that lord vishnu is in ‘yoga-nidra’ through the 4 auspicious months of ‘chaturmasya’  and ‘wakes up’ on this day. this is not however similar to our nidra/sleep. in fact, any spiritual good deeds performed during these 4 months is believed to yield a multitude of virtues. several vrat/fasting practices are followed during this phase up until the 10th day of the karthik month. such practices, in addition, bring about discipline, strengthen our inner spiritual being, put a hold on our desires for the material world.
the ‘tulsi puja’ falls on the 12th day following this 4 month period. this is believed to be the day ‘tulsi’ (the holy basil) married lord vishnu.
on this day, in the evening, the tulsi plant (the holy basil) is worshiped along with lord krishna. lamps are lit, the tulsi plant is given water, worshiped with kumkum (vermilion), turmeric, sandalwood paste, flowers, amla/gooseberry lamps, along with various kinds of ladoos, kheer, mung dal kosambari (salad) and other offerings. worshiping tulsi is believed to ward away diseases, illnesses, poverty, separation from near and dear ones. every aspect of the tulsi plant is considered sacred. offering tulsi leaves to lord vishnu is considered more special than any other offering. the wood of the plant is used in the making of beads in the sacred ‘tulasi mala’.
the tulsi leaves also have several medicinal properties. with anti-oxidants, they have a role in heart health, anti-cancer qualities, improving insulin sensitivity in diabetes, antibiotic properties against infection, reducing catarrh in respiratory illnesses and so on.
on the occasion of worshiping the sacred tulsi or ‘tulsi pooja’, i had prepared these puffed rice ladoos. a very simple recipe, needing very few ingredients and can be put together in no time.
in the state of tamil nadu the festival is celebrated as ‘karthikai deepam’, when lord shiva appeared an endless flame of light. you can read more about the significance of the festival here. lamps are lit and the lord is worshiped with several offerings such as this ‘pori urundai’, sweet appams etc. this year it is celebrated today the 25th November 2015.
for this pori urundai recipe, you can also use puffed flattened rice/puffed poha instead of puffed rice. this may need less jaggery or you may slightly increase the quantity of puffed flattened rice. i have used roasted gram in addition to puffed rice in the recipe. this is optional but adds a touch of protein and a bite to the dish.
the pori urundai recipe is simple, but the consistency/thickness of the jaggery syrup while preparing the ladoo is important. it should be of a soft ball consistency. if it becomes any harder, making ladoos will be difficult. if its thinner, the ladoo will come apart easily with a stringy syrup attached.
as soon as the ladoo are made they harden and become crisp, if the consistency of the syrup is right. but keep them at room temperature until they cool completely. they can then be stored in an air tight container for weeks. they even make good edible, home-made gifts.
serve these pori urundai as offering to the lord or even at other times as a snack. grown-ups will love these crunchy crispy, light laddus as much as the kids, if not more 🙂
if you are looking for more ladoo recipes then do check:
pori urundai
INGREDIENTS FOR pori urundai
- 3 cups murmura (puffed rice) or 60 grams murmura (i have used puffed rice murmura here and not puffed flattened rice)
- ½ cup heaped grated or powdered jaggery or 120 grams jaggery powder
- ¼ cup roasted gram (bhuna hua chana) or 25 grams roasted gram
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (choti elaichi powder)
- 4 tablespoons of water
HOW TO MAKE pori urundai
preparation to make pori urundai
- first grate/powder the jaggery, powder the cardamom and keep them ready.
- keep your pans ready. this will make the process super simple. i used one pot to melt the jaggery, drained the cleaned jaggery into another pot. two separate pans - one to dry roast the murmura/puffed rice, another to heat the cleaned jaggery and making ladoos. (instead you can use the same pan to roast and later to heat jaggery) keep a small bowl of water ready. this is for checking the thickness of the syrup.
making pori urundai mixture
- now, on medium heat dry roast 3 cups of murmura/puffed rice for 1 to 2 minutes, so that it crisps up. keep this aside or transfer to another bowl.
- to a separate pot, add ½ cup of grated/powdered jaggery and 4 tablespoons of water.
- heat this until with constant stirring all the jaggery melts and gets mixed with the water. turn off the heat.
- now, pass the melted jaggery through a sieve to remove impurities. collect the clean melted jaggery in another pot/container.
- now, pour this clean jaggery mixture into a pan and heat. keep stirring the mixture.
- add cardamom powder and continue to stir.
- after a couple of minutes, if you hold up the ladle with drops of the syrup falling back into the pan, the last drop should form a sort of string as it falls. keep checking the thickness as the syrup heats.
- to ascertain the thickness of the syrup, add a couple of drops into a bowl of water. the droplets should not dissolve into the water.
- you should be able to pick up the drop which will form a soft to firm ball. this is the right consistency.
- now, pour this prepared syrup into the murmura/puffed rice. (instead you can reduce the heat of the heated syrup pan and add murmura/puffed rice into the prepared syrup) if doing for the first time, i would suggest, pour the puffed rice into the jaggery syrup, mix, then make laddus.
- add roasted gram, mix everything very well using a spatula.
making pori urundai
- the ladoo have to be prepared when the pori urundai mixture is still hot, otherwise the mixture will harden and making ladoo will be difficult.
- wet your palms slightly with water, pick up a portion of the prepared mixture and form ladoo by pressing gently between your palms and giving it a spherical shape.
- prepare ladoo with the rest of the mixture in the same manner.
- if towards the end the mixture becomes too hard, put the pan back on gentle heat for a few seconds. this will loosen the mixture allowing ladoo formation.
- serve pori urundai as offering to god or serve as a snack.
RECIPE TIPS
tips for making pori urundai
- you can also use puffed flattened rice/puffed poha instead of puffed rice. this may need less jaggery or you may slightly increase the quantity of puffed flattened rice. i have used roasted gram in addition to puffed rice in the recipe. this is optional.
- the consistency/thickness of the jaggery syrup while preparing the ladoos is important. it should be of a soft to firm ball consistency. if it becomes any harder, making ladoos will be difficult. if its thinner, the ladoos will come apart easily with a stringy syrup attached.
- as soon as the ladoos are made they harden and become crisp if the consistency of the syrup is right.
- once prepared, keep them at room temperature until they cool completely. they can then be stored in an air tight container for weeks. they even make good edible, home-made gifts.
how to make pori urundai recipe
1. first grate/powder the jaggery, powder the cardamom and keep them ready. keep your pans ready. this will make the process super simple. on medium heat dry roast 3 cups (60 grams) of murmura/puffed rice for 1 to 2 minutes, so that it crisps up. keep this aside or transfer to another bowl.
2. to a separate pot, add ½ heaped cup of grated or powdered jaggery (120 grams) and 4 tablespoons of water.
3. heat this until with constant stirring all the jaggery melts and gets mixed with the water. turn off the heat.
4. now, pass the melted jaggery through a sieve to remove impurities. collect the clean melted jaggery in another pot/container. also keep a small bowl of water ready. this is for checking the thickness of the syrup once it comes to a soft ball stage or consistency.
5. now, pour this clean jaggery mixture into a pan and heat. keep stirring the mixture.
6. the mixture froths up as it heats.
7. as it heats, the mixture will begin to thicken.
8. add cardamom powder and continue to stir.
9. after a couple of minutes, if you hold up the ladle with drops of the syrup falling back into the pan, the last drop should form a sort of string as it falls. keep checking the thickness as the syrup heats. to ascertain the thickness of the syrup, add a couple of drops into a bowl of water. the droplets should not dissolve into the water.
10. you should be able to pick up the drop which will form a soft to firm ball. this is the right consistency.
making pori urundai
11. now, pour this prepared syrup into the murmura/puffed rice. (instead you can reduce the heat of the heated syrup  pan and add murmura/puffed rice into the prepared syrup) if doing for the first time, i would suggest, pour the puffed rice into the jaggery syrup, mix, then make laddus.
12. add roasted gram, mix everything very well using a spatula.
13. the ladoo have to be prepared when the mixture is still hot, otherwise the mixture will harden and making ladoos will be difficult.
14. wet your palms slightly with water, pick up a portion of the prepared mixture and form ladoos by pressing gently between your palms and giving it a spherical shape.
15. place them on a plate. prepare ladoo with the rest of the mixture in the same manner.
16. if towards the end the mixture becomes too hard, put the pan back on gentle heat for a few seconds. this will loosen the mixture allowing ladoo formation. serve the murmura ladoo (pori urundai or puri unde) as offering to the deities or serve as a snack.
These turned out very well! Thank you 🙂
welcome and thanks tannaz.
thanks anupama,
your reply was very helpful. Tried for the second time, it came out super….
It didn’t come into a ball.. was just crispy sweet moori. Tried to assemble while still hot, but it didn’t work
the jaggery syrup needed to be cooked a bit more for the ladoos to hold shape. if there is a thread consistency, then the one cannot form ladoos. so the consistency of jaggery syrup has to right. hope this helps.
Tried this murmura ladoo for the first time. Was really good. Appreciate the way u suggested to check the consistency of jaggery syrup.
Thanks Bindu. Glad to know this.
Thanks a lot for such a simple recepie..i made it for the first time n it was great..most of the dishes I learned from ur site..n it was always great….
Welcome Manasi. Glad to know this. Happy cooking.
super ….
Mam plz share some soybean recipes
may we know which recipes of soyabean you are looking for? thanks
Yesterday I tried this receipe. Step 10 picture was very helpful. I got the same consistency. Taste was good, but I couldn’t not roll the ball. I tried with water,ghee & rice flour also. Couldn’t figure out what could be the problem. Can you please help.
Hi Roopa, the only thing that can help in keeping the murmura together is the jaggery syrup. water/ghee/rice flour may help in preventing the mixture sticking to your hands but not in making laddus. if you use too much water, the murmura will separate and then the laddu will not come together. making the hands damp to make laddus is suggested so that the hot syrup doesn’t burn your hands. but too much water should not be used.
the jaggery syrup needs to be hot, if allowed to cool, making laddus will be difficult. But you can put the pot back on the stove, warm it, then try again. maybe you needed to thicken the jaggery mixture slightly longer. when dropped into the water, you should be able to pick up the ball, if not then laddus cannot be formed. hope this helps.
Hello, I have a query/request. Do you have a recipe for home-made chocolate bars that can be stored for a fairly long time?
i have not yet posted any recipe for chocolate bars. i plan to add in some time.