If you thought that the famous Indian mithai (sweet) ‘ladoo,’ is all about the ones made from boondi, different flours or lentils, then you are highly mistaken. In this post, I have shared one of the unique Ladoo Recipes. This is a Pori Urundai, which is a crunchy, light and equally delicious ladoo recipe made with puffed rice or murmura. Hence can also be referred to as Murmura Laddu. This recipe with minimal ingredients gets ready in minutes and vegan-friendly too. Try it, you’ll love it for sure.
Table of Contents
About Pori Urundai
Pori Urundai or Puri Unde is a traditional sweet from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Basically, ‘pori’ is ‘puffed rice’ (English) and ‘murmura’ (Hindi). On the other hand, ‘urundai’ can be referred to as a ‘sphere or ball.’
Since, this is a typical South Indian style laddu made with puffed rice, the name is Pori Urundai or even puri unde. Basically these are Murmura Laddu made with puffed rice (murmura) and jaggery.
Even though the Pori Urundai is a laddu, it is not as rich or heavy as the various other sweet ladoo that belong to different regional cuisines in India.
For instance, if you compare this murmura laddu with the Boondi Laddu, the murmura one is definitely the lighter one. For this reason, this special ladoo can also be consumed as a sweet snack.
The Pori Urundai does not even have as many ingredients as compared to any of its other ladoo counterparts.
Like I have mentioned above, in addition to the puffed rice (murmura), other ingredients that go in the making of this famous South Indian ladoo are jaggery, roasted Bengal gram (chana dal) and some flavoring from the cardamom powder.
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. The roasted gram is optional. However, it adds some proteins and a bite to the ladoo.
Important Tip To Remember
The Pori Urundai recipe is simple, but the consistency or thickness of the jaggery syrup while preparing the ladoo is important.
The syrup has to be of a soft ball consistency. If it becomes harder, making ladoos is difficult. If its thinner, the ladoo 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. 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, homemade gifts.
Serve Pori Urundai as an offering to the deities or even at other times as a snack. Grown-ups will love these crunchy crispy, light laddus as much as the kids.
How to make Pori Urundai
Preparation
1. First, grate or powder 120 grams jaggery. When you measure the jaggery, it should be ½ heaped cup.
Also powder 2 to 3 green cardamoms (in a mortar-pestle) and keep them ready. Keep your pans ready. This will make the process simple.
On medium heat, dry roast 3 cups (or 60 grams) murmura (puffed rice) for 1 to 2 minutes or till it crisps up. Keep this aside or transfer to another bowl.
2. Add ½ heaped cup grated or powdered jaggery and 4 tablespoons water in another pot.
3. Heat, with constant stirring, till 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 or 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.
Heat Jaggery Syrup
5. Now, pour this clean jaggery solution into a pan and heat on a low flame. Keep stirring the mixture.
6. The solution froths up as it heats.
7. As it heats, the mixture will begin to thicken.
8. Add ¼ teaspoon 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 in 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.
Make Murmura Laddu Mixture
11. Now, pour this prepared jaggery syrup in the roasted puffed rice.
Instead, you can reduce the heat of the heated syrup pan and add the roasted puffed rice into the prepared syrup.
If doing for the first time, I would suggest, pour the puffed rice into the jaggery syrup, mix and then make ladoos.
12. Add ¼ cup roasted chana dal (Bengal gram) and mix well using a spatula. Note that adding roasted chana dal is optional.
13. The ladoos have to be prepared when the mixture is still hot. Otherwise, the mixture will harden and making ladoos will be difficult.
Make Pori Urundai
14. Moisten 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 ladoos 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 the ladoo formation.
16. Serve Pori Urundai as an offering to deities or serve as a snack.
Traditional Significance of Pori Urundai
Whichever part of the world we may be, we cannot forego our traditions. The first time I prepared the Pori Urundai was on the occasion of Tulasi Pooja, back in the year 2015.
This happens to be a special day, the 12th day in the lunar month of Karthik as per the Hindu calendar and also celebrated as Uttana Dwadashi.
‘Uttana’ means to ‘wake up’ and ‘Dwadashi’ means the ‘12th day.’ It is believed that Lord Vishnu is in ‘yoga-nidra’ through the 4 auspicious months of Chaturmasya and ‘wakes up’ on this day. However, this is not similar to the humanly nidra or sleep.
Any spiritual good deeds performed during these 4 months is believed to yield a multitude of virtues. Several vrat or fasting practices are followed during this phase, until the 10th day of the Karthik month.
Such practices also bring about discipline, strengthen our inner spiritual being and put a hold on our desires for the material world.
The Tulasi Puja falls on the 12th day, following this 4 month period. It is believed that on this day ‘Tulsi’ married Lord Vishnu. So, on this day, the holy tulsi plant (the holy basil) is worshipped.
On the occasion of Tulsi Pooja, the Pori Urundai is a popular preparation in South India. Since the recipe of this sweet, crispy ladoo is very simple with just a few ingredients, it can be put together in no time.
In the state of Tamil Nadu, the festival is celebrated as Karthigai Deepam, when Lord Shiva appeared as an endless flame of light. Lamps are lit and Mahadev is worshiped with several offerings such as this Pori urundai, sweet appams, etc.
More on Tulsi Pooja
Like I mentioned earlier, on this day, in the evening, the tulsi plant (the holy basil) is worshiped. Lamps are lit, the tulsi plant is given water and worshiped with kumkum (vermilion), turmeric, sandalwood paste, flowers, amla lamps.
Along with various kinds of ladoos like Pori Urundai, kheer, mung dal kosambari (salad) and other preparations.
Worshiping tulsi is believed to ward away diseases, illnesses, poverty, separation from near and dear ones. Every aspect of this 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 ‘tulsi mala.’
The tulsi leaves also have several medicinal properties. An excellent source of antioxidants, they have a role in heart health, have anti-cancer qualities, improve insulin sensitivity in diabetes, have antibiotic properties against infection, reduce catarrh in respiratory illnesses and so on.
Expert Tips
- You can also use puffed flattened rice or puffed poha, instead of puffed rice. This may need less jaggery or you may slightly increase the quantity of puffed flattened rice.
- I have added roasted gram in addition to the puffed rice in the recipe. This is optional.
- The consistency or thickness of the jaggery syrup while preparing the laddu is important. It should be of a soft to firm ball consistency. If it is hard, making murmura laddu will be difficult. If it is thin, the laddu will come apart easily with a stringy syrup attached.
- As soon as the murmura laddu are made, they harden and become crisp if the consistency of the syrup is right.
- Once prepared, keep these laddu at room temperature until they cool completely. They can then be stored in an air-tight container for weeks. They even make good edible, homemade gifts.
More Ladoo Recipes To Try!
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Ladoo Recipes
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Pori Urundai Recipe | Murmura Laddu
Ingredients
- 3 cups puffed rice (pori, murmura) or 60 grams (I have used puffed rice murmura here and not puffed flattened rice)
- ½ cup jaggery powder or grated jaggery – 120 grams jaggery powder
- ¼ cup roasted gram (bhuna hua chana) or 25 grams roasted gram
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder or 2 to 3 green cardamoms, crushed in mortar-pestle
- 4 tablespoons water
Instructions
Preparation
- First grate/powder the jaggery, powder the green cardamoms and keep them ready.
- Keep your pans ready. This will make the process super simple.
- I used one pot to melt the jaggery, strained the cleaned jaggery into another pot.
- You will need 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 murmura laddu mixture
- Now, on medium heat dry roast the murmura/ pori or 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 the 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 on a low flame. 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 the deities or serve as a sweet snack.
Notes
- 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.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Pori Urundai recipe from the archives first published in November 2015 has been republished and updated on January 2023.
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.