BELLAM BOONDI

Bellam boondi is a most popular Andhra sweet. Also called as “Boondi mithai” in some parts, this is one  sweet which is loved by all the kids. Crispy boondi coated with jaggery makes you crave for more and more. Its ease of making, made it a holiday sweet in most of the Andhra homes. Bellam boondi and boondi mixture(savory) is a perfect combination as an evening snack. Unlike the Boondi laddoo which needs some practice, this bellam boondi does not involve any practice. More over, jaggery is healthy compared to sugar. It can be stored for a couple of weeks, so my Mom used to make this during our summer holidays when we were kids. You will certainly be astonished by the taste. The only difficulty in making this is, having the boondi ladle(large perforated ladle used to make boondi). If you have one of them, then you are ready to go. You can also try using a big perforated ladle or skimmer(I have used one of the plastic perforated ladles’). 
INGREDIENTS

• Gram flour/ basen           1 cup
• Rice flour                           1/4 cup
• Cooking soda                    a pinch(Can replace soda by a couple of spoons of hot oil) 
• Oil                                       for deep frying
• Grated  Jaggery              1 cup
• Ghee                                  1 Tsp.
• Cardamom powder       1 tsp.

PROCEDURE
Mix in the gram flour, rice flour, cooking soda and sieve them. Add water little by little to the flours and make a  batter slightly thinner than the  bajji batter.(not too thick, nor too thin).
Heat oil in a wide pan. Take the perforated ladle and pour some of the batter into it. Hold the ladle just few inches away from the hot oil.
Just tap the edges of the ladle with a spoon. The batter will fall into the oil like small balls. Make sure not to over crowd the oil.
Fry till the boondi turns golden and crisp.
Remove onto a paper towel. Make all of the boondi and set aside.
Now heat a cup of water and add the jaggery into it. Make a thick syrup. You should get the ball consistency(vundapakam in Telugu).
Switch off the flame and add the ghee, cardamom powder and boondi into it. Mix well and pour every thing onto a plate.
Let it set for 20 minutes. You can break it into pieces once it is set.
(OR)You can make into laddus when it is still warm
Enjoy it with a cup of tea.