It’s an irresistible and addicting dessert that is a near-constant favorite sweet treat in my house whenever festivities roll around.
This was my favorite sweet growing up, and my mom would prepare sweet boondi on almost every happy and auspicious occasion. Now, let’s fast-forward it to today, and my love for sweet boondi still holds ever fast.
What is Meethi Boondi?
Boondi,( pronounced as boon-dhi), at times referred to as Bundi, are pearl-sized small balls made of besan ( chickpea flour). Boondi is derived from a Hindi word that means ‘boond,’ meaning a drop, and boondi means droplets. And meethi means sweet. When rendered in English, Meethi boondi translates to – Pearl-like droplets of gram flour coated in sugar syrup. You will need a perforated spoon to make boondis. The size of holes on the spoon or strainer will determine the size of the boondi. Follow the tips and tricks mentioned in the recipe post to attain the perfect shape and texture of the boondi every time.
» Besan — Also known as chickpea flour, is a gluten-free flour commonly used in preparing meethi boondi. » Baking powder — just a pinch will help the boondis to puff up beautifully. » Water — to make the chickpea batter. » Food coloring — optional. Only needed if you want to add a pop of color to your sweet boondis. » Sugar syrup — one-string sugar syrup is required to sweeten the plain boondi. » Saffron strands + cardamom— The flavoring squad. Saffron strands give a very subtle flavor and a beautiful yet pale color, and cardamom amps up the overall flavor of our boondis. » Prepare the Boondi batter — This is the essential step in making sweet boondi. Please read the instructions carefully. Do not add all the water at once; add water slowly to attain the desired consistency. The sweet boondi batter should be of free-flowing (but not dripping) consistency – neither too thick nor too thin. A lump-free, smooth, and pourable consistency batter guarantees round boondi balls. A pourable batter will pass on its own through the strainer and drop in hot oil resulting in round boondis.
» Kitchen utensil — To fry meethi boondi, you need a frying spoon or jhara (in Hindi) that has holes in it. I have used a stainless steel strainer that has medium-sized holes. You can use a regular slotted spoon with holes to make sweet boondi. The hole size of the spoon will determine the size of the boondi. » Fry the boondi — For the authentic taste, fry boondi in ghee, or you could use any flavorless oil to fry your boondis. Please do not use olive oil, peanut oil, or sesame oil to fry boondi.
While frying, keep the stainless steel strainer or perforated spoon at the height of 2-3 inches from the oil as this will ensure round boondis. If you hold it too high, the boondis will become flat as they drop in oil. Also, remember to clean the backside and frontside of the strainer with a damp cloth before adding the fresh batch of batter. Gently tap the stainless steel strainer or jhara for the boondi droplets to free flow through the holes. Please do not press the batter through the holes; let it free-flow. Pressing will not create round boondis. Do not overcook them; for meethi boondi, all we need is a crisp boondi, therefore deep-fry them in medium-hot oil for 60-90 seconds or until crisp. If you over-fry the boondis, they will become too crisp to absorb the sugar syrup.
» Prepare the sugar syrup — I prefer a light crystallized coating of sugar on my sweet boondi; therefore, I have cooked the sugar syrup to one-string consistency ( 1 taar chashni). But if you are a fan of sticky boondi, turn off the heat as the sugar starts to thickens. » Assemble Sweet Boondi — Once your sugar syrup is ready, take it off the heat and add the prepared boondi to the sugar syrup. Gently toss the boondi until it is fully coated in the sugar syrup. Initially, after tossing boondi in the sugar syrup, it will appear sticky and gooey, no worries, let it rest for an hour, and the boondi pearls will separate as they cool.
The culprit is water; all the water was added at once, and that created the lumps in the batter. For a smooth, pourable boondi batter, first, make a thick batter with a minimal amount of water. Once this batter is lump-free and has a smooth consistency, add more water to attain the desired consistency. But if you have a batter with lumps, no worries, don’t throw it away. Pass it throw a sieve, and you should be good. Meethi boondi, along with spicy sev, is like a match made in heaven. Serve it warm or at room temperature along with sev and get ready to be transported to your childhood with this meethi boondi and sev combo. Store the cooled sweet boondi in an airtight container at room temperature. Refrigeration of meethi boondi is not required; if stored well, it will stay good for two weeks at room temperature. And don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.
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