Mihidana or Bundia Laddu

Mix the chickpea flour with slightly more than ½ teaspoon of baking powder thoroughly.

Add 1½ cups of water to the mixture and whisk it well until smooth.

Divide the mixture into two parts and mix your preferred food colour in one part. (I have divided it into two parts - one natural colour and the other orange colour.)

To check if the batter is the right consistency for making boondi, drop a small amount of batter into a bowl of cold water. If it floats and doesn't dissolve immediately, the batter is ready for making boondi. If it dissolves quickly, you need to add a little more water to the batter.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan.

Hold a perforated spoon (boondi ladle) over the hot oil and pour batter over it. The batter should drop into the hot oil and form small round droplets.

Fry the boondis until they are golden brown and crispy. Remove them from the oil and drain excess oil using a kitchen paper towel.

Prepare sugar syrup by boiling 1½ cups of sugar and 1 cup of water together until it reaches a one-string consistency. (The syrup should not be too thick or too thin.)

Add the fried boondis into the sugar syrup and mix well.

Allow the boondis to soak in the sugar syrup for a few minutes.

Shape the boondis into laddus while they are still warm.

For laddus, you can add ready-made boondis, roasted sesame seeds (½ cup), chopped mixed nuts (1 cup), a pinch of rose water, and 2-3 tablespoons of leftover sugar syrup. Mix them well and shape them into laddus.

Enjoy the delicious Mihidana or Boondi Ladoos!