Vegan Brown Rice Tortilla Sweet balls (Laddu)

Got very excited at the sight of brown rice tortillas. Rolls, wraps and a whole range of possibilities came rushing to my mind when I picked up a bag of these tortillas for the first time at my local health food store. They almost have a Indian chapathi look to it, with those little brown spots and beamed at me with a nice hearty look.
I cut them in half and then pieces to toast them in the oven, hence the half-moon look in the picture below.



Got home, opened the bag, tasted a little bit of the raw tortilla. Hmm, was not that impressed, I thought, maybe it would be better if I heated it a little. I was planning on making a egg salad wrap for breakfast this morning and lo and behold, there it was on block letters on the bag... that the product was gluten free and hence rolling them into anything would be quite a task. What it meant was that the thing broke at the slightest bend. Not a good start!
How disappointed I was :( But still I went ahead and toasted the tortilla on a griddle and served my egg salad on top. It really was not edible for me, ended up licking the egg salad clean, and the poor tortilla remained.

By that very afternoon, determined not to throw them away (I mean the rest of the tortillas, not the one I served the egg salad on!), came up with a sweet dish that could neutralize the slightly raw taste of these tortillas.
That was how these were conceptualized. They turned out beautifully just like I thought it would.
I surely go back for another bag of brown rice tortillas the next time. Just to make these sweet balls.
I think I will pass on making wraps with these unless I know really what to do with them.

I have been a tad busy with "stuff" and hence have not been able to visit other blogs regularly. But will be back after my long weekend holiday to see what you have been cooking. I hope you all have a fun Independence day long weekend, and enjoy the time with friends and family. See you soon with another recipe.



Vegan Brown Rice Tortilla Sweet balls (Laddu)

Ingredients:

Vegan butter/Regular butter (for a non-vegan option) - 3 tbsp
Brown Rice Tortillas - 5
Oat Bran - 1/2 cup
Powdered Jaggery (Indian brown sugar) - 3 tbsp (or add more according to taste)
Broken Cashewnuts - 2 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Cardamom - 1/2 tsp
Rice milk/Regular milk - 2 tbsp (adjust accordingly)

Method:

Break tortillas into pieces and toast them in a preheated 400F oven for about 20 min till crispy.

Powder it using a food processor/blender and set aside.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add cashews and raisins and heat it for about a minute or till nuts are golden.

To this, add the powdered tortilla, oat bran, jaggery, cardamom and mix well.

Microwave again for a minute.

Take it out, add milk one tsp at a time and mix. You should be able to form balls by pressing together in the palm of your hands. Press tightly.
Store at room temperature for a day or two. Or refrigerate for up to a week.

Yields - 16 small laddus