Oats and Nuts Energy balls with Milk Solid Residue

Did the title put you off for a moment? Nothing to be wary of. These energy balls are a staple in most houses in India. Quite many combinations are tried out as well with the same residue but a little background on what the residue is all about.

How often do you make ghee or clarified butter at home? Never? Then let me tell you , you are definitely missing out on one of the best soul satisfying experiences in the kitchen. It is just not about the ghee that one makes; it is more of nostalgia and emotions that come along in the process.
As a kid I have seen my maternal grand mother and my mother collect cream from the curd, churn them into butter and then melt the butter to that aromatic ghee. I agree the whole process sounds tedious but hey no pain no gain isn't it?

I can easily claim to be the only one to be continuing to make ghee the traditional way in my family. And I take pride in that. Why shouldn't I ;) But here in this recipe we talk about the less spoken about ingredient, the residue left behind after making the ghee. As far as I know in most households among the family it is discarded. Milk residue or the residue left behind after making ghee usually is considered burnt and unhealthy. But to my surprise I found them being used in many types of energy balls or laddus as they call it in India. Once I knew this I have not once discarded the residue. Traditionally some besan or gram flour or wheat flour along with some sweetener is used to make these balls. But I being a bit health conscious had to up it with nuts and oats instead of the traditional flours.  They do have some fat in them and hence are good source of nutrition. If one needs to have those nutritious energy balls before hitting the gym these are definitely the ones that you should try to make at home! There is no hard and fast rule that you should follow while making these but  do try this version as well. The bonus point is that kids and adults love these all the same.

Ingredients

Milk solids/ Ghee residue                                                                                                1 cup
Oats (roasted and finely ground)                                                                                     1/2 cup
Almonds (toasted and ground, some bits to bite)                                                            1/2 cup
Cashews(toasted and ground, some bits to bite)                                                              1/2 cup
Flax seeds (toasted and ground fine)                                                                                5 tbsps
Cinnamon powder                                                                                                            1 tsp
Cardamom powder                                                                                                           1 tsp
Brown sugar                                                                                                                     1/4 cup
Cocoa powder (optional)                                                                                                 3-4 tsps


My way of making

1) In the same pan that you have made ghee leave behind the residue after straining.
2) Toast and grind oats, cashews, almonds, flax seeds separately.
3) Lightly warm the pan with the residue still in it.
4) To this add the oats, cashews, almonds, flax seeds and give it a good stir. To this add sugar.
5) Then add the cinnamon powder and cardamom powder and try gathering the dough together.
6) Pinch out balls as the size of a lemon and rotate them within the palm of your hands and shape them in to balls or laddus when still warm.
7) For a variation you could roll a few in some cocoa powder.

Notes

1) You could use coconut or coconut sugar in place of brown sugar.
2) More spices like nutmeg powder could also be added.
3) These are good for kids who need to compensate for their lack of food intake.