Pecan Banana Rice Balls (Aval Laddu)
Made with “aval” or rice flakes and a mashed banana, these cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla spiked, Pecan Banana Rice Balls are a quick, indulgent, and energizing treat!
With Einstein’s words: “time is relative; its only worth depends upon what we do as it is passing” in the back of my mind, I took the last few days of July off to spend some quality time with my daughter doing what made her heart happy – and apparently, what made her heart happiest was us packing up and heading north to New York City.
So, these past nine days found us sampling Cronuts, Catch’s Hit Me, Levain Bakery cookies, Amorino Gelato roses, Don Antonio’s pizza, and eating all the pistachio treats at our favorite Brooklyn cafe and bakery: Fabiane’s! We also indulged ourselves in early morning runs at Central park and walking for miles through the boroughs, averaging about 18-20 conversation-filled miles every day – and to me, every second meant so much!
We were also so very fortunate to be able to spend time with some of my favorite New York Bloggers. Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking and Suzanne @ Pug In The Kitchen who shared with us some cheek-hurting laughs and gave us so much food for thought. And, David @ Spiced, his wife, and little son who spent a whole day engrossing my daughter and I in spirited conversations and then sent us home with a whole bunch of Saratoga Springs mementos.
Yes, these past nine days was time well spent for my daughter and me – time well spent before she starts her crazy senior year of high school next week! Now that we are back home in Atlanta, our eats and treats have reverted back to homemade ones. As I am trying to ease into cooking again, these little “Aval Laddu”or Spiced Pecan Banana Rice Balls require no baking or cooking of any sort.
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These Aval Laddu are a twist on a favorite childhood snack my Mother and Grandmother would feed me using simple “aval” or rice flakes and a mashed banana. If the banana wasn’t ripe enough, jaggery, brown sugar or date syrup was added to sweeten it up. All ingredients were usually placed in a bowl and mixed by hand and then formed into balls or bites which were eaten asap.
However, my version of Aval Laddu ~ Spiced Pecan Banana Rice Balls uses flavorings like cinnamon, cardamom and vanilla and coconut flour, pecans and coconut flakes. I also used some of the maple syrup David @ Spiced shared with me, though you could also use brown sugar. I also made these Aval Laddus on Sunday night and have stored them in the fridge for the past couple of days – though I wouldn’t recommend storing them in the fridge for more than 4 to 5 days; just like I wouldn’t recommend eating these as soon as they are made as they taste better when they have been left to chillax in the fridge for a couple of hours or so.
Ingredients
- 1 cup aval flaked red rice available at most South Asian Stores
- 1 mashed banana
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or 1/4 cup brown sugar/jaggery
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup pecan chips
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together using a spoon.
- Then, using your hands, form each bite in a ball
- Chill for a couple of hours and enjoy
Shashi, it sounds like that you had a GREAT time in NY with your daughter and fellow food bloggers. Awesome!
These energy balls look very healthy and wonderfully delicious.
Thanks so much Angie – my daughter and I sure did – NYC with it’s good food and great friends is one of my favorite places!
Yay! I’m so glad you cracked into that maple syrup already. Real maple syrup is like nature’s candy…and it’s so darned delicious! It was wonderful meeting you and Geri, and I’m already looking forward to our next visit. I also loved just looking at all of those photos from NYC. Talk about fun times and good memories! Oh, and before I forget, I’m gonna need some of these energy snacks ASAP. It’s raining here this morning, and I kinda want to just go back to bed. Hah! Glad you guys made it some safe and sound…cheers to good friends and good food! 🙂
Duuuude – you aren’t kidding – maple syrup – the good maple syrup (like what y’all gave me) is like nature’s candy indeed – liquid gold even! The last time I had the good maple syrup is when my mom and sister brought me some back after visiting family in Canada! I’m gonna have to ration this out big time!
Sunny mornings here and angry, thundery afternoons – I forget if I’m in Atlanta or Florida sometimes!
BTW – Thanks so much for everything, David! So looking forward to next time, my Upstate NYC friend!
I am so glad you took some time off to enjoy your sweet girl. It looks like NYC was incredible! Even though it meant you missed my visit to GA–I am planning on coming back–don’t you worry!
PS–I think I could snack on these all day long!
Thanks Kristen – I never regret time spent with my daughter! Yes, NYC was fabulous – though I am so sorry I missed ya – but – yayyy for next time!
My Canadian heart loves that you cracked into the maple syrup, because that’s probably my all-time favourite sweetener. And those spices! I’ve only ever used cardamon in snack bites -once-, but it was seriously amazing. I’m glad you had such a great time in NYC 🙂 I was there when I was really tiny, but I barely remember anything about it. I’d love to go again one day!
Amanda – my mom and sis brought me back some Canadian maple syrup a few years ago after they visited Canada and I don’t think I’ve had maple syrup that good since I taste this one! Liquid Gold it is! 🙂
I sure hope you get to go back to NYC – there’s no place quite like it – I am not a fan of driving so it’s one of my favorite places – and ooh the food!
Summer time off is fabulous! What a lovely trip to the city!!
And I must get my hands on those rice flakes :O They would be so fun to work with!
Yes – our time in NYC was pretty fabulous! And yes, Rebecca – these rice flakes sure were fun to work with! Thanks so much BTW.
What a delicious trip you had!
I’ve been collecting recipes for little “energy balls” to pack with me for work. Definitely going hunting for that flaked rice so I can make these. Thanks!
Thanks so much Jordan!
Btw, I found aval at a local South Asian Store – with puffed rice and other rice products – fingers crossed you find some.
Love NYC, and used to work there when I was younger. Loved it, and always enjoy going back. But it’s gotten crazy! SO expensive and crowded. It was back when I was there, too, of course. But nothing like now. Anyway, fun recipe — thanks so much.
Hey girl – I’m SO glad you got to spend this precious time with your daughter. Lifetime memories. You can’t go back in time and I’m so glad you got to stop and enjoy life together for a week before her big senior year starts. So many great places you visited and wonderful people you spent time with!!! My only wish is that you had come just a little further north…..like a few hours. 🙂 Maybe next time. So these rice balls look amazing, so delicious and easy. I can imagine you as a little kid devouring them from your mom and grandma. Little Sashi! 🙂 You know I love the maple syrup so much — sounds delicious in this recipe. Another great no-bake recipe! Have a great week Sashi, and welcome home, hope you can eas back into life slowly…. XO
It sounds like you had such a wonderful trip!! And how fun to get to meet up with some bloggers while there! These little balls sound fantastic – I love all the warming spices!
Oh yayyyy! So glad you guys had a fabulous time in NYC!!! The more I learn about your daughter, the more I think her I and would definitely get along, because going to NYC would have been my suggestion too! (plus you know I love vampire diaries!) Anyways, I’ve never heard of aval or aval laddu, but these balls of deliciousness are something I NEED to try! I mean, Pecan Banana Rice Balls with coconut and all those other delish spices?! YES! These would be the perfect snack! And no need to worry about me keeping these more than 4-5 days in the fridge… they probably wouldn’t last past day 1. 😉 Cheers, dear friend! xo
Shashi, this trip sounds like full of fun (And apparently, delicious food haha.) But welcome back and thanks for bringing these delicious balls! Did you manage to put all my favorite things in them? Cardamom, cinnamon, bananas, pecans, maple syrup…well I’m tired of counting:) Stop, you didn’t put any lavender! Disappointed:) Well done, indeed. When you have your next trip, I hope you’ll be flying above Canada and be able to drop a food parcel for me:)
It sounds like a fantastic time was had by all. I love visiting and walking around places we visit and getting in with the people who live there and it sounds like you did all that and more. NYC is so fun! I recently came across Lindsey’s site and am so glad I did. Happy to hear you met up with David and the family. Isn’t the food blogging world so fun and when you meet others in person it’s icing on the cake. Loving the favors in this and the spices, too Shashi.
It sounds like you had so much fun in NY!! I’m way over due for a trip north!
These balls look like a great treat! I have to hunt down these special ingredients 🙂
It’s so tempting and I feel like gobbling up everyone of those pieces that I see. Great share Shashi!!!