A Laddoo (or Laddu) is an Indian sweet which is generally a part of festive or celebratory fare. Laddoo can be made from different ingredients including lentil flours, grain flours, dried fruit, nuts, etc. Most Laddoo are usually made with sugar/ jaggery, ghee, cardamom, and perhaps cashewnuts and raisins. My Diwalis are incompete wihout these Rava or Semolina Laddoo. are a constant on my Diwali sweet list every year.
India is a country where each state is like a small country in itself. Each state has its own language with dialect and script, cuisine, customs and traditions. Yet the Laddoo can be found across the country but in a sheer variety in terms of ingredients used. The Rava or Semolina Laddoo is one of the many different kinds of Laddoo we make at home.
This particular recipe happens to be mildly adapated from the introductory recipe for the Indian Cooking Challenge. Srivalli put together a monthly cook up of Indian food following a single recipe. Her first recipe choice was the Rava or Semolina Laddoo. This is one of the few sweets my daughter likes.
Chiroti Rava is the best variety of rava or semolina to make Laddoo. It is a very fine variety (not semolina flour) and makes almost melt-in-your-mouth sweets. You can grind regular rava in your mixer-grinder till quite fine. Regular rava by itself will not produce the texture/ mouth feel desired here.
This method is slightly different from the way I usually make them. My mother’s recipe calls for making a one-string sugar syrup with milk and sugar. That takes some practice. This recipe is easier as there’s no sugar syrup involved. It is also very easy for beginners to Indian sweet making.
The ingredients are all mixed together in pan and then cooked for a few minutes. This causes the sugar to melt and create the binding required to shape the Laddoo. This is also the first time I’ve seen coconut being used in Rava or Semolina Laddoo. It does add some moisture and flavour so all is good. This recipe also uses very little ghee. The milk in it means the Laddoo will not keep for more than a couple of days unless refrigerated.
Rava or Semolina Laddoo
Ingredients
- 1 cup rava (semolina)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 to 3 tbsp milk
- 3 pods cardamom powdered
- 10 to 12 cashewnuts halved
- 10 to 12 raisins
- 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
Instructions
- Heat the ghee in a pan/ wok. Turn down the heat and fry the raisins, stirring constantly. Remove them from the ghee once they puff up. In the same ghee, fry the cashewnuts till they're golden brown. Similarly lightly toast the coconut and keep both aside.
- Add the rava (semolina) to the remaining ghee and roast the rava, stirring constantly, till it is pinkish in colour and gives off an aroma.
- In a bowl, put the rava, cashews, raisins, coconut and the cardamom powder. Add the sugar and mix well.
- Now add the milk (1 tbsp at a time) and mix. Add just enough milk so that if you hold the rava mixture in your palm and try to shape it, it should hold the shape.
- At this point, put this mixture back inot the pan/ wok (used for roasting the rava) and cook the mixture over low heat for 2 minutes. Stir well, then cover it and let it rest for another 2 minutes. By now the mixture would be cool enough to handle.
- Lightly grease your palms with ghee, if necessary, and work quickly to shape into balls the size of small lemons. If the laddoos seem a little soft, they will set once they're completely cool.
Prathibha says
wow they are perfect Aparna..I think this will be the best shaped laddu I have seen in a couple of days..looks yummy n soft..
Sumi says
better late than never..nice white ladoos.though Iam not a sweets person, I enjoyed making them an also eating them:)
Nithya says
Rava laadoo looks yummy and perfect. The pics are absolutely appealing. 🙂 Great job.
A2Z Vegetarian Cuisine says
Looks very delicious. I love the picture where laddoo is sitting like a cute cuppy cake.
Manggy says
Ah, no wonder it looked familiar as I just saw it on Nirmala’s– there’s a challenge! 🙂 Looks and sounds delicious, Aparna 🙂
♥Rosie♥ says
Those Laddoos look wonderful Aparna. I have never tried any but you have me wanting to now.
Usha says
These look just perfect !
Srivalli says
Great aparna..looks lovely!..glad your akshaya liked it..
Bong Mom says
Loved their look
Parita says
Perfect, loved the way you have presented, they look very moist and delicious!
Suparna says
Hi Aparna,Laddoos look ‘melt in mouth’ types.The first pic’s cute ….the pink muffin liner compliments the rava laddoo so beautifully…(reminds me of a balerina ;))I T&T ur Almond shortcakes, it turned out good,it Could’ve been better so I’ll try it again sometime 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful recipe.TC
Lone Acorn says
I just love laddoos. This made me nostalgic. I had a friend in my college days who used to bring all sorts of laddoos whenever she was back from home. And all were lovely with different tastes.Semolina one you gave is an easy one. I will try it on the weekend for sure.
Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes] says
Great looking laddoos! I love that they dont have as much ghee!! The ICC sounds like a great idea!
Bergamot says
For the past few days… I have seen so many recipes for rava laddoos… each equally delicious. Love the ladoos you made. Like the way you decorated it by place in a muffin base.
Cynthia says
I must give this a try sometime.
Miri says
Perfect! I wish I could have got my act together to support the first edition of this event!
Lisa Michelle says
I had something similar to this once several years ago and have been looking for a good recipe for it for ages! Yours look to be exactly what I want! Beautiful!!
Barbara says
I like the use of semolina in these laddoos, Aparna. Your recipe sounds easy enough for me to give it a try, thanks!
vidhas says
I love this laddu, my mom makes it so nice. Yours is tempting and looking gorgeous.
singinghorse says
The recipe sounds really delightful. It’s really rich and simply to make. Thanks for sharing!
Aparna says
I was happy to be reminded to make this again, with an easier recipe this time. :)The laddoo in the cupcake liner was a last minute inspiration which turned out right in the picture.Suparna, I hope the second try turns out better.I hope you you all are inspired to give this a go. Its not at all difficult.