Rava Laddu Recipe (Rava Ladoo | Sooji Ladoo)
Easy 30-minute recipe for Rava laddu, or Rava Ladoo, a popular Indian sweet made with semolina (rava/ suji), ghee, sugar, nuts & cardamom.
Servings: 10 ladoos
Calories: 183kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine rava (suji/sooji) -semolina (see notes for sub)
- 1 cup milk 2% or whole fat
- ¼ cup ghee divided
- 2 tablespoon chopped cashews and almonds (10 cashews + 5 almonds)
- 1 tablespoons raisins (10-12 raisins)
- ¼ cup desiccated coconut see notes for sub
- ½ cup granulated sugar see notes for sub
- ½ teaspoon saffron
- ½ teaspoon cardamom seeds, ground (4-5 pods)
Instructions
- Soak semolina in milk: Add milk to a bowl and add sooji. Mix it well and leave it aside to soak for 10 minutes, while you prepare other ingredients.
- Sauté nuts & raisins: Heat a non-stick wide skillet on medium-low heat. Add ghee and chopped cashews and almonds. Sauté for 1 minute, then add the raisins and continue sauteing for another minute until the nuts turn light golden and the raisins plump up. Remove promptly.
- Sauté rava/suji: Add rava (sooji) and milk mixture and saute it for 10-12 minutes on low heat, while stirring continuously. Gently mash the mixture with the back of your spoon or spatula to ensure even cooking. Continue cooking until the semolina appears dry and crumbly again.
- Add coconut: Now add desiccated coconut and continue to saute for another 2 minutes until rava and coconut turn light golden (not brown). Turn off the heat.
- Combine in a bowl: Transfer the semolina crumbles to a large mixing bowl, and combine with sautéed nuts and raisins. Cool it for about 10 minutes.
- Add aromatics & sugar: When the rava feels cool enough to handle, stir in sugar, cardamom, and saffron, and mix thoroughly so the sugar releases some moisture. At this point, the mixture should look like wet sand.
- Test the Ladoo: Take a small portion of the rava mix in your palm and try to bind it together. If it does, you can start making ladoos. If it doesn't stick together, add a tablespoon of milk until it feels slightly wet.
- Bind ladoo: Take about two heaping tablespoons of the rava mix in your palm. Shape into a round ball by closing your fist tightly and using your finger to press the dough together while rotating it.
- Shape into a ball: Bind the ladoo into a round fudge ball. It usually takes 30 seconds per ladoo. Continue until you have made all the ladoos. This quantity makes 10-12 ladoos.
Video
Notes
- Use fine rava/suji: For best results, use fine semolina in this recipe. If unavailable, grind the coarse suji in a blender for a few seconds.
- Soak rava: Soaking the semolina gives it time to fluff up, resulting in soft ladoos. Don't skip this step.
- Lightly roast rava on low heat: It is important to roast the rava on low heat to cook off the raw flavor. If the heat is high, it will toast the rava without cooking it. And remember to stop when it turns a light golden in color (not brown).
- Remove promptly: Transfer the sautéed nuts and rava promptly into a cool bowl to stop the cooking.
- Sugar: Grind the granulated sugar in a blender to a fine consistency. You can use confectioner's sugar, but since it contains cornstarch, the ladoos may not be as moist.
- Don't let the mix cool too long: Wait for the mix to cool for 7-10 minutes so it's cool enough to handle. Don't leave it for too long, otherwise the mix will harden and won't bind.
- Ladoo mixture too try? Add a tablespoon of milk to the mixture and try shaping the ladoo again.
- Store in a cool place: Store the ladoo in an airtight container for up to 4 days on the counter or 1 week in the refrigerator. To increase shelf-life to 10 days, substitute the milk with ghee.
Nutrition
Calories: 183kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg