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About this recipe
Rava ladoo or suji laddu is a simple and quick sweet treat made with semolina, coconut, and sugar. Rava laddu is a common sweet dish made during Diwali. These laddus are ready in no time and are great as a snack too.
The recipe I am sharing here is very easy. All you have to do is add the ingredients in the correct order and roast the semolina well. The rava ladoo can be put together in under 20 minutes.
Semolina or suji or rava is coarsely ground durum wheat, a hard type of wheat. It is high in gluten and is used for making many Indian savory and sweet dishes. There are two common varieties of semolina - fine and coarse. While fine semolina is used to make sweet dishes, coarse one is used for making savory dishes like upma and rava idli.
Related: Besan ladoo.
Ingredients
Semolina: Fine semolina (rava or suji) is used to make the laddu.
Coconut: I use freshly grated coconut; however, dried or desiccated coconut works well too.
Sugar: These laddus are sweetened using plain sugar. Other sweeteners like jaggery, brown sugar, and raw sugar also can be used.
Cashew and raisin: These are an integral part of any Indian sweet.
Cardamom powder: Cardamom powder adds a beautiful aroma and flavor to the ladoos.
Ghee: Ghee works best; however, you can easily replace it with coconut oil.
Step-by-step instructions
Fry cashew and raisins until golden (step 1). Once the raisins puff up slightly, add coconut and saute for a minute (steps 2 and 3).
Next, add semolina. Fry until it turns golden and aromatic. Keep on low heat and keep stirring (steps 4, 5, and 6).
Add sugar and keep stirring. Once the sugar melts, add cardamom powder and mix well (steps 7 and 8). Slowly add water and bind the whole mixture together (steps 9 and 10).
Let the mixture slightly cool down. Shape small balls while the mixture is still warm (steps 11 and 12).
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.
Useful tips
Fry the semolina on low heat until it turns aromatic. This step will take time but roasting the semolina well is the key to making a great suji laddu. Also, it is important to keep stirring the mixture. The best indication to know that the rava is well-roasted is its aroma. Once the rava is done, it turns aromatic and has a pleasant sweet-like smell.
I prefer making these laddus using fresh coconut as they taste better with it. You may replace it with dried coconut or desiccated coconut too but this will make the laddus a bit hard and dry.
Use ghee for the best-tasting laddu. However, if you are looking for a vegan alternative, replace it with coconut oil.
The measurements I have used here give 18-20 small laddus. You can half or double it as per your need.
I use water to bind the mixture together and it works very well. However, you may replace it with milk for a richer taste. Remember that adding milk will reduce the shelf life of the laddus.
Add water gradually and keep mixing. Do not add all the water at once.
Cool the laddu completely and store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Since it has fresh coconut in it, the laddu cannot be stored at room temperature. They will remain fresh for up to one week in the refrigerator.
More traditional Indian sweets
Bonus
This rava ladoo is:
- very easy to make and can be put together in 20 minutes,
- can easily be made vegan-friendly by replacing ghee with coconut oil,
- stays fresh for up to one week in the refrigerator.
If you liked this recipe, please don't forget to give a 5-star rating and leave a comment below.
Recipe card
Rava Ladoo (Suji Laddu)
Ingredients
- 1 cup semolina (rava/suji)
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 2 tablespoon cashew
- 2 tablespoon raisins
- ½ cup coconut fresh, grated
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- ¼ to ½ cup water warm
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a frying pan or kadhai. Add cashews and fry until they are golden brown. Next, add raisins and fry until they puff up slightly.
- Now add coconut and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the semolina and fry on medium heat until it is aromatic and golden brown.
- Add the sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well on low heat until the sugar melts completely.
- Slowly add warm water until the whole mixture comes together and binds well - see image (don’t add all the water in one go. Add ¼ cup first and mix well. Add more water only if needed).
- Turn off the heat and transfer to a plate. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
- While the mixture is still warm. Take a small amount of it and shape it to form a round laddu.
- Shape all the laddus and let it dry for an hour.
- Serve or store in an airtight container.
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