rava laddu

Rava laddu recipe with step by step photos. Rava ladoo is a popular Indian sweet made during festivals. You can even call rava ladoo as sweet semolina balls.

This rava laddu is Maharashtrian style of making rava laddu and one which I learnt from my aunt. It is easy, quick and tasty recipe of rava laddu made with rava (cream of wheat or semolina), desiccated coconut, ghee, powdered sugar and dry fruits.

The recipe also does not take much time to make. So for festive occasions like Diwali, this rava laddoo recipe is apt as it can be easily made in less time.

This rava laddu recipe does not go into the consistency of sugar syrup. With sugar consistencies, things can go wrong and you may get ladoo that can be brittle or hard. Since these rava ladoo made without sugar syrup (or pak) they are very easy to make and foolproof too. Even a beginner can make these laddu easily.

In the rava laddu recipe I have added fresh coconut. You can even use desiccated coconut or grated dry copra instead of fresh coconut. Coconut can be skipped too. I am sharing below a few tips and faqs to make really awesome rava laddus at home.

Tips for roasting rava to make rava ladoo

Undeniably rava or sooji is the main ingredient in this ladoo recipe. So it is very important that you roast rava like a pro. After all you don’t want half-cooked, half-raw rava granules in the ladoo which can give you stomach problems later. So to roast rava like a pro, you don’t need to be a master chef. You can easily roast rava very well, even if you are roasting it for the first time. A few pointers below to help you understand the intricacies of roasting rava:

1. Firstly use a nice heavy pan or kadai. You don’t want your rava getting burnt and having uneven speckled laddus with creamish, brown and black specks.

2. secondly keep the flame to a low or medium-low flame. Heat the pan. Melt some ghee. Add the rava and stir and stir and stir.

3. You have to stir initially a few times but later non-stop when the rava becomes hot. As if you don’t stir, the rava granules which are in direct contact with the pan, will start getting browned and burnt.

4. The foremost sign that the rava has roasted will be its aroma. Yes you can feel the aroma in your kitchen. It is a pleasant aroma.

5. The second sign will be that the rava granules will look separated and dry – like a crumbly mixture which is loose and light. In hindi we have the word ‘danedaar’ which means each granule looks distinct and separated.

6. The third sign is that you will see steam coming from the rava. This means that the rava has become hot. After you can see some steam coming, you can continue to roast for a few more minutes, but stir non-stop.

7. Later keep the pan on your kitchen counter. The residue heat from the pan will further cook the rava a bit. Stir once or twice after you keep the pan, so that the heat of the pan does not brown the rava.

FAQ for making rava laddu

1. Which rava to use?
For rava laddu, always use rava which is fine and not coarse like Bombay rava. Please do not use rava which is larger in size and coarse.

2. Why is rava laddu not holding shape and breaking?
If the rava laddu does not hold shape, it means the mixture is dry. Ghee is the binding ingredient in most ladoo recipes. So thus add a few tablespoons of melted ghee ( 2 to 3 teaspoons) in the laddu mixture. Mix again and then form the laddus.

3. Why is rava laddu becoming flat and loosing shape?
In this scenario, the ghee has become slightly more. You can do either of the following remedial measures:

1. Roast some rava separately (about 2 to 3 tablespoons). Powder it and then add to the mixture.
2. Another easy option is to keep the laddu mixture in fridge for about 20 to 30 minutes. The ghee will solidify a bit and then you can shape the mixture in laddus.

4. Can frying dry fruits be skipped?
Yes you can skip frying dry fruits but do add the 3 tablespoons ghee that is used for frying dry fruits. Melt the ghee and then add.

5. Can this rava laddu recipe be halved or doubled?
Yes, of course, you can easily halve or double or triple this rava laddu recipe.

6. How do I make a vegan rava laddu?
To make a vegan version of these laddus, use coconut oil. Reason being coconut oil solidifies on cooling and this helps in binding the laddus. But with coconut oil, also remember that the aroma of it will be present in the laddu.

7. How to store rava laddu?
In this rava laddu recipe since fresh coconut is used, they do not have a longer shelf life. Also refrigerate the rava ladoo once you have made them. Keep them airtight in a steel box and refrigerate them. If you use desiccated coconut, then the shelf life will be more and you can keep the laddu at room temperature.

8. How to make these rava ladoo with jaggery?

To make rava ladoo with jaggery you need to use either powdered or grated jaggery. Use the jaggery which has no impurities. If there are impurities, you will need to make a syrup of jaggery with very little water. But there should be no thread consistency in the jaggery syrup. Mix jaggery in a bit of hot water till it dissolves. Then filter it and then add to powdered rava.
If using jaggery powder or chopped jaggery without impurities, then powder it first in a mixer grinder. Then add it to rava+coconut mixture and powder everything together – just like it is done in this recipe.

How to make rava laddu

Roasting rava

1. Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a heavy pan or kadai. Keep the flame to medium and let the ghee melt.

2. Once the ghee has melted, lower the flame and add 1 heaped cup fine rava (185 grams). Use the fine variety of rava.

3. Mix rava very well with the ghee.

4. stir often and begin to roast rava on a low flame.

5. Continue to roast rava till the rava become fragrant and changes its color. No need to brown the rava. The texture will also appear crumbly, loose and light. Roasting rava takes about 10 to 12 minutes on a low flame. Once the rava becomes hot, then you have to stir non-stop so that the rava does not get browned or burnt.

6. Once the rava has roasted well, then add 6 tablespoons grated fresh coconut. You can also add desiccated coconut instead of fresh coconut.

7. stir and roast for about one to two minutes on a low flame.

8. Now keep the pan on the kitchen counter and let the laddu mixture cool at room temperature.

Grinding sugar and roasted rava+coconut mixture

9. When the laddu mixture had cooled, take ½ cup sugar (120 grams) in a grinder jar.

10. Grind the sugar to a fine powder. Now do not open the lid. Wait for a few minutes. If you open the lid immediately after grinding, you will see some sugar powder drifting in the air.

11. To the powdered sugar in the jar, add the rava+coconut mixture.

12. Grind to a semi-fine or fine texture. I usually grind to a fine texture. Keep the grinder jar aside.

Frying dry fruits for rava laddu

13. In the same pan, in which rava was roasted heat 3 tablespoons ghee on a low to medium-low flame.

14. Add 3 tablespoons chopped nuts. You can add almonds, pistachios, cashews or any nuts you like.

15. Fry the nuts in the ghee.

16. Fry till they start to become golden.

17. Then add 1 tablespoon raisins.

18. Stirring often fry the raisins till they plump and swell in size.

19. Switch off flame and keep the pan on the kitchen counter.

Making rava laddu

20. Add the ground rava+coconut+sugar mixture directly from the grinder jar to the pan containing the fried nuts and hot ghee. The ghee should be hot when you add the powdered rava mixture.

21. Mix very well with a spoon or spatula.

22. Add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder.

23. Mix again very well and then wait for the rava laddu mixture to become lightly warm or completely cooled at room temperature. If unable to form ladoos, then add 2 to 3 teaspoons of ghee. In case ladoos don’t hold shape and flatten, then keep mixture in fridge for 20 to 30 minutes and then shape in rava ladoo.

24. When ladoo mixture becomes warm or cools, then take some portion of the mixture in your palms and shape into round balls which we call as ladoos.

25. Make rava laddu with the entire mixture. Keep them in an air-tight steel jar. This recipe makes for 12 rava laddu and can be easily doubled or tripled. The roasting time for rava will increase if the recipe is doubled or tripled.

26. Serve rava laddu as a festive sweet. Store these rava ladoo in the fridge.

Few more delicious sweets recipes that you can make for festivals like Diwali are:

• Boondi ladoo
• Coconut ladoo
• Besan ladoo
• Rava kesari
• 7 cup burfi

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