RAVA LADDU RECIPE

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

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

Mix rava very well with the ghee with a spatula or large spoon.

Stir and roast the rava on low heat. Once the rava has roasted well, then add 6 tablespoons grated fresh coconut. You can also add desiccated coconut instead of fresh coconut.

Stir and roast for about one to two minutes on a low heat. Now keep the pan on the kitchen counter and let the laddu mixture cool at room temperature.

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

Blend or grind the sugar to a fine powder. Now do not open the lid. Wait for a few minutes. If you open the lid immediately, you will see some sugar powder drifting in the air.

To the powdered sugar in the jar, add the roasted rava and coconut mixture. Grind or blend to a semi-fine or fine texture. I usually grind to an almost fine texture. Keep the grinder jar aside.

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

Fry the nuts in the ghee stirring often. Fry till they start to become golden.

Then add 1 tablespoon raisins. Stirring often fry the raisins till they plump and swell in size.

Switch off heat and keep the pan on the kitchen counter.

Add the ground rava+coconut+sugar mixture directly from the grinder jar or blender jar to the pan containing the fried nuts and hot ghee. Mix very well with a spoon or spatula. Don’t mix with hands as the ghee is hot.

Add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder. Mix again very well and then wait for the rava laddu mixture to become lightly warm or completely cooled at room temperature. Take some portion of the mixture in your palms and shape into round balls.

Make 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 to make a big batch.