Rava laddu or ladoo is a delicious and melt-in-mouth Indian sweet ball dish. These tasty sweet laddu are usually made with Rava(sooji), coconut, ghee, milk, and sugar syrup. It is also called Sooji ladoo in some parts of India. This rava ladoo recipe with coconut is a popular sweet dish with its special place in most Indian festivals and year-round as a sweet snack. And it can be made in under 30 minutes that even beginners can master this dish at home easily!
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What is Rava Laddu?
Rava Laddu is one of the popular sweet dishes authentic to the Indian subcontinent. The word Rava is nothing but Semolina(cream of wheat). People from South India use the term Rava/Ravai while in the northern part it is Sooji/Suji(Hindi). Ladoo is nothing but a sweet dish that typically looks like a round ball in shape.
This rava laddu is usually prepared with a handful of ingredients like rava, ghee, sugar syrup, milk, and some nuts that makes this sweet easy and simple. Even though there are tons of ladoo varieties prepared in India, this rava ladoo recipe is a hit for its simplicity.
Rava ladoo is an easy-to-make sweet dish that one could prepare it in under 30 minutes. Not only it is easy to prepare but it also tastes delicious that will make you munch over and over again. And it is a perfect centerpiece for any festival occasion like Pongal, Diwali, Holi, etc.
Overall, this rava laddu can be a perfect keeper sweet dish to celebrate any special occasion. It is also one of the best kids-friendly sweets to delight your little ones as well. And you will definitely love making them as it can be a quick sweet snack to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Variations in Rava Laddu
Rava laddu is one of the super simple sweet dishes that have a lot of variations. Even though the recipe I have shared here is rava coconut laddu that requires sugar syrup and milk for binding, you could also make it using jaggery powder. Yes, you could replace jaggery powder instead of sugar and make the syrup the same way that I have mentioned in the recipe card below. Not to mention, for jaggery we do not require string consistency and we can add the syrup directly to the powdered rava once the jaggery is melted.
There is also another easier variation where we can powder rava, sugar together and bind them with milk and ghee. This method is super easy and you don't have to worry about the sugar string consistency. But personally, I love making the rava ladoo with sugar syrup variant which makes laddus completely melt-in-mouth.
You could also use condensed milk instead of milk for binding the rava ladoo. But make sure to decrease the quantity of sugar in the recipe as the condensed milk already has sugar in it.
Even though coconut in the rava ladoo gives extra scrumptious flavor and taste to the sweet, you could always feel free to skip it if it's not really handy to you. There are also variations where you could use rose and pineapple essence in the recipe for a more different taste and flavor of rava ladoo/laddu.
How to make Rava Laddu?
The recipe I have shared here is a simple and traditional rava laddu with sugar syrup and milk for binding. And the quantity makes 14 medium size rava laddu. In this section, let us see how to make/prepare this delicious rava ladoo recipe with step-by-step instructions.
To give an overall idea, the following are the steps involved in make this dish.
1.Roasting the rava and nuts
2. Preparation of sugar syrup
3. Shaping the rava/suji ladoo
1. Roasting the rava and nuts
Roasting the rava and nuts is one of the main steps in achieving aromatic rava ladoos. So to roast them, in a pan with medium heat, pour ghee and sure the cashews and raisins until the raisins plump up. Remove them from the ghee and reserve them for later use. Then in the same pan with the remaining ghee, roast the rava/sooji until it turns aromatic.
Usually, rava is very delicate in nature that tends to burn quickly, so make sure to stir them continuously while roasting. Once it is aromatic, add in the desiccated coconut and give a good mix. After mixing, remove the mixture from the heat and reserve it for later use.
2. Preparing the sugar syrup
To prepare the sugar syrup, in a pan with medium heat, add 1 cup of sugar and ¼ cup of sugar and allow the sugar to dissolve completely. Once it is dissolved, allow it to boil until it reaches a 1 string consistency. Usually, it may take around 5 to 7 minutes to reach that state. It is best to check the consistency once the sugar syrup starts to boil. Switch off the heat once it reaches 1 string consistency immediately(as shown in the picture of the recipe card below).
The consistency of sugar syrup is more important to achieve a melt-in-mouth rava ladoo. Once you turned off the heat, mix in the fried nuts, roasted rava, cardamom powder and mix well. Now the mixture is ready to shape into balls.
3. Shaping the rava laddu
To make the rava/suji ladoo, gradually add ¼ cup of warm milk into the rava sugar mixture that we have prepared in the above step. Take a small portion of the mixture and start binding into a small round ball shape. Usually, the quantity of milk mentioned here is perfect enough to bind the rava coconut ladoo and it came out really good for me. But if you are not able to bind them into ladoo then you could feel free to add 1 to 2 tsp of milk and start binding again. Now the delicious Rava Coconut ladoo is ready for us to taste and enjoy.
Tips
The key to achieving a perfectly round shape tasty rava/suji laddu is to roast the rava until aromatic. Most importantly, the rava should be evenly roasted in medium heat to get the best results. If the rava is not properly roasted, then ladoo will taste raw and it also upsets the stomach. So I suggest you roast them evenly without burning them.
The consistency of sugar syrup also plays a major role in making this rava coconut ladoo. So always make sure to switch off the syrup when it reaches 1 string consistency. You could also mix the powdered sugar with roasted rava, and bind them with ghee and milk.
You could also make this rava laddu vegan by just replacing ghee with coconut oil and milk with almond milk. But the coconut oil has a unique taste and flavor which may or may not liked by everyone. So if you do not really like the flavor then you could go for flavorless coconut oil.
This coconut rava laddu recipe is one of the quick yet delicious dishes that even beginners can make at home. And I believe you will try and enjoy this dish with your family and loved ones.
Storage Suggestions
This rava ladoo/laddu with coconu and sugar syrup and milk stays good at room temperature for up to 5 days and also stays good in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks in an air-tight container. For better shelf-life use desiccated coconuts instead of fresh ones as mentioned in the recipe card below.
Serving Suggestions
This rava laddu is a delicious treat for sweet lovers and it can be enjoyed as a quick sweet snack. And it can also be served for special occasions like Diwali, Holi, etc.
You could also find similar recipes below and more at Sweets and Baking Recipes.
Check out more recipes with Rava below:
Rava Laddu recipe video
I have also shared the detailed video of the rava coconut ladoo recipe that I hope it will help you to make a fail-proof sweet dish easily at home. For a quick reference, you could also find this recipe story format.
📖 Recipe
Rava Laddu (Ladoo)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rava
- ¼ cup Ghee
- ¼ cup Coconut, dessicated
- ¼ cup Milk
- ¼ cup Cashew Nuts
- 3 tsp Raisins
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 cup Sugar
- ½ tsp Cardamom Powder
Instructions
To roast the Rava and Nuts
- In a pan with medium heat, pour ghee and add cashew nuts, raisins and saute until the raisins plump up. Remove the nuts and reserve them for later use
- In the same pan with the remaining ghee, add the rava and roast until it turns aromatic
- Add the desiccated coconut and mix well. Reserve them for later use
To make sugar syrup
- In a pan with medium heat, add in the sugar and water and allow the sugar to dissolve completely
- Allow the sugar-water mixture to boil for 5 minutes or until it reaches a 1 string consistency and switches off the heat
To make Rava laddu or Suji laddu
- Now add the cardamom powder, fried nuts into the sugar syrup and give a nice mix
- Add the roasted rava- coconut mixture and give it a good mix until all the sugar syrup is absorbed
- Add in the milk and mix well
- Now take a small portion of the rava mixture and shape it into a small circular ball and the rava coconut ladoo is ready for you to taste and enjoy
To Serve
- Serve this delicious Rava coconut ladoo for any special occasion or as a sweet snack on a regular day
Video
Notes
- Roasting the rava is one of the main steps for achieving a delicious sooji ladoo, so make sure to roast it evenly until it turns aromatic
- Boiling the sugar syrup to 1 string consistency gives the best melt in mouth rava laddu and it can also be prepared with powdered sugar and jaggery for a different variation
- You could also make vegan friendly rava laddu by replacing ghee with coconut oil and milk with almond milk
- This delicious rava/suji ladoo can be served on festivals and even on regular days as a quick snack
Nutrition
FAQ
Rava laddu is a tasty Indian sweet balls prepared with semolina, milk, ghee, and sugar syrup. It is a popular and common sweet dish prepared during the festival seasons like diwali, holi and even on a regular day as a quick sweet snack.
Yes, we can use jaggery to make rava laddu. You could melt the jaggery and add directly to the rava mixture and make them into balls. But it does not require string consistency like the sugar syrup.
Rava laddu stays good for up to 1 week at room temperature and up to 2 weeks in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. To have a better shelf life use desiccated coconut instead of fresh ones.
Rava does not hold shape if the mixture is dry. If you are making the rava laddu with sugar syrup then you could feel free to add to 2 tsp of milk which helps in binding. And if your making it with powder sugar, then try adding extra 3 tsp of warm ghee to the mixture.
I really hope you enjoyed the recipe that I have shared here and I would love to hear from you on how it turned out for you. Please let me know.
If you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comment section below and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Happy Cooking!
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