Name: Maharashtrian Rava Ladoo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ¼ cup Semolina, fine rava/sooji; ¼ cup Sugar, powdered; 1 tbsp Ghee, melted; ½ tbsp Dried Coconut, grated/desiccated; ⅛ tsp Ground Cardamom, freshly ground; ½ tbsp Raisins, fried in ghee; ½ tbsp Milk, warm, only if needed for binding

30 mintotal

Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: None

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Ingredients

Quantities are for 2 servings.

You'll need: Stovetop.

Method

Start by heating a generous amount of the ghee in a heavy-bottomed kadhai. Add the semolina and roast it patiently over low heat for 10-12 minutes.
10–12 min
Observe the rava closely; it should become highly aromatic and adopt a faint golden blush, without ever turning deeply brown. Fold in the desiccated coconut during the final 2 minutes of this roasting phase.
2 min
Offload the perfectly roasted rava into a spacious mixing bowl. Allow the thermal energy to dissipate until the grains are merely warm to your touch.
Incorporate the powdered sugar, cardamom powder, and ghee-fried raisins into the tempered rava. Toss the dry ingredients for an even distribution.
Melt the remaining ghee and drizzle it over the dry mixture. Rub it through with your hands until every grain is coated.
Grasp a handful of the amalgam and compress it tightly to form a spherical ladoo. Should the mixture feel stubbornly dry or crumbly, sprinkle the targeted warm milk over the bowl to rehydrate, then attempt binding again.
Shape all the ladoos and set them out on a platter. Leave them an hour at room temperature to firm up before storing.

How to tell it's done

Granular yet firm on the outside, breaking open to reveal a soft, melt-in-the-mouth sweetness.

Getting it right

Tip

If you add milk to bind the ladoos, their shelf life decreases to about a week. Without milk, using only ghee, they can easily last 3-4 weeks.

What to serve it with

A perfect sweet companion for evening tea or as a quick bite for guests.

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