Rava Ladoo

Happy Diwali! Sunday will mark the beginning of Diwali (दिवाली), the “festival of lights”, a 5-day Indian festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Light is the symbol of the celebrations and many clay lamps filled with oil are lit during the 5 days of the festival. As part of the celebration, people make and eat lots of sweets! As you may know, even though my husband is of Indian origin, we are not hindus, but as we think that the meaning of this festival is “universal”, we too like to celebrate Diwali. This year, I made Indian sweets like Jalebi, Gajar ka Halwa, Shankarpali, Gulab Jamun and… these Rava Ladoo (also known as Sooji Ladoo). These (together with Jalebi) are my favourite Indian sweets ever. I had them the first time when I was in Mumbai years ago and a neighbour of my husband’s family brought some to their place. It was love at first bite. They are made with semolina (rava) which makes them slightly crumbly, sort of like cookies and the hint of coconut goes really well with the cashew nuts and raisins. I always find Indian sweets to be a bit “too sweet” for my liking, so I usually cut down the sugar to 150 grams (¾ cup), but that’s up to you. These are really easy to make and they do not require baking! So… what are you waiting for? Make these Rava Ladoo and celebrate Diwali!

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Rava Ladoo

Celebrate Diwali with these delicious Rava Ladoo: delicious and crumbly Indian cookies made with semolina, coconut, cashew nuts and raisins that literally melt in your mouth!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Author: Manuela Zangara

Ingredients

• 300 gms – 1 ⅔ cups + 2 tablespoon semolina rava/sooji
• 60 gms – ⅔  cup fine unsweetened coconut desiccated
• 180 gms – ¾ cup + 2 tbsp or less sugar
• 2 or 3 green cardamoms
• 60 gms + 2 tablespoon – ¼ cup ghee
• raisins and cashew nuts as needed

Instructions

1. Roast the rava/sooji until aromatic.
2. Roast the coconut until aromatic.
   
3. In a blender, powder the sugar with the cardamom. Add the rava/sooji and coconut and grind well.
   
4. Fry the raisins and cashew nuts in ghee. Add them to the blended mixture.
   
5. Add ghee as required to make a cookie-like dough.
   
6. Make the balls and set aside to dry for a couple of hours before serving.
   
7. Store in an air-tight container.

Manu

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