Rawa Coconut Laddoos
Soft and moist cardamom saffron flavoured laddoos made with rawa (semolina) and coconut. A Diwali favourite!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Makes: 18 laddoos
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups rawa (semolina)
- 1/4 cup ghee
- 1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen, see notes)
- 200 gms khoya, crumbled (khoya is basically milk solids; see notes)
- 8 to 10 pods cardamom, peeled and finely crushed
- 1 cup white sugar, lightly heaped
- 1 and 1/2 cups water
- Pinch of saffron (4 to 5 strands)
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, blitz the rawa for a few seconds until it's super fine. This step is optional but it does lead to a smoother end texture.
- Now in a sturdy wok or deep pan, melt the ghee on low heat, then add the rawa and stir frequently for about 5 minutes until it just begins to change colour (see photos below). If the mixture seems very dry, add another teaspoon or two of ghee.
- Now add the grated coconut and stir for another 8 to 10 minutes until the colour deepens but isn't dark brown. Now add the khoya and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. The milk solids will start to brown and the colour will darken at this stage to a golden-brown. Let this cool for about 15 minutes, then stir in the cardamom.
- In the meantime, start the sugar syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a sturdy saucepan, stir and let the sugar dissolve on low heat, and then let it come to a boil. After 5 to 10 minutes of boiling, spoon out a couple of drops of the syrup and rub it (carefully!) between your thumb and index finger. When you part your fingers, you should see one and a half threads of sugar forming. This could take upto 20 minutes because ambient temperature makes a difference (see the video linked in the notes below for a reference).
- About 2 to 3 minutes before the thread consistency is achieved, add the saffron to the syrup. Once it's ready, pour the hot syrup into the rawa mixture in the wok. Stir to combine, then cover and let the mixture rest and cool for 3 to 4 hours. As the syrup is absorbed, it will firm up.
- Shape the mixture into laddoos. If you have trouble, shape them the best you can and let them rest. They will become easier to make into rounds after this, or you can even refrigerate them for some time.
- Store in an airtight tin in the fridge if you live in a humid area (since the khoya is a milk product and could go bad). They keep for weeks and can even be frozen. Happy Diwali!
Notes
*If you don't have khoya, you can use milk powder. Alternately, skip it and use 1/3 cup ghee instead to make sure the laddoos still remain soft and rich.
*You could use freshly grated coconut or frozen and thawed grated coconut. If using the packaged variety of frozen grated coconut, blitz it in a grinder or blender for a few seconds after thawing, because it tends to have larger/longer coconut bits.
*This is a useful guide on how to check the consistency of your sugar syrup, you can skip to 3.40 in the video. While the syrup in this laddoo recipe uses more water, that proportion ensures softer laddoos.