Rava/Sooji Ladoo / Semolina Balls

This is a traditional sweet that can be made in under 30 minutes. This recipe uses pantry staples and is easy to put together. This is an amazing and quick sweet to make and share during Diwali. This is perfect for any festival celebrations.

This traditional sweet is my favorite from childhood. My mom makes in the same way and she would make for it me everytime I aks her. Rava ladoo and Maa ladoo are my childhood favorites and would wait for Diwali or Karthigai festival for extra dose of these. 

This is not a very hard recipe. Some recipe use milk to make the ladoos but the shelf life decreases. I like the traditional way in which only ghee is used. This can be made by running the roasted rava for a few blitzes in the mixer  This is amazing and many people would try this way. When making in this way, a little pressure will be required to hold the ladoo together while forming, and later it is great in holding the shape. This melt in the mouth grainy texture is my favorite. Coconut is also added sometimes, but it would have a little different flavor than plain rava ladoo. When milk or coconuts are added, keep refrigerated for longer shelf-life. The traditional ghee based one stays good for a week to 10 days. For this measurements, 2 to 2.5 tablespoons of ghee is enough. It is better to use two tablespoons for frying cashews and the remaining as needed while shaping. Scrape yoyr hands after each ladoo while shaping. Smear ghee in hands if needed.

Cashew nuts and raisins are traditionally used, any nuts of choice can be used. Pistachio is also a great option. Make sure it is chopped into smaller pieces or else making into ladoo shape would be hard (especially if the ladoo size is small). For giant ladoos, nuts can be used in bigger sizes. 

If you have a picky eater who doesn't want to bite and eat the nuts, just blitz the mixture after adding the nuts a couple of times, and this also makes the ladoo shaping easy. This way it is easier for me to make my kid enjoy this sweet. It works and that's why recommending it. The cashews and raisins when ground will add a little moisture and fineness that helps in shaping. The color may be a little darker, but will be very tasty.

This has the nuts and raisins ground.

Next week is Diwali and am sharing this wonderful recipe right in time to help you enjoy this with your family and friends. I am linking this to Healthy Wellthy Cuisine as we have Diwali as our these this fortnight. The Festival of Lights has so many memories attached and it is a fun festival. We make lots of sweets and snack, we call them 'Bakshanam'. The process starts a week before making so many varieties back home when we were kids. Time and life has changed, but would love to carry the spirit onward for the future generations too! This Diwali Sweets and Snacks Platter will bring in the celebrations in air and would be easy to entertain friends and families on this occassion.

Some Diwali Recipes from the blog:

Deepavali Marundhu

Quick Diwali Lehiyam

We start the diwali day with lehyam which aids in digestion.

Okkorai

Whole Wheat Halwa

Badam Ricotta Cheese Burfi

Rosemalai

Kesar Rabdi and Dessert Pani Puri

Ma Ladoo

Karasev

Soy Bean Flour Ribbon Pakoda

Kale Murukku

Ingredients

Makes 8 to 10 ladoos

Rava - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp

Sugar - 1/3 cup

Cardamom - 1

Cashews - 1 tbsp, broken

Raisins - 1 tbsp

Method

Heat a pan on medium flame and toast the rava till nce aroma comes and starts turn a little golden. This may take about 4-5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Grind the sugar and cardamom to a fine texture.

Add the toasted rava and run a few more times in the mixer to get a litte finer texture.

Transfer the mixture to a plate. Heat two tablespoons of ghee and fry the cashews and raisins. Add to the rava-sugar mixture and mix well. 

Scoop about two tablespoons of the mixture, press, and shape to a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Store in an air tight container.