Rava Laddoo/Ladoo - Sweet Semolina Balls

This is another Diwali favorite. This is another sweet snack like the besan laddoo and multrigrain laddoo, which can be made as a snack and stored for a few weeks. It is mainly made using semolina (farina) or rava and fresh grated coconut is also added to it. I have always heard everyone say it is one of the simplest laddoo recipes to make. I, however had made it only once so far. The main reason has been that I just couldn't remember how I had made it the last time (It was a recipe I asked from my Mom, of course). So this week I decided to make it again, much to the delight of my husband. I had asked my friends (some of them make this really well) for their recipe, however finding myself without one, I decided that the best course was to call my Mom and ask her to tell me the recipe again. Finally, I was able to make it. It turned out real great. And it is on the menu this year again for Diwali.

Ingredients
1 cup ghee
4 cups coarse rava/semolina/farina (if you just can't find the coarse one, you can use fine rava)
3 cups sugar
1 - 1.5 cup water
2 cups grated fresh coconute
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup blanched almond slices

Method
In a pan dry roast the coconut for 2-4 minutes till slightly dry. Keep aside. Heat ghee in a pan  to hold the rava and roast the rava till it is lightly browned and fragrant.  At the same time, in a pan that will be large enough to hold the rava and coconut, heat the sugar and water mixture to make a syrup. Once the syrup comes to a boil, take a drop on a plate and when it is warm to touch, pick this drop up between your forefinger and thumb and then separate out the finger slightly and see if you can see a strand of syrup between your fingers. If so, then your syrup is ready. This is called single strand/ single thread stage.
Take the syrup off the heat. Once it is slightly cooler (no longer boiling but still warm), add the cardamom, raisins and almonds and stir well. Then add the roasted rava and coconut and mix this mixture well. Let it cool till it is luke warm and can easily be held in your hand. At this temperature, take a fistful of this mixture and compress to make a round ball. Make all the balls and let them cool completely. Store in an airtight container. This will stay fresh without refrigeration for a couple of weeks. However, if you plan to store them for a longer time, put them in the fridge, so that the coconut doesn't become rancid.

Tips
The sugar syrup reaches the single thread/strand stage at approximately 220F/104C temperature. If you have a candy thermometer you can use that. However I find this method a more accurate indicator to check if the syrup is at the right consistency.

Remember to add the garnishes like raisins and cardamom to the syrup before adding the rava or coconut. This will ensure that the garish spread evenly through the mixture.
Now, if you do end up overcooking your syrup, the resultant mixture and laddoo will become very dry. If this happens, sprinkle about 1/4 to half cup milk on the mixture and warm it up and mix well. You can then re-roll it into laddoos.
If your mixture becomes too soft and the laddoos do not retain the round shape, then you can add 1/4 to 1/2 cup icing sugar to the mixture. Mix it thoroughly and then roll the laddoos.

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Multigrain Ladoo/ Laddoo - Multigrain Sweet Balls

This is a delicious and a very healthy sweet. I made this for the first time, about one year ago. I needed a healthy and filling snack which would be easy to store and carry. Also, it needed to be appealing to a child and easy to hold and eat. My daughter enjoys besan laddoo and one day I thought it would be great if I tried to make laddoos with other grains and flours. This recipe was a great success.  My family enjoyed it and I was okay if dinner occasionally constituted of one laddoo and milk.

Ingredients
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup soy bean flour
1 cup mung dal
2/3 cup urad dal
1/2 cup ragi flour
1.25 cups of ghee/clarified butter
2 and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 cup blanched and peeled almond slices (optional)

Method
Dry roast the whole wheat flour, soy bean flour and ragi flour separately. The flour should be roasted till it gets a toasted fragrance. The soy bean flour will take the minimum time. Roast each flour and grain separately, as each flour will need different amounts of roasting time. Roast the urad and mung dal till they turn reddish brown, taking care to not burn the grain. Grind each grain, separately into powder. It can be slightly coarse, which will give the laddoo some texture. Once all the flours are roasted and grains have been ground into flour, heat ghee in a pan. The pan should be large enough to hold all the ingredients. The powdered flours approximately amount to about 5 and a half cups. Once the ghee has melted, add the flours and mix them well with the ghee. Turn off the heat. Once the mixture turns warm, add the powdered sugar, raisins and almonds (if using them) and mix well. The mixture should not be cold, else it will be difficult to incorporate the sugar. Mix it well till all the sugar is incorporated into the flour and ghee mixture.

Then take a fistful of the mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands to roll it into small balls. Store in an airtight container. These do not need refrigeration, however you can  store them in the fridge if any remain after a couple of weeks to keep them fresh.

Tips
If you store the laddoos in the fridge, warm them up in the microwave for 5-10 seconds before eating. You can switch out the whole wheat flour with besan/chickpea flour. Or you can even add in besan as an additional flour. You can adapt this recipe by trying out different proportions of the various grains or flours. Just make sure that you roast the flour before using it in the laddoo. It can be made gluten free by substituting the wheat flour with chickpea flour.

Besan Laddoo/Laadoo - A Sweet made from Chickpea Flour

I enjoy the festive season. It starts with Shravan and then there's Ganpati followed by Navrati, Halloween, then Diwali.  And of course, I love  Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every place is decorated and it's a ton of fun. I love the holiday and festive season. I look forward to the many long weekends after August and there are plenty of excuses to have parties, and cook a variety of delicacies. This year has flown by and Halloween and Diwali are right around the corner. I am still coming up with my list of items to make for Diwali. It's an evolving list, with requests coming in every other day. I enjoy the challenge of making something new each year. There are always a few staples though, and one of them is the ever loved "besan laddoo". It always has a special place on the Diwali menu.
I will be posting a few recipes over the next few days that you can try for Diwali this year. Hope you are enjoying the festive season.

Ingredients
1 cup clarified butter/ghee
3 cups besan/chickpea flour
2 and 1/4 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
3 tbsp raisins

Method
Heat the ghee and besan together in a pan.  Roast the besan till the besan turns light brown. Take care of stir it often so that it doesn't burn. Alternately, you can roast this mixture in the microwave oven. Start with roasting it for about 2 minutes a couple of times and then you can roast it in 1 minute intervals or lesser depending on how poweful your microwave is. It is very important to keep an eye on the besan when using the microwave, as its very easy for it to burn if its kept for a few seconds more than necessary. Once the besan is well roasted, you will notice a lovely aroma. That indicates that the besan is being cooked. Also, the taste will change from raw to a nice roasted taste. The color, smell and taste are great indicators to determine if your besan is well roasted. If it is not, and if you add the sugar, you will not be able to cook the besan further and will be stuck with raw tasting laddoos.
After the mixture cools down slightly where it feels warm, add the cardamom powder, powdered sugar and raisins. The mixture should not be cold, else it will be difficult to incorporate the sugar. Mix it well till all the sugar is incorporated into the besan. Then take a handful of the mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands to roll it into small balls. Store in an airtight container. I generally store them in the fridge to ensure that they do not spoil, however they do not last for too long.

Tips
This recipe makes about 20-25 small sized laddoos, about 1.5 inches in diameter. Do not use confectioner's sugar. If you do not find powdered sugar, you can grind regular sugar in the blender till it is fine and use it. If you add the sugar when the besan is still being heated or is too hot, it will melt and turn into a syrup and the texture of the laddoos may get spoilt. The sugar should be added when the mixture is warm and can be touched without burning your hands. You can roll the laddoos when it's warm or when the besan and sugar mixture is at room temperature.