Rava Laddu (Rava Coconut Ladoo) is an easy-to-make melt-in-mouth Indian sweet recipe prepared using basic ingredients from your kitchen in less than 30 minutes. One of the traditional Indian sweet recipes prepared during Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, etc.
Check out our list of popular Indian desserts and sweets, traditional sheera (suji ka halwa) recipe.
Rava Ladoo with Coconut
Laddu or Laddo is a ball-shaped Indian sweet dessert prepared using different flours like besan ladoo with chickpea flour, atta laddu with whole wheat flour, or different nuts like almond laddu with badam, dry fruit laddu with a mixture of dry fruits and nuts, no sugar added. Indian festivals like Navratri, Sankranti, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Janmashtami, and rakhi are incomplete without sweets like ladoo and barfi sweet.
Today's post is all about simple South Indian-style rava coconut laddu made without milk. Rava ladoo recipe Maharashtrian style is made using sugar syrup. Rava ladoo is also called suji le laddu or sooji ladoo in Hindi, ravyache ladoo in Marathi, rava unde in kannada and Semolina balls in English. Coconut is added to South Indian laddus, making it more flavorful.
Rava laddu is always special to me as it is one of the very first ladoos I started cooking after marriage and received the best compliments.These laddus taste the best when served fresh and will last for 2 to 3 days at room temperature and for a week when kept in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
Ghee: All traditional Indian sweets start with desi ghee for the best flavor.
Nuts: Almonds or cashews and raisins.
Sooji: Use fine chiroti rava or bomaby rava (suji or semolina), which is available in any Indian grocery store, while making ladoos.
Coconut: Flavor and texture. Use fresh, frozen, or dry grated or shredded coconut. If the flakes are big, then pulse in a mixie or blender if needed.
Cardamom powder: Indian spice used to flavor sweet.
Sugar: Fine sugar or powder the granulated sugar in a mixie or blender.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-step instructions
- Boil around ½ cup of water in a pot on a low flame.
- Meanwhile, add ghee and sliced almonds or cashews on a low flame to another non-stick pan and saute for a few seconds.
- Now add raisins, sooji(semolina), and coconut and saute it on a medium-low flame for 8 to 10 minutes till you get a nice nutty aroma from sooji and it develops a light golden color. (Keep sauteing it all the time so that it's evenly roasted and will not burn at the bottom).
- Now add sugar and cardamom powder and mix well for 20 to 30 seconds. Switch off the flame.
- Add boiling hot water to this mixture, starting with ¼ cup, and mix well to combine. I have added an additional 1 tablespoon of boiling water. It is good practice to add water little by little and add more water only if the mixture is crumbly.
- Cover the pan with a lid and keep it aside for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Now, make laddus of the desired size from the mixture. Caution: The mixture will be warm to the touch, but that is when you have to make the laddos. It will harden, and you cannot bind laddus.
- Once the ladoo cools down completely, store them in an airtight container. It will last for two days at room temperature and 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Tips
- In India, traditionally, fresh grated coconut is used while making laddos. It is difficult to find freshly grated coconut in the United States where we stay. So, I have used dry-grated coconut in my recipes that call for coconut. Fresh, frozen, or dry all three works.
- The time it takes to saute sooji and coconut may vary depending on the size and thickness of your pan and the intensity of the flame.
- Sauteing the sooji ( semolina) till you get a pleasant aroma on medium-low flame is very important. Rava will burn easily, so do not rush and be patient while sauteing the rava.
- To make this sooji coconut ladoo, when adding boiling water, make sure you add in increments and do not add all at once.
- While making laddus, always grease your hands, and if the mixture crumbles, add tablespoon of hot water, which will help loosen the mixture.
- Feel free to add any nuts of your choice.
- Use butter instead of ghee. Just make sure you heat till the butter becomes golden.
- To make this ladoo vegan, use coconut oil in the recipe.
- If you want to make this laddu with broken wheat or daliya, then first grind it in the mixie jar, roast it, and follow the same steps.
- For a mild sweet laddu, you can add ¾ cup sugar.
Recipe FAQS
1 rava ladoo with coconut contains 133 calories with 2g of protein.
Yes. The taste will be different. First, grind them to a coarse texture in a mixie jar and then roast them until aromatic.
Yes. You can use powdered jaggery instead of sugar, but the taste and texture will vary accordingly.
If you are not able to bind the laddos, either add hot water to loosen the crumbly mixture or add hot milk or tablespoon of ghee tablespoon at a time and try to bind. You will have to add a little pressure while making these laddus.
Fine chiroti rava or Mumbai rava (upma rava) gives the best results.
More Indian Ladoo sweet recipes
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Recipe card
Rava Laddu Recipe | Rava Coconut Ladoo
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoon Desi ghee or Ghee; use vegan butter for vegan version
- 1 tablespoon Almonds or Cashews, sliced
- 1 tablespoon Raisins
- 1 cup Semolina Fine sooji rava or suji
- ¾ cup Grated coconut fresh or frozen or dry (loosely packed)
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- 1 cup Fine sugar
- ½ cup Water (you will be using ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon approximately)
Instructions
- Boil around ½ cup of water in a pot on a low flame.½ cup Water
- Meanwhile, add ghee and sliced almonds or cashews on a low flame to another non-stick pan and saute for a few seconds.5 tablespoon Desi ghee, 1 tablespoon Almonds
- Now add raisins, sooji(semolina), and coconut and saute it on a medium-low flame for 8 to 10 minutes till you get a nice nutty aroma from sooji and it develops a light golden color. (Keep sauteing it all the time so that it's evenly roasted and will not burn at the bottom).1 tablespoon Raisins, 1 cup Semolina, ¾ cup Grated coconut
- Now add sugar and cardamom powder and mix well for 20 to 30 seconds. Switch off the flame.1 cup Fine sugar, ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- Add boiling hot water to this mixture, starting with ¼ cup, and mix well to combine. I have added an additional 1 tablespoon of boiling water. It is good practice to add water little by little and add more water only if the mixture is crumbly.
- Cover the pan with a lid and keep it aside for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Now, make laddus of the desired size from the mixture. Caution: The mixture will be warm to the touch, but that is when you have to make the laddos. It will harden, and you cannot bind laddus.
- Once the ladoo cools down completely, store them in an airtight container. It will last for two days at room temperature and 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Notes
- In India, traditionally, fresh grated coconut is used while making laddos. It is difficult to find freshly grated coconut in the United States where we stay. So, I have used dry-grated coconut in my recipes that call for coconut. Fresh, frozen, or dry all three works.
- The time it takes to saute sooji and coconut may vary depending on the size and thickness of your pan and the intensity of the flame.
- Sauteing the sooji ( semolina) till you get a pleasant aroma on medium-low flame is very important. Rava will burn easily, so do not rush and be patient while sauteing the rava.
- To make this sooji coconut ladoo, when adding boiling water, make sure you add in increments and do not add all at once.
- While making laddus, always grease your hands, and if the mixture crumbles, add tablespoon of hot water, which will help loosen the mixture.
- Feel free to add any nuts of your choice.
- Use butter instead of ghee. Just make sure you heat till the butter becomes golden.
- To make this ladoo vegan, use coconut oil in the recipe.
- If you want to make this laddu with broken wheat or daliya, then first grind it in the mixie jar, roast it, and follow the same steps.
- For a mild sweet laddu, you can add ¾ cup sugar.
Nutrition
Note: We originally posted this recipe in Feb 2017. It has now been modified in Aug 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Linda S
Love that these can be made dairy free with vegan butter 🧈. It’s a great recipe!