Rava Laddu is a soft melt-in-the-mouth dessert ball made with freshly grated coconut and roasted semolina that is infused with aromatic cardamom and saffron. Here is my detailed, step-by-step recipe for making this perfect sweet treat that everyone will enjoy!
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What is Rava Laddu
Rava Laddu or Narali Pakatale Ladoo - in Marathi, literally translates to coconut sugar syrup balls. They are made using fine semolina (sooji or rava), and fresh coconut and are studded with nuts and raisins. A sweet dish for every celebration - from Diwali to Holi to celebrating birthdays or anniversaries they can be enjoyed year-round!
Mom's Special Dessert
I absolutely love these dessert balls as they bring back memories of my childhood. They have a perfect melt-in-the-mouth texture, not too dry nor too soft. This recipe has my mom's special touch of adding besan flour for a unique earthy taste and creamy texture. The fresh coconut adds a wonderful nutty texture and taste, while saffron and cardamom accentuate the taste and aromas.
How To Make Sugar Syrup
Usually, the syrup (Chasni) making process uses the term "ek tari pak" or single-string consistency. What that means is that you cook the syrup so that when you start dropping the syrup from a spoon, the last few drops start to form a thin single string as it flows (see photos 5 - 6) below in the step-by-step recipe.
The single-string consistency can be a bit hard to achieve as if you spent too much time testing, you may end up overcooking the syrup resulting in dry laddu. So I started to time the process which helps cook the syrup to the perfect consistency. With this simplified recipe, you can make the perfect coconut laddu every time. So here are my tried and tested tips:
- Always use a timer when making the sugar syrup to avoid overcooking
- It takes me 6 minutes to make the syrup with ¾ cup of water and 1.5 cups of sugar in a 2-quart saucepan
- If you double the recipe, it will take about 8 minutes for the syrup to be ready
- To check for the doneness of the syrup, simply lift the spoon up and watch the last few drops of syrup dripping from the spoon. The last drops should form a thin one-line string
How to make Sugar Syrup in the Instant Pot
- Add sugar and water to the Instant Pot and mix well, dissolving most of the sugar in the water.
- Pressure cook on Hi for 4 minutes followed by quick release.
- Be careful to not drop the steam water from the lid in the syrup when opening the lid. That's all! You have the perfect sugar syrup for this laddu.
Pro Tips To Make Coconut laddu {Nariyal Ladoo}
- Use fine semolina and roast to light golden brown color
- Use homemade ghee if possible
- If using frozen coconut, make sure to thaw it in the microwave
- After adding the syrup, allow the mixture to fully cool down before shaping the laddu. At first, the laddu's may seem a bit too soft but they will firm up after a few hours
- Does your mixture look too dry even before you are ready to roll them? This is because the syrup has been cooked for too long. To fix, simply sprinkle a tablespoon of warm ghee and 2 to 3 tablespoons of warm milk. Mix well and roll into round balls.
Ingredients
- Rava - Fine Rava or semolina works best for this recipe. If you have coarse semolina, pulse it in a blender a few times to get a fine texture.
- besan flour - Fine ground gram flour add earthy aromas and a creamy texture
- Grated coconut - I love the convenience of frozen fresh coconut that is readily available in Indian Grocery Stores
- Sugar - make the one-string syrup
- Cardamom and saffron - ground cardamom powder along with a few saffron strands add a wonderful aroma
- Nuts - Thinly sliced nuts add a nice texture and bite to the laddu.
How to make The Best Rava Laddu
Step 1: Roast the Rava and besan with ghee for 10 minutes, stirring constantly on medium heat until the Rava turns golden brown. Add the grated coconut and roast for another 2 minutes. Turn the heat off (photos 1 - 4).
Step 2: Make the sugar syrup by boiling ¾ cup of water with 1.5 cups of sugar for 6 minutes in a 2-quart saucepan on medium-high heat (photos 5 - 6).
Step 3: Add the sugar syrup to the roasted ingredients. Add saffron, cardamom powder, nuts, and raisins and mix well (photos 7 - 8).
Step 4: Allow the mixture to completely cool down. Make round balls using about 3 to 4 tablespoons of the mixture. Press them on the palm of your hands and then roll them into round balls.
Storing
Rava coconut laddu can be stored in an air-tight container for up to a week. For longer shelf life, they can be refrigerated.
Serving
Serve them with some crispy chakli or crunchy sev and a hot cup of ginger chai.
More Diwali Sweets Recipes
Recipe
Rava Coconut Laddu
Ingredients
- 2 cups fine rava/semolina sooji
- 2 tablespoons besan gram flour
- ½ cup ghee
- 1 cup grated coconut fresh or frozen
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- 1 pinch saffron
- 2 tablespoon nuts sliced almonds and pistachios
Sugar Syrup:
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¾ cup water
Instructions
- Roast the rava and besan with ghee for 10 minutes, stirring constantly on medium heat.
- Add the grated coconut and roast for another 2 minutes. Turn the heat off.
- Add sugar and water to a saucepan and bring it to a full boil on medium-high heat. Then adjust the heat to the lowest setting and allow it to simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Lift the spoon up and watch the last few drops of syrup dripping from the spoon. The last drops should form a one-line string. Make sure not to overcook or undercook the syrup. More tips are in the notes below.
- Add the sugar syrup to the roasted ingredients. Add saffron, cardamom powder, nuts, raisins and mix well.
- Allow the mixture to completely cool down. Make round balls using about 3 to 4 tablespoons of the mixture. Press them in the plam of your hands and then roll them into round balls.
Video
Notes
- Use fine rava and roast to light golden brown color
- Use homemade ghee if possible
- Thaw frozen coconut to room temperature. You can microwave for a few seconds.
- Allow the mixture to fully cool down before trying to make laddu. At first, they may seem a bit too soft but they dry up eventually
- Does your mixture look too dry even before you try to roll them? This only means that the syrup was overcooked. To fix, simply sprinkle some warm ghee and warm water and roll into round balls
- Use an external timer to time the syrup cook time. It takes me 6 minutes to make the syrup with ¾ cup of water and 1.5 cups of sugar in a 2-quart saucepan
- If you double the recipe, it will take about 8 minutes for the syrup to be ready
- To check if the syrup is cooked properly, simply lift the spoon up and watch the last few drops of syrup dripping from the spoon. The last drops should form a one-line string
- Add sugar and water to the Instant Pot and mix well, dissolving most of the sugar in the water
- Pressure cook on Hi for 4 minutes followed by quick release
- When opening, be careful to not drop the steam water from the lid into the syrup. That's all! You have the perfect sugar syrup for this laddu
Nutrition
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Ramya says
Loved your recipe, i am making it right now. Will let you know how it turned out
Archana says
I will love your feedback
Megala says
Love these delicious ladoo! Happy Diwali to you & your family!!
Archana says
Thank you! Happy Diwali
Swatee says
I finally made the rava ladoo..They came out great except they turned hard after some time...Can you tell me how to make them soft..thanks
Archana says
Hi Swatee, If they are already rolled then there isn't much you can do. While rolling you could have sprinkled some warm milk. Also they do harden up a bit once they completely cool and the ghee solidifies, but still should be easy to bite and break.
Pallavi says
Hi Archana,
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I Tried it today. रवा- नारल लाडू turned out to be just like my Mom makes it. Yummilicious!
Archana says
Awesome!!! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback
Anjuli says
Coconut - I don't have fresh or frozen, can I use desiccated coconut instead? And would it be same ratio? I'm assuming you used unsweetened coconut?? Thanks.
Archana says
Unsweetened coconut will work too.
Jaded Kat says
Coming from a North Indian family, these were not a staple, but a I had these as child at a family friend’s place and have loved this combination since. After decades, I was really craving it and they aren’t too easily available here in Chicago, I followed your recipe and boy are these good! Recipe was easy enough.. I made them with jaggery syrup instead of sugar syrup but the overall recipe is such a winner that jaggery/ sugar syrup doesn’t matter.. thank you for posting this recipe and taking so many of us down the lane of nostalgia
Rupali says
Your ladoo recipe turned out to be delicious. Thanks.
Archana says
Thank you Rupali
Nea says
Hi Archana! The measurements and directions are so clear my rava ladoo came out awesome!! Thanks for sharing!
Shraddha says
Hi.... I tried this recipe. It came out to be awesome... thank you for sharing.... I replaced water to milk to make sugar syrup. Thank you for keeping the tradition alive... 🙂
Smita Moghe says
Love these ladoos...perfect recipe
Manisha Ghodke says
I am so excited to try this recipe! It was so easy and ladoos came out perfect! The sugar syrup you made it real easy!T
Thanks Archana ❤️
Dr Arati Joshi says
Hi Archana, I tried your rawa ladoo recipe for Diwali and it turned out amazingggg !! Everyone at home loved it, and it was my first attempt at rawa ladoos. Thanks a lot for giving step wise and detailed tips.
Preeti says
I just made them and the entire apartment smells divine. Am about to roll them and just tasted some of the rava and think that its not cooked enough in the allotted 10 minutes. I am going to let its stay in the pan and cool off a bit there hoping that it will do the job, but what does one do if that the rava/ sooji seems to have not cooked entirely. Also, I like my laddoos not too sweet, can I put less syrup or make the syrup with less sugar? If so, what quantities would you recommend? PS: I follow your work religiously and would love to become best friends with you 🙂
Archana says
I am pretty sure if you used fine rava it will be roasted. I would suggest you try the recipe as is!
Sulabha says
After years , I was finally able to make a good traditional Pakaatle Rawa Ladoo thanks to your easy instructions , even for the IP. My family loved them so much that I had to make them again the same week. I did not add any dryfruits , just kesar and elaichi . Also the elaichi I reduced to only 1 tsp.
Thank you forthis fool proof recipe. I will be making it again
Aarti S. says
My son has allergies can I skip the besan and what can I substitute it for?
Thanks
Aarti
Archana says
You can just skip besan and it will still work as is.
Girija says
Dear Archana, your recipe is absolutely fabulous. It renders the sort of ladoo my grandma used to make 30 years back. I am so grateful to you for this gem of a recipe, I am able to give my daughter a taste of my childhood. It's very gratifying. Thank you so much.
Archana says
Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Geeta says
I did this without using besan.
Archana, is there a reason you use besan?
And do you use ladoo besan or regular besan?
My ladoos came out very well!! Approved by hubby ☺️ One of his and my favorite desserts
Thank you for the detailed recipe
Archana says
Besan adds a bit of earthy flavor. I use regular fine ground besan. The key to this recipe is perfect sugar syrup. I am so glad you and your husband enjoyed it.