Rava Laddu / Sooji Laddu / Sweet Semolina Balls

Event: Blogging Marathon #42
Theme: Festival Special ~ Sri Krishnashtami

Rava laddu is a sweet dish that is usually featured in an offering platter to Lord Krishna on Janmasthami day. It is simple and quick to prepare when compared to other traditional dishes that are a part of the neivedyam that day. These yummy laddus are very easy to prepare and hard to mess up even by novices. My mother prepares these laddus with coconut while my husband's family follow the below recipe.

 

Ingredients: (yield a dozen laddus.)

1 cup rava / semolina

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup ghee or 2 tbsp ghee + 2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp cashews, chopped roughly

2 tbsp raisins

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Method:
* Add rava to a pan and toast it on low flame. Keep continuously stirring, until it starts to change color, about 5 - 7 minutes. Take care not to burn it. Transfer the toasted rava to a wide plate and keep it aside. Let cool
* Heat about 2 tbsp ghee in a small pan. Add cashews and raisins to the pan and toast until cashews turn golden brown and the raisins turn plump.

* Finely grind the sugar and keep it aside.
* Grind the toasted rava as well.
* Now transfer the rava, powdered sugar, cardamom powder, toasted cashew - raisin mixture along with the ghee used to toast them to a wide plate or a mixing bowl. Next add the remaining ghee (or milk) and mix well.
* Fist about a lime sized portion from the mixture and shape into a ball. Repeat the process with the remaining mixture to from laddus. 
* Store the laddus in an airtight container. 
  
Notes:
* If not preparing for a festive platter, toasted semolina (without any ghee) and sugar can be powdered ahead and stored in a container. Just add toasted dry fruits and prepare laddus on a short notice.
* To make these laddus guilt free, half the quantity of ghee can be replaced by milk as mentioned in the ingredients' list above. However the shelf life of the laddus decrease because of the milk used. If not planning to eat the laddus immediately, they can be refrigerated.
* Usually shaping laddus should not be a problem with the above measurements. If at all the mixture is too dry to shape, add a little more ghee / milk to the mixture, mix and try to make laddus. 
* For a yummy variation, add about a cup of fresh, shredded coconut to the toasted rava and sugar. There is no need to powder rava or sugar in this recipe and use only a tbsp of ghee to toast cashews - raisins. The coconut is enough for binding and so, the remaining 3 tbsp of ghee or milk is not needed. However note that the shelf life of the laddus reduce because of the coconut used. Check here for the recipe.

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