Rava Laddoo: The Finest Sweet Treat

If tomorrow India has to choose a national sweet dish, the most likely contender should be the laddoo. And for some good, hearty reasons. To begin with, it is an omnipresent sweet – and by this we do not only mean its unmistakable presence in every festival and occasion including Diwali, but the fact that every region in India has a variety of its own. The laddoo occupies the top rung in the Indian hierarchy of sweets. It’s served on all happy occasions — from the birth of a child, to a marriage, to examination successes. And in Hindi films, of course, it is a symbol of a mother’s sacrificial love and outshines every other sweet. 

One such succulent variation of laddoo is Rava Laddoo. There are those Rava Laddoos that melt in your mouth, regardless of how many days ago they were made. It is a very popular and decadent Indian sweet made during festivals like Diwali, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi etc. Basically these are sweetened semolina balls. In Hindi, this sweet is called suji ke laddoo. Since rava is known as sooji or suji in Hindi.

It is believed that Indian physician, Susruta, used laddoos as an antiseptic to treat his surgical patients. In the 4th century BC, he used a concoction of ingredients with nutritional properties like sesame seeds, jaggery and peanuts to make laddoos. The seeds were coated with pure honey, which is known for its antibacterial properties, while jaggery and sesame seeds are considered to have multiple health advantages in Ayurveda including maintaining blood pressure, indigestion, curing a cold and so on. Even today new mothers and pregnant women are given laddoos in rural areas as a means to boost their immunity. 

Ingredients:

For suji laddoo:

• ¼ cup ghee
• 1½ cup rava / semolina / suji (coarse)
• ½ cup coconut (grated)
• 1½ cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder

For roasting nuts:

• 1 tsp ghee
• 2 tbsp cashew (halves)
• 2 tbsp raisins

Procedure for preparation of laddoos:

1. Firstly, in a pan heat ¼ cup ghee and add 1½ cup rava.
2. Roast on low flame until the rava turns aromatic.
3. Keep roasting on low flame and make sure not to roast on high flame as it changes the colour of rava.
4. Now add ½ cup coconut and roast for 2 minutes and keep aside.
5. In a large kadhai take 1½ cup sugar and ½ cup water.
6. Stir and boil the sugar until 1 string sugar syrup consistency is reached.
7. Turn off the flame and add roasted rava. (make sure to turn off the flame, else the laddoo will turn hard)
8. Keep stirring until the rava is well combined with sugar syrup. Keep aside for 2 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, in a pan heat 1 tsp ghee. Roast 2 tbsp cashew and 2 tbsp raisins until it turns golden brown.
10. Add fried cashew, raisins, and ¼ tsp cardamom powder.
11. Mix well until the mixture turns moist absorbing the sugar syrup.
12. Initially, the mixture will be moist and later it starts to absorb and turns to crumble texture but moist.
13. Start preparing the laddoo immediately, the laddoo will harden once cooled. (once cooled or if the mixture turns dry, you can warm it in the microwave)
14. Finally, enjoy rava laddoo for a week when stored in an airtight container.

This Suji or Rava Laddoo is an easy sweet you can make in under 30 minutes. That is a big win, as you don't have to slog for hours getting a sweet made for the family in the times of festivity.