Sujir Laddu / Semoline Laddu / Rava Laddu

 I became familiar with Rava Laddu / Semolina Laddu after coming in Abidjan. In Bengal we are more familiar with only the coconut laddu made with jaggery, but coming face to face with people from other states of India made me realize that there can be laddus made with almost every other edible thing in the kitchen. There are many more verities of laddus that I would like to try my hands on, but for now I am just as happy with the Rava Laddu.

Rava Laddu has a little course brittle like texture owing to the original course texture of the semolina / rava and the perfect moistness that comes from the addition of grated fresh coconut. Fried cashews and raisins are also added for more texture and taste. I always keep the rava laddu in the fridge which extends their shelf life and they are also great sweet addition in my kids lunchboxes. 

I have made these rava / semolina laddus a few times before finally deciding on sharing the recipe, and in my kitchen it is always fail proof. While making the laddus I always use low flame while roasting the semolina which ensures the white colour of the laddus. I also don't fry the cashews too long as they loose their sweetness if they are fried for too long. And also, I always always use pure ghee for making the laddus which enhances the taste and flavour almost by ten fold. So I highly recommend doing that too. Making the sugar syrup also requires apt attention as you can easily make the syrup too thick which will make the rava laddu very hard once they cool down. 

Here in Abidjan I get the Italian variety of semolina which is a little wheatish in colour to begin with so my laddus came out a little beige in colour too. If you are using the Indian variety of white semolina roast them on low flame with ghee and stir continuously to prevent them from browning. Once you start getting the nutty flavour from roasting the semolina you should stop the gas and transfer them immediately to a plate to stop them from cooking further and to cool down quickly.

Ingredients:

1. 1 and 1/2 cup of fine semolina
2. 1/2 cup of ghee
3. 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
4. 1 and 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
5. 1/2 cup of room temperature water
6. 3 green cardamoms - pound in a mortar and pestle to make fine powder
7. A handful of cashews
8. A handful of raisins

Method:

1. In a kadai heat 2 tbsp ghee and fry the cashews and raisins separately until the cashews turn light golden and the raisins puff up. Take them out of the kadai and keep aside in a plate.
2. In the same kadai add the remaining ghee and keep the flame on low.
3. Add the semolina to it and fry until they start imparting a nutty flavour, keeping the flame on low throughout the roasting so that the semolina can not turn brown.
4. When the semolina is perfectly roasted add the grated coconut to it and keep roasting for 2 minutes.
5. Turn off the flame.
6. In a pot boil the sugar and water together until they reach 1 string consistency.
7. Turn the flame off and add the roasted semolina and coconut to it.
8. Stir and mix the roasted semolina with the syrup until the sugar syrup is perfectly absorbed.
9. Add the roasted cashew, raisins and green cardamom powder.
10. Wait until the mixture is just cold enough to touch and start making small balls from them with a greased palm.