Coconut Laddoo

We Indians love our sweets. I don’t think there is any other place in the world that has as many varieties of sweets as much as we do. Every festival or any good news is marked with at least one type of sweet. We even invented the art of refining sugar from sugar canes. So our love story with sugar and sweets is a long and strong one. 

These days with our hectic lives, we mostly  end up buying sweets outside except may be on festivals. What if we could make an awesome sweet in less than 30mins? Yes, 30 mins aka half an hour. I saw this easy coconut laddoo recipe on Fox Traveler’s Food Safari when they showed the India episode. Since the day I saw how easy it was, I wanted to make it. And to think I didn’t even like coconut laddoos (until of course, I made it myself and ate it). So on a weeknight, when I came home early from office, I thought why not make these yummy laddoos. It needs only 4 ingredients. I always have cardamom at home and butter/ghee is also generally available. So I needed to just buy the coconut powder and condensed milk. I found the coconut powder at Nilgiris. I know that FoodWorld also stocks it. I’m sure a lot of supermarkets stock it. Coconut powder is not the same as coconut milk powder. Coconut powder is just desiccated coconut but it is slightly dried. You get this in all Indian stores abroad.

The below recipe made 20 small laddoos.

Coconut Laddoo

Sweet Indian fudge made with coconut.

Recipe Type:  Dessert
Cuisine:          Indian
Prep Time:     5 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:              20

Ingredients:

200gms Sweetened condensed milk
1.5 cups Coconut powder
2-3 pods Cardamom
½ tsp Ghee / Unsalted butter


Method:

• In a kadhai or a pan (preferably nonstick), pour the condensed milk., 1.25 cups of coconut powder to it and mix well.
• Add powdered cardamom and mix.
• Place this on the stove and on low heat cook for around 8-10mins stirring occasionally. Be careful and don’t let it burn. 
• Remove from heat and allow it to cool for 5 mins. 
• Grease a plate with ghee/ unsalted butter.
• Now very carefully, take little of the mix and make a ball with it. Remember, the mix is hot but this can only be done when it is hot/warm. It will set as it cools. 
• Roll it in the remaining coconut powder and place it in the greased plate. 
• Leave it to cool for 20-30mins. 
• Serve it with love