Coconut ladoos are the sweet that appears on almost every Navratri prasad plate and fasting table. Traditionally they are made with fresh khoya, which takes an hour of stirring milk. Full cream milk powder gives the same rich, milky taste in a fraction of the time.
Some families make their fasting sweets only with fresh milk, others are happy with condensed milk or milk powder, so choose what fits your household. The ladoos themselves are soft and moist, with a gentle scent of cardamom.
Ingredients
- 200g Heera desiccated coconut medium (700g), plus 3 tbsp for rolling
- 60g Anchor full cream milk powder (1kg)
- 250ml whole milk
- 100g sugar
- 1 tbsp Udhaya Krishna ghee (1L), plus a little for your palms
- Half tsp Fudco cardamom seeds (75g), crushed to a powder
- A few chopped pistachios to decorate (optional)
Method
- Melt the ghee in a heavy non-stick pan over a low flame. Add the desiccated coconut and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until it smells toasted. It should stay white; any colour makes the ladoos taste bitter.
- Whisk the milk powder into the cold milk in a jug until completely smooth, with no lumps.
- Pour the milk mixture over the coconut and add the sugar. Stir well and turn the heat up to medium.
- Cook, stirring all the time, for 10 to 12 minutes. The mixture will look wet at first, then thicken, and is ready when it comes away from the sides of the pan in one mass and holds its shape when you press a little between your fingers.
- Stir in the cardamom, take the pan off the heat and tip the mixture onto a plate. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle but still warm. Once cold it will not hold together.
- Grease your palms with a little ghee and roll the mixture into balls of about 25g each. Roll each one in the extra coconut and press a piece of pistachio on top, if using.
- Leave the ladoos on a tray for an hour to firm up before serving or packing.
Cook's notes
If the mixture cracks as you roll it, it has cooked a little too long; work in a teaspoon of warm milk. If it is too soft to shape, return it to the pan for a minute or two. Because they are made with milk, keep the ladoos in a covered box in the fridge and eat within five days. Bring them out half an hour before serving.
For a richer, deeper flavour, swap half the sugar for powdered jaggery; the ladoos turn a pale caramel colour. A few strands of saffron warmed in the milk, or a spoon of rose water stirred in with the cardamom, also work well. Medium desiccated coconut gives the best texture: fine coconut makes a dense ladoo, and long flakes will not bind.
