Safed Sooji Ladoo ~ White Rawa Ladoo

Melt in your mouth deliciousness from the store to my kitchen.

As with each food experience, the first time I ate white laddus – because I didn’t know the ingredients then, which turned out to be Sooji –  is related to a specific place. There is a chain of sweet shops in Hyderabad. Sweet Shop is the common term for dessert shops selling traditional Indian sweets. It derives from the transliteration of the word sweets to mithai in Hindi. Mithai is plural and so dessert shops were called Mithai Bhandars (a store) and then became Sweet Shops in English.

First encounter with the Safed Sooji Laddu 

I ate these wonderful sooji ladoos at one branch of a chain called ‘Almond House’ in Hyderabad. If you are from Hyderabad or even a city nearby, you would’ve heard of Badam Ghar or Almond House and know that they have both great quality and variety.
The white laddus at Almond House are melt-in-your-mouth. Since they are actually called ‘White Laddus’ on the menu and in store with little or no description, it took a bit of snooping on the internet (thank you fellow bloggers!) to find a recipe that would help me relive the same melt in my mouth sweetness and smoothness in a far away land. Since finding the recipe I have made them twice and been extremely pleased with the results.  So here goes!

How to Make Sooji Ladoo

Total Preparation Time ~ 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 cup Sooji,
1 cup Milk powder,
3/4 cup Sugar,
1/2 cup Ghee,
4-5 Elaichi / Green Cardamoms (ground),
1 inch Cinnamon stick,
** Nuts & Raisins – optional
1/4 cup Almond slivers,
1/4 Cashews roughly chopped,
1/4 Raisins (your preferred variety)

Method:

To begin we first need to measure all our ingredients, starting with the dry one – sooji (semolina), milk powder, sugar, spices (cardamom, cinnamon) and nuts and raisins.
Dry roast sooji in a wide, heavy bottomed pan on medium high heat. Be careful not to let it burn and get too brown. I add cinnamon while roasting sooji to give it additional flavour. This is entirely optional. As sooji cooks it releases a warm and sweet fragrance.
Once you get a light brown hue, remove sooji from heat and let it cool down before grinding it to a fine powder.
I use a Krups coffee grinder for all my spices and dry ingredients. The melt in mouth sensation of these laddus comes from the fine texture of their ingredients – fine sooji and sugar – along with a good helping of ghee.

Once the semolina has been ground, transfer to a large bowl or flat but deep utensil like the parath above. To this add milk powder.
The first time I made these laddus I used a store brand milk powder. The second time around I found a variation at the local Indian grocery store that was called Mawa Milk Powder. Mawa or khoya is an Indian version of dried whole milk which is often a little moist but you can find it in a dry powder form as well.
Both work well – use whichever is easily available.

Next grind cardamom pods. There are two ways to make your own cardamom powder. First by grinding the entire pod – outer shell and the seeds within. The second method requires an extra step. Start by removing the shell by pounding pods in a pestle and grind only the seeds inside. This is a bit more time-consuming and also requires a larger quantity of cardamom, which can be expensive. I prefer to use the entire pod.

Once the powder is ready, transfer along with sugar to the parath. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Sift them if possible.
At this point you can add chopped nuts and raisins. I also use chopped dates sometimes. Since dates are very sweet they can help replace and reduce the amount of sugar used.
Heat ghee in a microwave-able bowl until it melts. 30 seconds should do the trick if it was stored at room temperature. Make a hole in the center of the dry mix and pour three-fourths of the ghee and mix well.
To make the laddus, first grease your fingers with a little bit of ghee and take about 2 tablespoons of mixtures at a time in your hand. Start rolling in the palm to make round balls. Add ghee as needed incase the mixture doesn’t bind.

And that’s it! Delicious Sooji Ladoos are ready to be devoured by you, your friend and family.

Pssst…you needn’t wait for an occasion to bite in :)

Safed Sooji Laddu

2018-07-31 14:13:25

A traditional sweet made with finely ground mix of semolina and milk powder. ITs melt in mouth consistency is always a hit.

Prep Time

10 min

Total Time

1 hr

Prep Time

10 min

Total Time

1 hr

Ingredients

1. 1 cup Sooji,
2. 1 cup Milk powder,
3. 3/4 cup Sugar,
4. 1/2 cup Ghee,
5. 4-5 Elaichi / Green Cardamoms (ground),
6. 1 inch Cinnamon stick,
7. ** Nuts & Raisins – optional
8. 1/4 cup Almond slivers,
9. 1/4 Cashews roughly chopped,
10. 1/4 Raisins (your preferred variety)

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Instructions

1. To begin measure all ingredients, starting with the dry ones – sooji (semolina), milk powder, sugar, spices (cardamom, cinnamon) and nuts and raisins.
2. Dry roast sooji in a wide, heavy bottomed pan on medium high heat.
3. Once you get a light brown hue, remove sooji from heat and let it cool down before grinding it to a fine powder.
4. After semolina has been ground, transfer to a large bowl.
5. Add milk powder and mix.
6. Add cardamom powder to the above mix and sieve if possible.
7. At this point add chopped nuts and raisins.
8. Heat ghee in a microwave-able bowl for 30 seconds or until it melts.
9. Make a hole in the center of the dry mix and pour three-fourths of the ghee and mix well.

To make the laddus

1. Grease your fingers with a little bit of ghee and take about 2 tablespoons of mixtures at a time in your hand.
2. Start rolling in the palm to make round balls.
3. Add ghee as needed incase the mixture doesn’t bind.

Notes

1. I add cinnamon while roasting sooji to give it additional flavour. This is entirely optional.
2. I use chopped dates sometimes. Since dates are very sweet they can help replace and reduce the amount of sugar used.

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By kanika Samra

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