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These fudgy Coconut Ladoo are super simple, have just 5 ingredients and perfect for Indian Festivals like Diwali or Dussehra. Vegan and Gluten-free
Dussehra is just around the corner! As with every Indian festival, there are several stories around why it is celebrated and several ways to celebrate it depending on region as well. Read more about it here.
Every year, we try to keep up the cultural celebrations, and there is always this fear that eventually all will be forgotten. The nuances of each and every Pooja, the stories, the decorations, the customs etc tend to get lost with the generations. Also, with the change in our dietary choices, the discussions and celebrations tends to affected as well. Every year, I try to recreate vegan versions of some Indian sweets so if anyone is visiting, I have something to offer to them apart from fruits :). And we can continue to discuss the festivals, stories etc without getting into why we choose to not eat something or don’t we miss eating some name delicious sweet!
This year I add another Laddoo to the repertoire. This Coconut Ladoo is has shredded coconut, coconut milk, sugar and whole cardamom. Thats it. No oils, no long list of ingredients. They come together quickly and get eaten up quickly too. Happy Dussehra everyone!
Try some Indian sweets like Besan Laddoo, Kesar Burfi, Wheat Ladoo, Sooji Halwa and Kaju Katli from the blog!
Oct 2 is Fast Against Slaughter Day. Here is how you can join in.
“Most farmed animals are starved for hours, even days, as they are being transported to slaughter. In remembrance and solidarity with their tremendous suffering, lets join across the world in a Fast Against Slaughter on October 2nd.”
I will fast as much as I can that day. No food and my balance do not work very well together.
Read more about those 65 billion animals in the food industry here. And this article on the HuffPo about who is leading the fast against slaughter.
Coconut Ladoo
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut dried
- seeds from 4 to 5 cardamom pods
- 1/3 cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 2/3 cup ground raw sugar or jaggery, use a Tbsp less for less sweeter
- a pinch of salt
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
Instructions
- Grind or blend 2 cups coconut flakes in a blender or processor to make small powdery flakes. Blend a few short cycles, move the coconut around and pulse more to avoid making coconut butter. Pound the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle to break into a coarse mixture and mix with the coconut.
- Heat the coconut milk in a small skillet at medium heat. Add oil, sugar and salt and mix in. Bring the mixture to a bubbling boil (about 4 mins). continue to boil for another 4 minutes or until the mixture can form a half thread. (220 to 225 deg F temperature). Take off heat.
- Immediately add 1.5 cups of the shredded coconut and cardamom and mix in. Add the coconut flour and mix in. If the mixture appears too wet, let it cool for a minute, Then add more shredded coconut 2 Tbsp at a time. Do not add more than 4 Tbsp else the laddoos will be dryer. The mixture becomes less wet as it cools. Let the mixture cool for 2 minutes then shape into balls by picking up 1 to 2 Tbsp of the mixture, pressing and shaping with one hand. Roll the ball in the remaining shredded coconut and serve. Cool completely before storing. Store in an airtight container on the counter for upto 3 days or refrigerated for a week.
Notes
If you are not fond of cardamom, use other flavors like cinnamon or saffron.
Use more shredded coconut if you do not have coconut flour. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Get this recipe also in my cookbook! Now available internationally!
Can we use almond milk instead
yes.
I made these a few times already! I used vegetable oil instead of coconut since I didn’t have any, used brown sugar for a richer taste, and used powered sugar instead of coconut flour since I also didn’t have any and these turned out really well!! Always gone very quickly in my house. Might dip them in chocolate for a mounds-style candy 😊
yay – nice idea
Hi Richa,
You are like my GoTo website these days…because my son is supposed to have a GFCF diet for some months atleast. I am an Indian and tried your Coconut Ladoos with Jaggery.
They were lovely and he gobbled them up very fast. Thanks for posting these recipes:).
Hi Richa,
You are like my GoTo website these days…cos my son is supposed to have a GFCF diet for some months atleast. I am an Indian and tried your Coconut Ladoos with Jaggery. They were lovely and he gobbled them up very fast. Thanks for posting these recipes:).
Hi Richa,
Thanks for this recipe. can’t wait to try!
One question though, what do you mean by ‘raw sugar’? Is it just unrefined sugar?
yes, its unrefined sugar.
Can these be frozen?
the ladoos will stay well refrigerated for upto a week. they should work ok when froxen too. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
Is it best to serve them warm right after making them or are they just as good the next day? If you do serve them the next day, do you serve them chilled?
You can keep them at room temperature for the day and refrigerate for upto 4 -5 days. Serve them cold from the refrigerator(they might be slightly hard), or warm in the microwave and serve
Delicious! Can’t wait to make these again!
yay!
These balls are always a hit. I make these for parties and I always come home with am empty box!
Can I use ground cardamom instead? If so, how much do you think I need?
Thank you!
1/2 to 1 tsp. Start with 1/2 as it depends on your preference of flavor and the freshness of the cardamom. If the flavor isnt strong enough, you can add more ground cardamom to the shredded coconut you will use to roll the balls in.
But I would love to explore if you can make this without any sugar at all. I’m doing a sugar free diet, so no sugar replacers either. So I wonder if the taste can still be nice. Coconut by itself is already so flavorful. Or is it too difficult to get the consistency right.
Thanks for your suggestions 🙂
you can just blend the coconut and cardamom till it just about starts to get buttery. Then roll it up and eat it. no sugar. I am not sure how that it will taste though.