Delightful ladoos

Ladoo refers to the spherical shape of this dessert. Coconut ladoo is a traditional, soft and creamy Indian coconut fudge ball made with shredded coconut, condensed milk and cardamom. This quick and easy coconut ladoo recipe can be made within 10-15 minutes. It is soft, chewy and melts in your mouth and is perfect for weeknight celebrations.

1 and ½ cup coconut (freshly grated or frozen)

⅓ cups extra coconut for coating

2 tbsp milk powder

¾ tin condensed milk

½ tsp cardamom powder

1 tsp ghee/unsalted butter

A handful of chopped cashews, almonds, or pistachios (optional)

Heat the ghee in a pan and add the grated coconut. Fry the coconut on low to medium heat until all the moisture has gone. keep the flame on low to make sure the coconut does not brown. This should only take five minutes for the coconut to be dehydrated.

Add the milk powder and the condensed milk and mix well. Keep cooking the mixture until it thickens and starts to form a mass. Keep stirring the mixture continuously so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. This should take around five or six minutes.

Add the cardamom powder and the nuts of your choice, mix well to combine, and turn off the heat.

Transfer the mixture to a plate and let it cool down enough to handle.

Once the mixture has cooled, pinch out a couple of tablespoons of the mixture and roll between your palms to form balls. If the mixture is sticking to your hands, grease your hands with butter/ghee and roll.

If preferred, roll the balls in the reserved coconut.

Let it cool down completely before storing. The coconut ladoos can be stored at room temperature for a couple of days or can be refrigerated for about 10 days.

• If using frozen coconut, thaw the coconut and let it come to room temperature. Put it in a blender/mixer a couple of times to make it fine-textured. If your coconut is not coarse, then you can make it as is and skip the grinding part.

• If using fresh coconut, grate the coconut as fine as you can and measure it out.