Ragi Laddu is an Indian sweet made with finger millet, jaggery, ghee and nuts. It makes for a perfect afternoon snack or an after-school snack for kids.

Nachni Ladoo

Ragi Laddu is an Indian dessert or snack made with ragi flour or finger millet flour, jaggery powder, ghee and cardamom powder.

They make an excellent snack for kids and adults alike when you are in between meals and you want something healthy to pop into your mouth. I make these ragis Laddus to send them as a snack for my kid’s snack box during his bus ride back home.

Ragi laddus are available at shops these days, but it is predominantly a sweet/ snack made at home.

Ingredients for Ragi Laddu

Ragi flour – You can either use normal ragi flour or sprouted ragi flour. I use the sprouted ragi flour to make these laddus. They are more nutritious and suited for making the laddus.

Jaggery powder – You have so many brands making jaggery powder and I prefer to use them in most Indian desserts. They are much easier to use as compared to the block of jaggery, which required melting, skimming and straining of impurities.

If you like jaggery based desserts, you must check out this recipe of Vella Aval on my blog

Cardamom powder – I make this at home as I use them regularly, almost on a daily basis, to make chai. You can also make them by just dry roasting cardamom pods for a minute (the green pods with the black seeds, yes, the whole thing) with a teaspoon of rice. Once it’s cool, powder them in a mixer and store in a glass bottle. The rice helps with absorption of moisture and keeps the powder shelf stable for at least a month.

Ghee – If you are ghee is in the solid state, melt it on a low flame and keep it aside. For this recipe, where I am using 180g of ragi flour, I am using 4 tablespoons of ghee. You can use less or more. The more ghee you add, the more shelf stable it becomes.

Slivered / Chopped Nuts – I am using cashew nuts, badam and pistas in this recipe. You can add walnuts too. You can use a store-bought packet of slivered / chopped nuts too. Nuts are an optional ingredient; if you don’t have them, you can skip it.

How to make Ragi Laddu

The first step is to measure the ingredients and keep them ready in cups.

I like to roast and chop nuts at home, so I do them first since it takes time to chop them up. You can also use store-bought chopped nuts. Make sure to not include any dried fruits, as these may reduce the shelf life significantly.

Roasting the nuts

Place a small tadka pan on low heat and add 1/2 a teaspoon of ghee. Add the nuts and roast them for a minute. Turn off the heat and scoop the roasted nuts out of the pan with a spoon and place them on a cutting board.

Once the nuts are cool, with a sharp knife, chop them as fine as possible. Try not to make them into a powder. You will still want the crunchy texture when you bite into the laddu.

Keep them aside.

Making the ragi laddu mixture

Place a medium-sized pan on low to medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of ghee. Once the ghee is warm, add the ragi flour. Stir the ragi flour well into the ghee and roast for a minute.

Use a spatula to move the ragi flour back and forth in the pan. After a minute of roasting, add the cardamom powder and jaggery powder.

Mix them well so that they are a homogenous mixture. You have to make sure to not have pockets of jaggery powder in your laddu mixture.

When you see that the jaggery has started melting a little, you can turn the flame to low and keep stirring. If you feel the mixture is too dry, add one more tablespoon of ghee.

Take a small quantity of the ragi laddu mixture in your hand and try to make a ball. If the mixture sticks together, that’s when you know the ragi laddoo mixture is ready. If it does not stick, add a little more ghee until you are able to get that texture.

Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down a little bit. Add the roasted and chopped nuts into this ragi laddoo mixture and mix well.

Once you can handle the heat of the mixture, take a spot of ghee and rub them on both your palms.

Take a small quantity of the mixture and start rolling them into small laddus. I prefer them small as they make a wonderful small snack. When I roll them into small balls, they are easier to store as well as see more quantity. (as shown in the picture). You can choose how big/small you want them.

Roll the rest of the mixture into laddus and keep them on a plate to cool down.

Storage and Shelf Life

Once you have rolled all the laddus, let them be left out on a plate for at least 3- minutes before storing them. It is best to allow ragi laddos to cool down and come to room temperature before storing them in an air-tight box.

Ragi Laddoos store well in an air-tight container on the shelf for up to a week. If you have added a lot of ghee, you can store it up to two weeks too.

You can also store them in the fridge for up to a month.

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