Rava Laddu | Rava Laddo

Rava laddu recipe

Quick and easy rava laddu recipe.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yields: 20 small laddus

Ingredients:

1. Cashew nuts,broken- 10 nos
2. Raisins-10 to 15 nos
3. Grated coconut-1/2 cup
4. Semolina-1 cups
5. Sugar-3/4 cup
6. Cardamom powder-1/2 tsp
7. Warm milk-1/4 cup(or as required)
8. Ghee-1.5 tbsp

Instructions:

Heat ghee in a pan,add cashew nuts and roast until it turns golden brown.Now add raisins and saute for few seconds.

Reduce the flame to medium low.Add grated coconut and mix well.

Add semolina , roast until it turns fragrant and lightly golden,stirring continuously over low flame.This will take about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add sugar and cardamom powder, mix well and switch off the flame.

Slowly add milk,stirring well as you do so.Divide the mixture into 20 equal sized balls,while it is warm.Store in an airtight container.

NOTES

• Adjust the quantity of sugar according to your taste.

Nankatai

Ingredients

1. All purpose flour-1/2 cup
2. Whole wheat flour- 1/2 cup
3. Chickpea flour/besan-1 tbsp
4. Semolina-1 tbsp
5. Baking Powder-1/4 tsp
6. Salt-1 pinch
7. Granulated sugar- 1/2 cups
8. cardamom-3 nos
9. Nutmeg powder-1/4 tsp
10. Butter-1/2 cup
11. Almonds -as required

Method

• Preheat oven to 150 deg C.
• In a large mixing bowl combine together,all purpose flour,whole wheat flour,chickpea flour ,semolina baking powder and salt.
• In a blender,add sugar,cardamom and nutmeg powder and grind to form a fine powder.Add this to the flour mixture.
• Add butter and mix well until everything comes together.Knead this well to form a soft dough.
• Cover and keep aside for about 20 minutes.
• Divide the dough into equal sized balls of about 2 inch dia.(Make sure the balls are smooth with no cracks.)
• Place these balls on to a baking tray lined with parchment paper,leaving 2" in between each one.Gently press halved almonds on top of each ball.
• Bake at 150 deg C for about 20 to 22 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies turn golden brown.
• Allow it to to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing.

Semolina Sponge Cake (Revani)

If you are a libertine, don’t turn from the cup of pure wine

If you are wise, take your glass in the direction of Galata

…

Pious one, should you see those Frankish (European) boys but once

You would never cast an eye on the houris in paradise

…

Everywhere is filled with paradisiacal boys and girls, Revani,

Who enters it looks no more to the highest heaven

(from The Age of Beloveds by Walter Andrews and Mehmet Kalpakli) 

These lines which depict the life in Istanbul of 16^th century are from a poem by Revani, an Ottoman poet, an infamous libertine who lived in late 15^th and early 16^th centuries. And revani the dessert is said to be named after Revani the poet. The association is not rooted in Revani’s notorious ways in entertainment or financial matters (he never gets any positive remarks on his character in biographies), but in his famous unique and novel work İşretname (Book of Wassail) which deals with anything related to Ottoman carousals: the wine, best seasons for drinking wine, wine glasses, flagons, young men serving wine, and, of course, food. E.J.W. Gibb in his colossal work on Ottoman poetry defines Revani as a “thorough-going hedonist” but not a “mystic.” In “Book of Wassail” he proves Gibb right. Revani gives a long list of delicasies in his lines and with vivid metaphors likens them to serpents (sausages), pearl (rice), or blond beauty (saffron) (see Gibb for more info on “Book of Wassail”).

Although he wrote couplet after couplet praising pleasures of food, I don’t know why particularly revani, a sponge cake, a semolina sponge cake to be accurate, soaked in syrup is named after Revani. 

for the cake

2/3 cup semolina

1/3 cup flour (white)

5 eggs, separated 

2/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp or less orange zest (optional)

for the syrup

2 1/2 cup water

2 1/2 cup sugar 

2 tbsp lemon juice 

1 tbsp lemon zest (optional)

for the top

coconut flakes or

ground pistachio 

-Beat egg yolk with sugar until creamy. 

-Add orange zest, semolina, and flour gradually as your mixing them all with a whisker or a mixer.

-In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they turn into firm foam and add them into the cake. 

-Grease a deep cake pan 9-10 inch in diameter.

-Pour the batter and bake in a preheated oven at 350F for approximately 30 minutes or until golden brown. Check with a knife or a toothpick to make sure the cake is done. They should come out clean.

-Meanwhile, mix sugar, water, and lemon juice + zest in a pot and bring to a boil. Then simmer on medium for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. 

-When revani is still in the cake pan and warm, not hot but warm, cut in into diamond shape slices or in squares. 

-Pour the lukewarm syrup on top with a scoop slowly, waiting the cake to soak it in.

-Serve diamond with coconut flakes or ground pistachio on top. Revani is also good with vanilla ice cream or clotted cream on the side.