Monday, April 8, 2013

Chocolate Coconut Ladoo - An SRC Bonus

Today was the posting day for another group within the Secret Recipe Club and there were a few posts missing, so I volunteered to help.

The hostess sent me over to Veg Nation, where "met" Veena, an amazing vegetarian food blogger who lives in India.  Now, I have been wanting to learn more about Indian food for quite some time. A really nice Indian food market opened up not far from me a year or so ago and every once in a while I go in and stroll the isle, wishing I knew what the heck to do with all of the delicious and exotic ingredients I was seeing.

So when perusing Veena's blog, I, of course, went to every heading that had an exotic sound to it, hoping to finally jump in.

The only problem was that I didn't have any of those exotic ingredients on hand. Today. Trust me - I will be making shopping lists from this blog and heading out to that market very soon.

But I saw a heading called "Ladoo Varieties." Never heard of ladoo, but under the heading, I saw a listing for Chocolate Coconut Ladoo.  While there seem to be many varieties, this one seems to be like a delicious chocolate-coconut truffle, so I thought it was the perfect way to dip a toe into the Indian-food waters.

I did make a couple of changes, though, based on what I had on hand, and due to little man's food allergies. The main ingredient in these chocolate balls is sweetened condensed milk. Something he can't have, due to his milk allergy. I had seen that you can make your own substitution using a can of coconut milk, so I decided why not go all out... so I tried it. And it worked! I'll do a whole separate post on that, I promise.

The ladoo are super easy to make - the condensed milk is mixed with some water and heated in the microwave to bring it to a boil.  It is then mixed with cocoa powder...


...and coconut...


...then, after cooling, the mixture is rolled into balls and rolled in more coconut.


That's it!

And they were super tasty. Rich little balls of chocolate-y coconut-y goodness that were just perfect for dessert tonight.


I can't wait to try more recipes from this blog!


Chocolate Coconut Ladoo
(only slightly adapted from Veg Nation)


1/2 cup sweetened-condensed milk (I used homemade sweetened-condensed coconut milk, making this dairy-free)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup dessicated coconut + 1/4 cup for rolling (I had flaked, so that's what I used)
2 tablespoons drinking chocolate (I omitted)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (increased to 2 tablespoons due to omitting the drinking chocolate)

Mix the condensed milk and water in a microwave safe bowl. Heat it for 2 minutes on high. At this stage the condensed milk boils and starts to thicken.
Add the cocoa powder and mix well. Now add the coconut and mix everything thoroughly.
Cook for further 2 1/2 minutes to three minutes on high, mixing evenly every minute . Now you can see that the moisture has evaporated and the mixture has thickened.
Take it out and let it cool for 5 minutes.
Roll into small balls and roll it in the extra coconut.

Enjoy!



14 comments:

  1. That chocolate coconut ladoo reminds me of Brazilian brigadeiro which I love, so I know I'd love eating yours too.

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  2. Awesome orphan rescue! Love love love coconut treats and can't wait to try these. Great SRC pick

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  3. I had Veena's blog last month and made these, too! I also have a son with a dairy sensitivity, and so I also made the sweetened condensed coconut milk. Crazy coincidence. :)


    Great job on the last minute post. I know Veena appreciated it. It hurts to be forgotten. :(

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  4. I thought I remembered these from last month. Popular recipe! They sound like the perfect little snack. Great job stepping up to help out an orphan.

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  5. Looks delicious and I can't wait to see you post on sweetened condensed coconut milk as my daughter is also allergic to dairy.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my SRC entry: Laura Goodenough's Apple Coffee Cake

    Lisa~~

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  6. Yum! Great choice!

    Unfortunately my post missed the blog hop due to tech issues…argh..here is the link as I'd hate for people to miss seeing Aly's recipe and her wonderful blog - http://chitchatchomp.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/secret-recipe-club-april.html

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  7. Shelley, you are incredible..what an amazing thing to do to help out an orphaned blogger - and to temporarily venture into another group to do it! I wish we were in the same group always, but today you are officially a Group A blogger, so it's awesome to have you! I've never tried Ladoo, but I love coconut and chocolate..and it looks and sounds wonderful! Indian desserts are phenomenal..this one being no exception, I'm sure :) Bravo, my friend!

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  8. It is so sweet of you to step up Shelley. These sound like wonderful little treats and they are so easy to make!

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  9. That was so nice of you to help. These look like an easy sweet treat.

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  10. I love all your how-to photos. These look delicious, too. Thanks for your orphan rescue!

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  11. What a good pick! Those ladoo must be just delicious!

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  12. Sounds like a perfect, simple treat. Yum!

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  13. i've never made ladoos but these look so yummy i might have to give it a try!

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