Ragi laddu | Nachni ladoo
Updated: September 1, 2022, By Swasthi
Ragi laddu are delicious, healthy & nutrient dense ladoos made with ragi flour, jaggery, nuts & seeds. These ragi ladoo or nachni laddu make a amazing snack for toddlers, kids & women. I have made these countless number of times for my family & always turn out wonderful.
Red millet or finger millet are known as ragi or nachni in most Indian languages. These tiny grains are a powerhouse of nutrition and are mostly used as a health food in most South Indian homes. To know more about these wonder millet you can read this detailed post on Ragi or finger millet.
There are a few laddu recipes for which one need to understand or have experience with string or ball consistency. Such recipes are surely not for beginners. So this easy ragi ladoo recipe is for those who have difficulty getting the right ball consistency.
These ragi ladoo were made by my mom when I was home in India. They were so tasty that I was tempted to make another batch of these for the blog post.
When I made the nachni ladoo, I made 4 times the quantity of what I mentioned in the recipe which made up to 40 ladoos which were quite a lot. So the quantity in the pictures might not match the recipe.
Which flour to use?
I have used sprouted ragi flour, you can use plain ragi flour too. You may like to check this post on how to make sprouted ragi flour. I roasted the flour in ghee for some time since using raw flour may cause stomach upset.
For more ragi recipes, you can also check
Instant ragi dosa
Ragi roti
Soft ragi roti
Ragi mudde
Instant ragi rava upma
Ragi halwa
For similar healthy ladoo recipes, check
Sesame seed peanut ladoo
Almond ladoo
Oats laddu
Peanut cornflakes ladoo
Photo Guide
Preparation
1. Fry 1 cup ragi flour in 2 tbsp ghee till it turns aromatic. Dry roast peanuts until aromatic. If you prefer you can remove the skin once they cool down. Lightly roast dried coconut (optional) and almonds or sesame seeds. Cool them. Grate jaggery and set aside. I used palm sugar, you can use jaggery.
2. Powder together peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut and cardamoms. You can even powder each of these separately if doing in large quantity, like i did.
How to make ragi ladoo
3. Mix all the ingredients and add them to a grinder jar. Grind it until you begin to see the oil oozing out. The oil from peanuts , sesame and coconut begins to ooze out.
4. Take small portions of this mix and roll them to nachni ladoo. Finish rolling while the mix is warm. If needed add the left over ghee and make the ladoo.
Store ragi ladoo in an airtight jar and handle with moist free hands.
How to make ragi ladoo with less ghee?
The other ingredients that I used here like dry coconut, sesame seeds, and peanuts help to reduce the amount of ghee that might be needed otherwise. They also add lot of taste and aroma to the ladoo.
If you like to use more ghee, skip all the other ingredients and make them just with flour, cardamoms, jaggery and ghee. But then the taste would entirely be different.
Some people believe that ragi in any form like ragi malt, ragi mudde or ragi roti or ragi ladoo can lead to cold and phlegm especially in the monsoons. If you are someone who believes that, I suggest you to use half teaspoon of dry ginger powder. You can barely feel the spice in the ragi ladoo.
Variations of ragi ladoo
You can adjust the quantity of sesame seeds, peanuts and desiccated coconut to whatever you desire, but the total proportion of these should be ¾ to 1 cup for every 1 cup of ragi flour.
This yields the best tasting ragi ladoos. You can even skip any of these ingredients and increase the quantity of the other ingredients.
Related Recipes
Recipe card
Ragi laddu
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1 cups ragi flour (finger miller flour – sprouted or plain)
- ¼ cup peanuts or any other nuts
- ¼ to ½ cup almonds or sesame seeds (refer notes)
- ¼ cup desiccated coconut or copra (optional)
- 4 green cardamoms (elaichi)
- 150 grams jaggery (¾ to 1 cup powder) (adjust to taste)
- 2 tbsp Ghee or coconut oil
Instructions
Preparation
- Heat ghee and fry the flour on a low heat till you get a nice aroma of ragi. Set this aside to cool.
- Dry roast peanuts, cool, remove the skin. It is optional to remove the skin.
- Roast almonds or sesame seeds until you smell them lightly roasted. Set aside ½ tbsp. of seeds aside (optional).
- Dry roast desiccated coconut lightly. set aside to cool.
- Add peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut and cardamoms to a grinder and make a fine powder. You can even powder each of these separately if doing in large quantity.
How to make ragi laddu
- Add the cooled ragi flour and jaggery to the grinder.
- Blend for about 1 to 2 minutes for the oil to ooze out from the mix. Make balls while the mix is still warm. If needed add melted warm ghee and make ragi ladoo. (check video)
- Tip: If making in large quantity, you can mix the blended nut powder, jaggery, ragi flour and sesame seeds in a mixing bowl. Blend this in batches.
- Store ragi ladoo in a air tight jar.
Notes
If using ½ cup of sesame seeds, increase the quantity of jaggery slightly, by 2 tbsp.
If using sugar you might need to use more ghee else the ladoos may not bind well.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
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About Swasthi
Iโm Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthiโs Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Hi Swasthi,
Did you roast the sprouted ragi flour too? Or did you mean to say that if using normal ragi flour, it should be roasted?
Hi Megha,
Yes you should toast it even if it is sprouted. But if your sprouted flour is homemade – sprouted, toasted and milled, then cut down the toasting time. But yes you should toast it else it can cause stomach ache
Excellent recipe. I’m a forced bachelor and made these ladoos using this recipe. It was yummy and I offered it to my friends in Diwali. Thank you for sharing this recipe
That’s really nice to know! Thank you
Hi Swasthi,
I made this laddoo for Diwali and it was a superhitโฆ most of my friends asked me for the recipe ๐โฆ Though I was not sure how ragi would taste but it tasted amazingโฆ Thanks for the recipe โฅ๏ธ
Hello Romi,
So happy to read they turned out good. Thank you for sharing back!
Was thrilled to make it today for Deepawali- I cannot have wheat or besan, so usually do not make or have. It has turned out just delicious. Basis earlier comments, I made sure the nut- coconut mix was ground till oil oozed out, used the solid jaggery and roasted the ragi well- on very low flame, 15 min. The last two we had to add a little ghee, else perfect. Got 15 small delicious balls of yumminess. Thank you!
So happy to read that Anjali. Thank you for sharing back!
Can we replace sugar or jaggery with dates?
Yes medjool or other kind of very soft dates should work. I haven’t tried it myself with ragi but I make them often with almond flour. 380 grams dates with 1.5 cups almond flour. Food processor works better for this
Hi…Always follow your recipes and it just turns out so yummy…. Wanted to know can these ladoos be stored in a tight container and kept out for 15 days?
Thankyou so much for sharing your recipies
Hi Jems,
You are welcome and thanks for trying. Yes they should keep good if handled with moist-free hands.
Thanks swasthi…
I am following your many receipes. Always result is amazing
Thank you soo much
Bhavana, that’s nice to know! Glad you like them!
it helped alot
Thank you Vaishali
Dear Swasthi ! From did you get this red handle black kadhai ? I also want to buy this before making the Raagi Laddu. Thank you for your response.
Easy to follow. Came out well. Thanks
Going to try this weekend. I have fresh coconut in the fridge. Should I dry them before using or can be made as coconut jaggery Laddu?
Swasti Recipe Was Super But Unfortunately My Ladoo Breaks Easily..I Couldn’t Able to Take it with me in travel !Why so?
That could be due to the jaggery. Only traditional ball jaggery works for this recipe and not store bought jaggery powder. Add little very hot ghee and try binding. I am sure it will bind well. Be little generous with ghee if required.
Shelf life swasti?
2 weeks at room temperature and 1 month in the refrigerator
If we add dates to it will it lasts 2 weeks?
No, don’t. Instead use dried dates powder (kharik). Dry roast until slightly hot and mix it with the other ingredients later.
I used ur recipe. However, the laddu turned out to be dry
Samata,
Taste test the mixture. If it is low on sweetness, add more jaggery and grind again. That should fix the problem. This recipe has been tested only with traditional jaggery and not with store bought powdered jaggery which is usually dry & has no moisture. The other way to fix is to grind the mixture a little longer so more oils are released for good binding. If that does not work, use some ghee. Hope this helps
Thank you Swasthi madam,for the recipe.I prepared it and turned out delicious, as you mentioned with less amount ghee.
Thank you for this recipe. I am gluten-free and my daughter is allergic to besan as well. We have very few options to make ladoos. These ragi ladoo are a treat to our taste buds. They turned out lovely and delicious. Will be making these again
So glad to know Sudha. Thank you so much for the comment.
Hi, the recipe looks super healthy. I want to try it but just needed to ask if I can use dates instead of jaggery for sweetness?
Hi Neethi,
These ladoos taste very good with jaggery. The combo of nuts and jaggery also add so much flavor. Not sure how they taste with dates. I am also not sure if the mixture will bind easily. You may try a small batch.
Me and my husband are hardcore fans of this laddu. Thanks a lot for this recipe. I would like to know how much does one serve weigh in the nutrition info.
Thanks Veena.
It should be the total weight of all the ingredients in the recipe divided by 10. Since I haven’t weighed some ingredients in this recipe I can’t give you the accurate weight. Hope this helps
It was good but i only had jaggery powder so I used that. It was too dry and crumbly
Should of added more water to get a smoother mix?
Hi Amy,
No! water will spoil the ladoos. You can blend it a little longer until the mixture begins to become warm. This helps to releases some moisture from jaggery and grease from nuts. If this doesn’t help then add very hot ghee and bind it. Also adding more jaggery will help to fix. This recipe has not been tested with store bought jaggery powder and it is a bit dry when compared to the ball jaggery. Usually darker jaggery has more moisture so the ladoos bind well. Hope this helps you for the next time.
Hi Swasthi.. for how long do you fry the ragi flour in low flame ? I read it as 10 mins in some websites and 40 mins in some…
Hi Deepthi,
40 mins is a lot. It takes about 8 to 10 mins on the lowest heat in a heavy bottom pan. It depends on the kind of pan used and the intensity of heat. Start on a medium heat, once it is hot, turn down the flame and do it on a low heat until it begins to smell aromatic. Taste test a bit. You should not feel the raw taste in the flour. If you are using store bought sprouted flour it will be done sooner. Hope this helps
Loved the recipe. The blended nuts took forever to become a butter that I could mould the ladoos with, but I still persevered and ended up making it. They were amazing. I also included sunflower and pumpkin seeds, walnuts and pistachios. Next time I’m gonna try them with jaggery syrup and nut powder instead of nut butter. Hopefully they still taste as good!
Thank you so much for this incredible recipe!
Glad to know Lebanah. Take a look at the video that may help you. Thanks for rating the recipe