The other day I was flipping through the pages of an old recipe diary of mine, which I used to maintain when I was in college. Since a few years, I started using it again for jotting recipes which my mother-in-law shares with me. While I was checking for her recipe of chhena malpua (which I intend to share as my next post, for Holi), I thought of skimming through other the pages of the diary and came across this recipe for malai laddu, which had not seen the light of day for long. It was probably fated to be my second post to share for the festival of Holi, which happens to be this month end. (I began the series of ‘desserts for Holi’ posts with Chhena Murki i.e. kind of paneer candy)
For reasons best known to the past version of me, I had only written the ingredients and not the method of cooking. So, the first go at the recipe was a disaster. Well, not really a disaster since we got to consume it in the form of kalakand (which happened because the grated paneer turned grainy when I cooked it with the condensed milk) For the next trial, I chose to mash the paneer, like one does for making Rasgulla, and the laddus turned out better. For the last and final round of trial, I gave it a whizz in the blender with the condensed milk and it turned out really well…smooth in texture and melt in the mouth kind, just the way it is meant to be, hence the name – malai ladoo 🙂
It is the kind of dessert that is perfect for festivals. Requires least amount of ingredients, takes no more than ten minutes of your time to get ready and it can be made a day ahead of when you intend to serve it. And so delicious!
½ C Condensed Milk
250 gram Paneer
2 tbsp Heavy Cream
½ tsp Cardamom Powder
Grate the paneer and place it in a grinder or liquidiser along with the condensed milk and cream. Blend it till you attain a smooth mixture.
Heat a pan (preferably non-stick) and add the mixture. Cook on low medium flame till it thickens and comes together as one mass. (should take approximately 10 minutes but the time will depend on how much moisture your paneer has)
Remove the contents in a bowl or plate and allow to cool a little. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, make equal sized balls and gently roll the balls between your palms to make them smooth.
Place them on a plate and cool them completely. Store in a container and keep them in the fridge. Consume within two to three days.
Yield 9 – 12
Note – Feel free to use any aromatic of your choice – rose water, kewra water or saffron.
Thank you so much for your visit and see you soon again with another exciting recipe!
They look so good! I have never paneer, let alone paneer candy. What does ladoo mean in English? Balls?
Thank you 🙂
I guess you could say that.
The ladoos look lovely and I love the photos. Wish i could pick a couple from the screen:)
Thank you Balvinder.
I’ve never had this type of dish made with paneer! Although I don’t use paneer a lot, these are so pretty and sound so delicious!
Thank you so much Laura!
Wow, this looks wonderful. Great recipe. I’ve scribbled down recipes before with just the ingredients and no procedure too — just figured it’d be obvious what to do. Hah! 🙂
Taruna, I can’t wait to try these! I’m hooked on Bollywood movies and they often serve ladoos. I’ll be so happy to make my own! Thank you!
These ladoo are the best way to begin with, then 😀
This looks beautiful. I can only imagine how wonderful it must taste!`
They look lovely, and your pictures are gorgeous as usual ❤️
(BTW not writing down the method just the ingredients happens to me way too often too )
What an easy recipe and the laddoos look super delish! Your pictures are so pretty, as always!
I have a similar recipe file of old recipes that I’ve collected from family and friends. I haven’t looked at it in forever, though…now I want to go pull it out! Glad you stuck with it for this recipe to figure it out! These laddus look amazing!