Coconut Laddu - Sugary Food heaven

Ingredients:
1. Fresh grated coconut - 150 gms + 2 tbsp
2. Condensed milk - 1 small tin - 200 ml
3. Cardamom powder - 2 tsp
4. Ghee - 2 tbsp
5. Cashews - halved - 7 nos / chopped - 1 tsp

Method:

1. In a pan, preferably non-stick, add a tbsp of ghee and roast the cashews until they are golden brown.
2.In the same pan, if you have some left over ghee, just add a little extra and add 2 tbsp of freshly grated coconut

3. On medium flame, by roasting continuously, fry it until it is crisp and golden brown. remove it on to a separate plate and set aside for cooling,

4. To the same pan, without adding any extra ghee, add the remaining coconut and toss gently in medium flame. 

5. After 2-3 mins, add the cardamom powder and toss gently.

6. Keep frying in medium -low flame, for up to 5 mins or until the divine aroma of coconut and cardamom comes up together. 

7. Make sure the coconut does not change color, we just want the moisture from coconut to escape. we do not want to roast the coconut to golden brown. 

8. Once the aroma is released, add the condensed milk. I suggest to take the pan off the flame, pour the entire can of condensed milk, mix well and then place it on the flame again.

9. Keep the flame on medium and stir the mixture continuously. At first the mixture might seem weird, with coconut flakes and the condensed milk not incorporated so well, as in the above picture. Just keep stirring. After three minutes of time, my mixture looked like below.

10. As the mixture started to thicken, add the chopped and fried cashews. Mix well.

11. Keep stirring. After 5-6 mins of time, my mixture started sticking on to my wooden spoon and started leaving the pan. 

This indicates we are so close to the right consistency. Once the mixture stops sticking to the pan, there we are.

12. After a minute or so, the mixture started to form a nice , soft and smooth dough like ball.

(You can see how clean my pan is. :) ) 

  

14. Allow it to cool completely, or just warm enough for you to handle it.

15. Make small balls out of the mixture and place the fried halved cashew at the center.

16. Roll it over the roasted coconut crumbs. 

17. Coconut laddu is ready.