How to Make Coconut Ladoo: A Rose Infused Coconut Bliss Ball

June, our northern hemisphere month to celebrate all things rose. Wild roses and the deep violet rugosa roses blooming here are a scent-ual feast every time we walk by them.

These Coconut Ladoos (also spelled Coconut Laddu) are infused with homemade Rose Syrup and vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk (recipes for these are included!). They're made a deeper shade of pink with Dragonfruit, or Pitaya, powder. You can also use Beet powder or red food coloring. 

Coconut Ladoos are made during India's Festival of Light, Diwali. This festival celebrates the victory of good over evil.  The rose essence furthers the celebration of the Light.   

We make these Coconut Bliss Balls with half shredded coconut and half coconut flour. This helps them hold together and gives a creamy texture. The vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk enhances the coconut flavor. 

Our Rose Ladoos are gluten-free, can be nut-free, and are high in fiber which helps keep your blood sugar levels stable with the sweetness of these Indian treats. 

Coconut Ladoos are a fun experiment too. If you're not fond of rose, add orange flower blossom water and orange zest, or go for lemon! Hmmm, maybe I'll make a book of Coconut Ladoo recipes! 

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Jump to Coconut Rose Cardamom Ladoo Grocery List

Coconut Ladoo Recipe

Prep

• Prep Time:
  • Coconut Ladoos: 40 minutes 
  • Rose Paste and Rose Syrup: 30 minutes 
  • Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk: 40 minutes
• Serves 10
• Suggested equipment: medium saucepan, stirring spoon, small jar, airtight container, coffee/spice grinder or blender, fine mesh strainer, mixing bowl.

If you’re making your own vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk and/or Rose Syrup, start them first.

Vegan Coconut Ladoo Recipe
Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 Tbsp ground cardamom
  
  
• 1 tsp vegan butter
• 7 Tbsp rose syrup*
• 10 Tbsp vegan sweetened condensed milk*
• 2 Tbsp Rose paste*
• 1 Tbsp Pitaya (dragonfruit) powder 

For rolling

• 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 Tbsp pitaya powder

For the filling (optional)

• 1/3 cup chopped pistachios
• 1 Tbsp Rose syrup

*recipes below

Instructions

1. Toast the shredded coconut and coconut flour in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until fragrant and some of the coconut is golden colored.
2. Add 1 Tbsp ground cardamom and stir one more minute.
3. Add 1 tsp vegan butter, rose syrup, and vegan sweetened condensed milk. Stir until thoroughly combined. It will look crumbly and moist. Check to see that a spoonful of it can easily be formed into a ball that holds its shape. Add more rose syrup or vegan sweetened condensed milk if needed.
4. Add 2 Tbsps of Rose Paste and 1 Tbsp of Pitaya powder (or beet powder, or other red food coloring source) and mix thoroughly.
5. For optional filling: Chop the pistachios into small pieces and add 1 Tbsp of rose syrup.
6. In a jar or other small container with a lid, combine the unsweetened shredded coconut and 1 Tbsp of pitaya powder (or beet powder, or other red food coloring source) to make the colored coconut you roll the balls in. Shake well until the mixture is uniformly pink.
7. If you’re adding the pistachio filling: Take 1 Tbsp of coconut ladoo mixture and roll into 1” ball. Flatten and place ½ tsp of pistachio filling in the middle. Wrap the edges over the filling and roll the coconut ladoo into a ball.
8. If you’re not adding the filling, roll the coconut ladoo mixture into 1” balls. Roll the balls into the pink coconut until covered.
9. Enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

If you don’t have rose syrup and vegan sweetened condensed milk and you want to make them yourself, here’s how:

Rose Paste Ingredients

• 2 cups of fresh fragrant dark pink or red rose petals (we like rugosa rose petals)
• 4 Tbsps water

Instructions

1. Blend in batches in a coffee/spice grinder or all at once in a blender until it makes a smooth paste. Pulsing the grinder helps get all the rose petals down to the blades. 

This is how the paste looks after blending it in our coffee grinder. 

Rose Syrup Ingredients

• 1 cup organic cane sugar (chosen for its light color)
• 1 cup water
• Rose paste from the above recipe, about 1/4 cup (set aside 2 Tbsp  for the Ladoo dough)

Instructions

1. Place sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
2. Stir in the rose paste minus the 2 Tbsp reserved for the coconut ladoo recipe. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
3. Pour the cooled mixture into a fine mesh strainer positioned over a bowl. Our fine mesh strainer is small so we did this in 4 batches. Stir the mixture to move the liquid through. When most of the liquid has passed through the strainer, use the back of a spoon to press the liquid out of the paste. Discard the paste. Your rose syrup is ready!

Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk Ingredients

• 1 can organic full-fat coconut milk
• 1 cup organic cane sugar (chosen for its light color)

Instructions

1. Bring to boil in a saucepan. Lower the heat so it simmers at a low boil, stirring occasionally.
2. It's ready to use when the volume of liquid is reduced by half, about 40 minutes.

Chef's Notes 

Please do not use rose petals from a florist. They’re heavy with pesticides and are not fragrant enough. Collect wild rose petals or petals from a Rugosa Rose, or petals from roses in your yard. If you don’t have dark colored petals, use petals from your favorite fragrant rose and add red food coloring to intensify the color. You can also purchase edible rose petals. The color and flavor intensity will depend on the type of rose petals you used.

If you don't have roses nearby, you can use rose water to scent and flavor the Coconut Ladoos. Corta's brand Rose Water works well. Use 3/4 cup of rosewater instead of plain water and simmer with the 1 cup of sugar for 5 minutes. 

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Written by Your Vegan Family 

Stacy and Markus live an adventurous vegan lifestyle and write articles about their experiences cooking global vegan cuisine, creating businesses, raising vegan kids, and traveling through more than 65 countries. They earned degrees in molecular biology and acupuncture, consulted over decades for healthcare companies and individuals, created businesses in Asian medicine, eco-tourism, cultural immersion, and taught yoga in myriad venues.

We’ve learned a lot from eating a plant-based diet for 25 years and are eager to share more with you. Learn more on our About Us page.

Vegan Coconut Ladoo Recipe Grocery List: 

Vegan Coconut Ladoos: 

• vegan butter
• unsweetened shredded coconut 
• coconut flour
• cardamom
• pitaya powder
• pistachios (optional)
• vegan sweetened condensed milk
• rose syrup 
• rose paste

Rose Paste:

• dark pink or red rose petals

Rose Syrup:

• organic cane sugar
• rose paste or Corta's brand Rose Water

Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk:

• organic full-fat coconut milk
• organic cane sugar

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