Ragi ladoo, also called nachni laddu, is an easy Indian sweet made with roasted finger millet flour, jaggery, ghee, coconut, nuts and sesame seeds. There is no jaggery syrup to make—everything is roasted, blended and shaped into ladoos while the mixture is still warm.

I have been making these ragi laddus for 4–5 years now and we love them! We usually have either these or my homemade Besan Ladoos at home. Almost at all times!

They work beautifully as a Diwali mithai, but honestly, at our house they are more of an everyday sweet snack.

When my son was younger, I would often pop one into his school lunch box. We are big ragi eaters in general—my Ragi Pancakes used to be one of his everyday breakfasts. He called them chocolate pancakes because of their deep brown colour!

If you already cook with millets, this is probably one of the easiest ways to use ragi flour.

Ragi is full of iron and calcium. We eat Rotis, Ragi cookies and thaalipeeths made of ragi too! Here is my post on how and why you should be eating Millets.

Why You'll Love These Ragi Ladoos

Ladies! And the five gentlemen who read my blog. Lol. Here's why I keep making them.

• No jaggery syrup: There is no worrying about one-string consistency or overcooking the jaggery.
• Easy ingredients: Ragi flour, jaggery, coconut, nuts, sesame and ghee.
• Nutty and delicious: Roasting everything separately makes a huge difference to the flavour.
• Easy to customise: Use almonds, peanuts, cashews or pistachios—or replace the nuts with seeds.
• Great for making ahead: They keep well and are easy to grab when you want something sweet.
• Perfect for Diwali: Especially if you want to add something a little different alongside traditional besan or coconut ladoos.

And if you're already in ladoo-making mode, try my Coconut Ladoo with Condensed Milk too.

Ingredients for Ragi Ladoo

Don't let the ingredient list intimidate you. These are actually very simple to make.

Ragi Flour

Ragi is also called finger millet or nachni.

Regular ragi flour works perfectly here. You can also use sprouted ragi flour or malted ragi flour.

The most important thing is that your flour is fresh.

Ragi is a whole-grain flour and old flour can start tasting bitter or rancid. Smell and taste a tiny pinch before making a whole batch of ladoos.

For something savoury, I also make Instant Ragi Dosa—especially useful when I want to use ragi for an actual meal rather than another sweet.

Jaggery

I usually use powdered jaggery because it blends easily with the nuts and coconut.

You can substitute coconut sugar, brown sugar or regular sugar, but I prefer the deeper caramel-like flavour of jaggery with ragi.

Ghee

Use a good-quality ghee—the flavour really comes through in a simple recipe like this.

For a dairy-free ragi ladoo, you can substitute coconut oil.

Coconut

Use dry, unsweetened desiccated coconut.

Roasting it separately gives the ladoos a lovely nutty flavour without letting the coconut burn.

Nuts

Use what you have.

Almonds, peanuts, cashews and pistachios all work.

I often use almonds or peanuts because they pair especially well with the earthy flavour of ragi.

Sesame Seeds

I love sesame seeds in these ladoos.

They add flavour, crunch and their natural oils also help the mixture come together.

You can also add pumpkin or sunflower seeds if you want.

Cardamom

Do not skip this!

Cardamom is the little ingredient that makes the whole thing taste like proper Indian mithai rather than just ragi, nuts and jaggery mixed together.

If you don't have cardamom powder, remove the seeds from a few green cardamom pods and pound them finely.

How to make Ragi Laddu

There are essentially four steps: roast, blend, mix and roll.

The roasting takes the most time, but it is also what gives these ladoos their flavour.

Step 1 : Roast the Nuts, Seeds and Coconut

Roast the almonds or peanuts over low heat until they smell nutty.

Roast the sesame seeds separately until fragrant. They can go from toasted to burnt very quickly, so keep the heat low.

Toast the desiccated coconut separately until fragrant and very lightly golden.

I know using separate pans sounds annoying, but each ingredient roasts at a different speed. If I am in a hurry, I usually have two pans going at the same time.

If using peanuts, let them cool and rub off the skins if you prefer.

Step 2: Roast the Ragi Flour

Add the ragi flour to a heavy-bottomed pan and roast over low heat, stirring frequently.

This usually takes around 15–20 minutes.

Don't rely only on the clock.

You will know the ragi is roasted when the raw flour smell disappears and it starts smelling distinctly nutty and toasted.

This step is important. If the flour isn't roasted properly, the finished ragi ladoos can taste raw and chalky.

Also don't turn up the heat to finish faster. Ragi can scorch before it has roasted evenly.

Step 3: Blend the Nuts, Coconut and Jaggery

Add the roasted nuts, sesame seeds, coconut, jaggery and cardamom to a blender.

Pulse until you have a coarse powder.

Don't keep blending until you get nut butter! You still want a little texture in the ladoos.

If your blender is large enough, add the roasted ragi flour and ghee and pulse everything together briefly.

Otherwise—and this is often easier—transfer everything to a large plate or parat and mix by hand.

Step 4: Shape the Ladoos

This part needs to happen while the mixture is still warm.

Take a small portion of the ragi mixture and first press it firmly in your palm. Then roll it between your hands into a ball.

If the mixture keeps crumbling rather than holding together, add warm melted ghee one teaspoon at a time.

Don't pour in a lot of ghee at once. You can always add more, but you can't take it back out!

Shape the mixture into approximately 15 ladoos and garnish with sliced almonds if you like.

Why Are My Ragi Ladoos Not Binding?

This is probably the most common problem with any ladoo.

And usually it is fixable.

The mixture is dry and crumbly

Add warm melted ghee, one teaspoon at a time, mix and try shaping again.

The oils released from the nuts, sesame and coconut also help bind the mixture, which is why they need to be ground properly.

The mixture has become cold

Ragi ladoos are much easier to shape while the mixture is warm.

Warm the mixture very slightly and try again.

The ladoos are very soft

If you have added a little too much ghee, don't panic.

Shape them roughly and refrigerate for 10–15 minutes before rolling again.

The ladoos taste raw

The ragi flour probably needed more roasting.

Roast over low heat until the raw flour smell completely disappears.

The ladoos taste bitter

First check your ragi flour.

Because it is a whole-grain flour, old ragi flour can develop an unpleasant bitter flavour.

Burnt sesame seeds or nuts can also make the ladoos bitter.

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My Trick for Perfectly Round Ladoos

I roll them twice.

Shape the ladoos once while the mixture is warm. Don't obsess over getting them perfectly round at this stage.

Place them in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Then roll them between your palms again.

This gives you much neater, rounder ladoos.

If they have become too hard to reshape, microwave one ladoo for around 5–10 seconds and try again.

It's a small trick but it makes them look considerably more professional!

For evenly sized ladoos, use a tablespoon or small cookie scoop to portion the mixture before rolling.

Variations

Vegan Ragi Ladoo

Replace the ghee with coconut oil.

The flavour will be slightly different but coconut works particularly well with ragi and jaggery.

Nut-Free Ragi Ladoo

Leave out the nuts and use additional sesame, pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead.

Sprouted Ragi Ladoo

You can use sprouted ragi flour in the same recipe.

Ragi Ladoo Without Jaggery

Regular sugar, brown sugar or coconut sugar can be used instead of jaggery.

You may find that the amount of ghee required for binding changes slightly depending on the sweetener.

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Storing Ragi Ladoo

Store the ladoos in an airtight container.

They keep for about one week at room temperature or around two weeks in the refrigerator.

If refrigerated, I like to take one out a little before eating so the ghee softens and the ladoo comes back to room temperature.

They are a great make-ahead Diwali sweet—and also the kind of thing you can just pop into a tiffin box without thinking too much about it.

Making more than just sweets? I’ve put together my Indian Diwali Menu with ideas for snacks, mains, sides and desserts so you don’t have to plan the whole thing from scratch.

Here are some more Ragi Recipes for you

Love ragi like we do?

Try these next:

Ragi Namak Paare
Instant Ragi Dosa
Ragi Chocolate Cookies
Ragi Pancakes
Ragi Banana Cake
Ragi chocolate chip cookies
Ragi butter cookies

You can also read my guide to Millets and how to use them if you're just starting to cook with ragi and other millets.

If you make these Ragi Laddus, do leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.

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