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Ragi-Peanut-Date Ladoo
Karnataka's nourishing ragi ladoo, made with roasted finger-millet flour, crushed peanuts and dates bound with a little ghee — a children's favourite and a sensible festival sweet.
- Region
- Karnataka
- Status
- Adaptation — dates replace most of the jaggery; milk powder added
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Prep 10 min · Cook 15 min · Shape 10 min
- Serves
- 6 (2 ladoos, about 40 g, each; makes 12)
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Good for
- Tiffin, travel, festival sweet
- Tags
- Good source · High fibre · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free · Meal-prep friendly
- Allergens
- Peanuts, milk (ghee, milk powder)
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 25 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Headline values are per serving, as written.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Added sugar | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 ladoos | 200 | 6 g | 25 g | 8 g | 3 g | 4 g | 12 g | 9 g | 3.0 g |
Good source — the lowest-protein dessert in the chapter, valued for its millet, fibre and calcium rather than its protein. "Added sugar" is from dates. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 15 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 100 g ragi flour · 80 g roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
- 80 g soft dates, deseeded and finely chopped · 20 g skimmed milk powder
- 15 g ghee · ½ tsp cardamom powder
Method
- Dry-roast ragi flour in a heavy pan on low for 8–10 minutes, stirring constantly, until it smells nutty and darkens slightly. Add 5 g ghee halfway through.
- Warm the remaining ghee; add the dates and mash over low heat for 2 minutes until soft and paste-like.
- Off the heat, mix the ragi, peanuts, milk powder and cardamom into the dates.
- While still warm, press firmly into 12 ladoos of about 20 g each. If they won't hold, add 1 tsp warm milk.
- Cool fully before storing.
Protein optimisation
- Peanuts supply 3.5 g per serving, ragi 1 g, milk powder 1 g.
- Boost: replace 30 g of the ragi with 30 g roasted chana powder (+1 g protein per serving), or serve 2 ladoos with a glass of milk (+8 g protein, +145 kcal).
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: traditional ragi unde with jaggery (40 g) and sesame instead of dates and peanuts.
- Substitution: jowar or bajra flour for ragi.
- Storage: 1 week in an airtight box; 2 weeks refrigerated.
- Food safety: roast ragi thoroughly — raw ragi flour should not be eaten uncooked.
- Meal prep: excellent.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com