Rose Pistachio Mawa Ladoo

These nutty and creamy pistachio ladoo are made with 3 main ingredients. You will need mawa or khoya(milk solids), powdered pistachios and sugar. They are perfumed with freshly ground cardamom powder and a touch of rose. They are fragrant, festive and perfect for indian festivals or holidays.

Homemade mithai is must on Diwali l and these pistachio loaded beauties are super easy to whip up. Together, the milky, melt in mouth khoya and the floral notes of rose is a match made in heaven. They are are ridiculously easy to whip up.

When a recipe uses only a few ingredients, it's important to choose good-quality ones for they really make a difference in the flavor. Use fresh pistachios ( they taste naturally sweeter) and homemade khoya or store bought mawa with good fat content (so you'll need no or less ghee/milk).

I use no shells unsalted pistachios(non-affiliate link) that take most of the work out of this recipe. You just blitz them in a chopper or food processor and your pistachio powder is ready.

Since it is quite easily available now, I use vadilal khoa whenever I make making indian sweets. It's truly delicious and melts to soft texture. I didn't need to add any milk or ghee and the ladoo were perfectly rich.

These ladoos aren't very sweet, which I prefer, but you can add a couple of extra tablespoons of powdered sugar if you like. In that case, cook the ladoo mixture slightly longer to achieve the desired consistency.

How To Make Pistachio Ladoo

1. If your mawa is frozen, make sure to defrost it before using.
2. Grate the mawa using a box grater. Once its soft, you can crumble it using hands too.
3. Add unsalted, shelled pistachios to your food chopper and pulse to grind into a powder. Avoid running the processor for too long at once else the nut oils will start releasing and instead of powder, the pistachios will become pasty.

4. Add the mawa to a nonstick pan and place it on the stove over low heat. Stir continuously with a spatula as the mawa softens. This happens quickly, and you don't want it to burn. Takes around 2-3 minutes. If your mawa feels dry, add about 1-2 tablespoon of milk or as needed, gradually.
5. Once the mawa has softened (don't let brown, add the sugar and pistachios. Mix well until everything is combined.

6. Cook the mixture on low heat for 7-10 minutes. It will feel thinner and viscous as pistachios warm up and sugar melts at first. Cook until the mixture starts leaving the sides of pan, starts feeling heavy and clumping around the spatula. It will leave sides of the pan. Once ready, the mixture will not spread (or spread very slowly) and stay in one place on the pan. Don't dry out.

7. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the cardamom powder and add 1-2 drops of rose essence. Combine well and transfer to a plate. Let the ladoo mixture cool down for 6-10 minutes or until okay to touch.These ladoo are heavy(due topista)
8. Grease your hands lightly with ghee(if needed), scoop the mixture using a cookie scoop(best tool!) or divide into 12-14 portions, and roll between palms them into smooth ladoos. Stick chopped pistachios on top.

9. Store refrigerated for 3-5 days. You can freeze them too.