Kova or mawa ladoo stuffed with sweetened coconut balls.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 10
  • Category: Dessert / Sweet
  • Cuisine: Andhra

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp ghee ((optional, just to grease the pan))
  • 2 cups coconut (, grated, fresh)
  • 1 cup jaggery (, grated)
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (/ elaichi powder)
  • 250 grams kova (/ khoya or mawa (unsweetened))
  • 4 to 6 tbsps sugar (, powdered, (use as needed))

Method

  1. Add ghee to a pan and heat it. Add coconut and jaggery. Mix well and cook on a medium heat.
  2. Jaggery melts within minutes, Continue to cook until all the moisture dries up. Do not over cook else the mixture will not bind to make ladoo. The mixture should be moist and not completely dry. otherwise ladoo may also turn hard.
  3. Allow this to cool down a bit. When the mixture is warm, make 10 equal sized balls and set them aside to dry completely.
  4. Meanwhile add kova or khoya to a nonstick pan and heat it on a medium flame.
  5. When it is warm, add powdered sugar and stir.
  6. Continue to cook on a medium heat stirring often until the mixture comes together. The mixture turns gooey and then turns thick. At this stage it begins to leave the pan. Do not overcook otherwise the mixture discolors and turns to brown.
  7. Immediately transfer it to a plate and cool down.
  8. When the mixture is warm then knead it just for a minute to make it smooth. You can skip this step if the mixture is already smooth.
  9. Divide the mixture to 10 balls.
  10. Flatten the kova ball and place the coconut ladoo in the center. At this stage make sure the coconut ladoo is completely dry.
  11. Cover the coconut lado with the kova / khoya.
  12. Gently smoothen the ladoo. Do not press or put pressure on the ball.
  13. Follow the same procedure to complete all the ladoos.
  14. Allow them to dry for 2 to 4 hours.
  15. Store kova ladoo in a air tight jar and serve with in 3 days or refrigerate and use up to 2 weeks.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.