Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Ladu
Toasted ground rice cooked in ghee and bound with sugar, cardamom, and a note of black pepper into fragrant sweet balls, a Comorian teatime treat.
Comorian · easy · serves 12
prep 15 min · cook 20 min
~222 cal · 2g protein · 33g carbs · 9g fat · 0g fiber · 13g sugars · 6g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Ladu is a sweet of the Comoros, one of the small treats that reflect the islands' deep Arab and Swahili ties, cousin to the ladoo of the Indian Ocean trading world. It is a simple confection built from the pantry staples of the archipelago: rice, , and sugar, warmed with and lifted by a surprising note of black pepper.
The rice is toasted and coarsely ground, then cooked slowly in until it drinks up the butter and smells nutty, perfumed with and cooled before a sugar-and-pepper blend is worked through. Pressed into small balls or bricks that firm as they dry, ladu is served with coffee or vanilla tea, an everyday pleasure that carries the scent of the spice islands in every bite.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 12
1.5 cups raw rice, coarsely ground (or coarse rice flour)
1/2 cup
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp ground
1.5 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
1
Toast the rice in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind it coarsely; a little grit is good (or use coarse rice flour, lightly toasted).
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the heat low and stir constantly; rice scorches quickly once it starts to color.
2
Melt the ghee in a heavy pan, stir in the ground rice, and cook over low heat, stirring, until it drinks up the ghee and smells nutty, then stir in the cardamom.
3
Spread on a plate and let it cool completely.
4
Mix the powdered sugar with the black pepper, then work the blend thoroughly through the cooled rice.
5
Press into small balls or bricks and let them dry before serving with coffee or tea.
Comorian teatime tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Moroni. Cooks disagree about the method: some simmer the lobster in the sauce, others split it, work the seeds in and roast it. What is not argued over is the rest of the table, coconut rice, cassava, breadfruit and reef fish over charcoal, with cloves and ylang-ylang growing on the same volcanic slopes.
🗺️
Comoros. The Comoros, the 'perfume islands,' cook with the vanilla, clove, and ylang-ylang they're famous for, grilled fish, coconut rice, and Swahili-spiced stews. French, Arab, and African roots define the archipelago's plate.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Comoros
Langouste à la VanilleSpiny lobster gently cooked in a fragrant sauce of vanilla, cream, and lime, the Comoros on a plate.
Mkatra FoutraSoft coconut-scented griddle breads from the Comoros, torn and eaten with tea or curry.
MatabaPounded cassava leaves slow-cooked in coconut milk with fish, a fragrant green stew that is Comoros' national dish.
Browse all Comoros recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Blender.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Comoros meal
Langouste à la VanilleDinner
Café Épicé (Comorian Spiced Coffee)Drink
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Frequently asked questions
What is Ladu?
Toasted ground rice cooked in ghee and bound with sugar, cardamom, and a note of black pepper into fragrant sweet balls, a Comorian teatime treat.
Where does Ladu come from?
Ladu is a Comorian dish from Moroni, Comoros.
Can Ladu be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Ladu recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Ladu safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Ladu take to make?
About 35 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 12.
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