Coco ladoo - Indian sweets that aren't Indian

Ok, I've done it again, I admit it. I've been tampering with those Indian recipes and this is what I've come up with - and as usual, it hasn't got much to do with any original Indian recipe.

In my defense, 'ladoo' is actually Indian - it's just the rest that I completely made up and yet the taste is rather exotic and jolly nice (if you're a fan of coconut) so anyone interested in making a quick, easy and healthy dessert, well, this could be for you - just suspend disbelief and tell yourself you've made Indian ladoo! Your ego will never know the difference!

Here's what you'll need:

• a packet of dried coconut shavings,
• an equal amount of wholemeal flour (go on then, you can use white flour if you want),
• the seeds from a few pods of cardamom or if you don't feel like faffing about use half a teaspoon of cardamom powder instead,
• some olive oil or soft butter (unsalted obviously),
• some sugar (brown sugar is best - yes, I know I'm getting repetitive),
• some milk or if you're vegan, are slimming or are particularly into cows' rights use water,
• a few spoonfuls of melted butter,
• a little more dried coconut to decorate.

There you have it! Now here's what you have to do.

Now rub in enough olive oil or butter or whatever you want to use (not engine oil - I've said this before but it's always best to be on the safe side) - just enough to obtain fine breadcrumbs but go easy on it because coconut is already pretty oily on its own. For this stage I don't have a photo to show you but far be it from me to leave you unentertained so here's a pic for you...

You can put your ladoo in the fridge for a few hours or eat them as they are - either way they're tasty.

So there you have it - a sweet that is suitable for any occasion that will surprise, delight, astound and perhaps even evoke outright hilarity - what more could you ask for?