Besan Ladoo or Besan ke Laddu – Famous Indian Dessert made with Gram flour (Besan),Sugar & Ghee.This is a delicious traditional Indian Diwali Sweet.
I think I probably have besan and ghee running in my blood stream..I mean I should, cause I only ate these almost everyday for the first 17 years of my life.Okay not everyday but pretty often ,given that my mother’s side of family owns a sweet shop which specialises in making besan ladoo.
Also,If you are looking for a more nutrition heavy and low calorie laddoo, do check out my post on how to make Ragi Laddo
What is Besan Ladoo
Besan Ladoos are Indian fudge balls made with Besan aka gram flour or chickpea flour, sugar and Clarified Butter aka Ghee.Besan ke Laddo last for months if made well and refrigerated.
The gram flour is slow roasted with the ghee till it starts smelling nutty and turns golden brown, after which powdered sugar is added.
These are typically made on festivals like diwali and dussarah.
How to make Besan Ladoo
I am sharing a simplified version of besan ladoo recipe in this post.Typically making besan ladoo can be very technical but I am going to take you step by step through it and hopefully make it easier for everyone.
Step 0: Measuring Ingredients
Measure all your ingredients out before starting the cooking process.This is important especially to make sure the ladoos are the right texture.
Step 1: Add Ghee
Wash & dry the pan you want to use for this.Heat the pan on medium- low heat.Add ghee and let it melt gently.
Step 2: Roasting the Besan
Add the besan to the melted ghee and roast it on a medium low flame.Keep moving it around the pan.This will go on for about 20 minutes.
Step 3 : Color Change of Besan
During this process, the besan will change texture and color.By the end of the process, it will look liquidy and golden brown.
Step 4 : Add Saffron
Add saffron after the besan is done roasting.This is an optional step.
Step 5&6 : Remove from Heat
Remove Besan & Ghee from the heat.Let it cool down to a point where you can touch it and work with it.
Step 7: Add powdered sugar & ground cardamom powder and mix the mixture.
Add roasted slivered nuts and seeds at this stage before shaping the ladoos.I add a couple of table spoons of powdered Homemade protein powder to amp up the nutrition of these ladoos.
Step 8: Shaping & Decorating Ladoos
Shape the ladoos while the mixture is still warm.If the mixture cools down, you will not be able to shape the ladoos properly.
Right after the shaping,add a piece of nut on the ladoo and gently add a little bit of silver foil(vark on top).
Step 9: Storing Ladoos.
Store the ladoos in an airtight box on the countertop for 2-3 weeks and in refrigerator for 2-3 months.
If you use Slighlty coarse,freshly milled besan, the ladoos will last longer.
Types of Besan Ladoo
The super technical version of ladoos where you use coarse, freshly ground besan instead of what you get in super market.You also use something called as Karara instead of Powdered Sugar which gives it a crunchy taste.
Besan Ladoos made with Gond and Dry Fruits – You can make the ladoos very nutritious by adding Gond and A mix of dry fruits and seeds.The common dry fruits added are slivered almonds, pistachios and melon seeds
Besan Ladoo with Jaggery – You can make the laddoos with dry jaggery powder instead of sugar.The color will not be the same and otherwise the recipe remains the same.
Crunchy Besan Ladoo– You can make besan Ladoo crunchy by adding 1 tbsp of Rava to the besan.
Besan Ladoo Mistakes & Solutions
The Besan Ladoo mixture is very Dry
Add more melted ghee, 1 tsp at a time to make the mixture moist.
The Besan Ladoo mixture is too Wet
This means you have added way too much ghee or added the sugar when the roasted besan was too hot.
To solve this, first try keeping the ladoo mix in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.If that doesn’t work , roast more besan with very little ghee and add to the besan mixture.Or you could add powdered nuts.
The Besan Ladoo mixture is too cold
If the ladoo mixture has been left to cool down before shaping the ladoos, it will become too hard to shape them. In such a scenario, microwave the ladoos for 20 seconds and knead the mixture again and shape after.
Here are some more indian desserts for you.
Ragi Laddoo
Kesar Phirni
Seeds Chikki
Vermicelli Kheer
Rice Kheer
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat a flat pan on medium low heat.Add Ghee to the pan.
- Once the ghee has completely melted, add the gram flour.
- Roast the gram flour for 15-20 minutes till the flour changes color to goldenish brown and starts smelling nutty.This is a completely hands but extremely essential step.
- Spread the mixture on a plate and let it cool down enough to be able to work with it.(not room temperature but still hot to touch)
- Add Powdered Sugar & Cardamom powder, mix well.
- Add any roasted slivered nuts & Seeds at this point.
- Shape into bite sized balls.
- Store in an airtight container for upto 2-3 weeks outside or 2-3 months refrigerated.
Do comment if you have a question