Check out popular and best Indian sweets and desserts, Diwali sweets and mithai, 9 days of Navratri vrat recipes.
What is Ladoo?
Ladoo or laddu is a famous round-shaped Indian sweet prepared mainly using flour, ghee, and sugar. You have various laddoos available in India, from the most renowned Tirupati laddoo to rava ladoo made with suji or semolina, coconut ladoo with coconut flakes and sugar, almond laddu, urad dal ladoo, atta ladoo made using whole wheat flour, motichoor ladoo, and I can go on. Among all of them, we love besan ladoo the most. Any festival like Diwali, Navratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmashtami, Holi, Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi), or special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, weddings, etc., is incomplete without ladoos. In India, there is a famous saying, “muh meethha kardo, laddu kilao” which means sweeten one’s mouth by feeding laddus, especially when one shares a piece of good or happy news.
What is besan ladoo?
Besan ladoo is an Indian round dessert ball or bite made using besan, also called chickpea flour or gram flour. The besan is first roasted in homemade desi ghee, and then sugar is added to it, which is then shaped into round balls. I like smooth besan ladoo. You can add semolina or suji or finely chopped dry fruits and nuts for a crunchy texture.
Ingredients
Besan: 2 types of besan are avaialble in market. One is the besan flour used to make pakoras which has a fine texture, and another one is the ladoo besan coarse variety. You can use any of them to make the besan laddu. Sugar: Powder the granulated sugar and use it in the recipe. Traditionally halwais or mithai shop uses bura or boora, especially while making ladoo or peda. Boora is made by boiling sugar to desired consistency and then stirring it continuously as it cools down, which converts sugar to tagar or bura. Ghee or clarified butter is also added while making it, which gives it a nice aroma and is thus highly recommended while making these Indian sweets. Ghee: Always use homemade desi ghee or premium quality ghee if possible for best results. Cardamom: I grind the cardamom pods along with sugar. It is mainly added for flavor. See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Which besan is used for ladoo?
I have tried making besan ladoo with fine and coarse flour and have had successful results. Use whatever is available in your pantry. Now if you want halwai style or mithai shop laddus, then use coarse besan flour, also available as ladoo besan.
Tips to make the best besan ladoo at home
Roasting besan or chickpeas flour
Roasting Besan or Chickpea flour is the first and essential step that gives you the perfect laddus. You have to saute till the chickpea flour is aromatic and golden brown. If you do not saute the flour properly, the rawness of the flour will spoil the laddu’s taste, and if overdone, the laddus will have a burnt bitter taste. Timelapse video on roasting besan flour to make ladoo.
Continuous stirring on low flame
You will have to stir the besan and ghee mixture continuously for even roasting and prevent burning at the bottom. If you feel the mixture is extremely hot at any point, take it off the flame to immediately lower its temperature. Always keep the flame medium-low to low. You will need a lot of patience to do this recipe.
Cooking time
The cooking time depends on the thickness and material of the pan used, the flame’s intensity, the texture of besan flour, and other factors. When you feel the besan smells aromatic and turns golden, you have to stop cooking the mixture.
Adding sugar
Add sugar and mix once the mixture cools or at least 10 minutes from the time you have switched off the flame. Adding the sugar immediately when hot may melt and ruin the mixture, i.e., you cannot form balls out of it.
Pro Tips to avoid common mistakes for beginners (worth reading)
Kitchen blooper
I am not an expert like a halwai, when preparing Indian sweets. Even I have failures in my kitchen, I always share tips with my readers to be helpful if they are making any recipe for the first time. When I tried this recipe for the first time, I made it in an aluminum pan, just like my mom did for all Indian sweets. I followed exactly the recipe below. I went by the time mentioned (about 20 to 25 mins ), and believe it or not, it hardly took a few seconds for the mixture to turn from golden to dark brown, leaving behind a bitter after-taste. The mixture got ruined. I had no choice but to discard it altogether. The second time, I did it in a nonstick pan and all the exact measurements. The mixture reached the final state, i.e., golden brown, in exactly 15 minutes. After I switched off the flame, I continued stirring the mixture for another 2 to 3 minutes. Then, I waited for the mixture to cool entirely and saw how it changed from a liquid to a thick consistency. Finally, I added the sugar and mixed it. I shaped them into balls. I am terrible at making good round-shaped laddoos. So if you are like me, try to form a rough ball and keep it aside for it to firm up. After 5 to 10 minutes, gently roll them again to form a smooth round shape. Don’t wait longer than 10 minutes; else, the ladoos will set completely.
Step-by-step instructions
Roasting Besan Laddu Mixture
Please don’t go by my timing because the time it takes to reach the final stage will depend on the pan used, the intensity of the flame, etc. Check my video on how to make besan ladoo to get a clear picture. (Depending on the brand and texture of besan, the quality of ghee, the mixture may be of paste-like consistency, sometimes watery or a solid mass too. All these are just normal. All you have to concentrate on is roasting and making it airy, aromatic. ) Removing the mixture at the right time is very important. Else it will burn.
Let the mixture cool completely. You will see that the consistency slowly changes from liquid to thick paste as it cools down. To know if you have roasted chickpea flour right, taste it. If it is raw, it means it is undercooked. If it is nutty, then it is perfectly roasted, and if you have roasted it for a longer time than needed, there will be a bitter aftertaste.
How to make ladoo from the mixture?
Garnish with crushed pistachios or dried rose petals or edible silver leaves/vark.
Store, Make ahead.
Store the besan laddu in an airtight conatiner for up to two weeks. You can refrigerate them for up to two months. Just warm for a few seconds before serving if needed. You can make besan laddu ahead of time and store it during festivals like Diwali. This laddu is a perfect addition to mithai or sweet boxes that are often distributed on special events such as Diwali, Christmas, Birthdays, Christening or Naming Ceremonies, Weddings, etc.
Besan Ladoo with Jaggery
You can use store-bought jaggery powder instead of sugar, and it works fine with the recipe. To adjust the sweetness, you may have to add a little extra amount of jaggery.
More Ladoo Recipes
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Recipe card
