Besan Ladoo Recipe – Easy, Melt-in-the-mouth Sweet
Besan ladoo recipe is a traditional North Indian sweet made with gram flour, clarified butter (ghee), and sugar. Its texture is golden, with round balls and a combination of rich, sweet, and aromatic flavours. These nutty and delicious ladoos are especially served for festivals like Holi and Diwali, but they’re also perfect for intense sugar cravings!
Table Of Contents
About besan ladoo
Besan is gram flour, made from husked chickpeas, white or brown, and ladoo is formed when the mixture is shaped into round balls. Melt-in-your-mouth sweet balls are delicious yet one of the most famous sweets for any occasion.
Gram flour is the star in this dish for melt-in-the-mouth ladoos. As it is known for high plant-based protein and fibre compared to regular flour, adding it to the diet provides sustained energy, which is good for the body. Its other dishes are also very beneficial to add extra protein to your meals, like halwa, barfi, and cheela.
The homemade besan ladoo starts with roasting gram flour in ghee, where it is roasted until golden and aromatic. When it reaches that stage, the sugar powder or boora is added to sweeten it. Then, both ingredients are mixed well to make a mixture and shaped into round balls.
I made these gram flour ladoo with only three ingredients (besan, sugar, and ghee) in the simplest way that I have learnt from my mother. There are other variations where chopped or roasted nuts and cardamom powder are added to make them more amazing and flavorful. But I always feel adding nuts makes them heavier, so the simpler I make them, the more delicious they become.
The most important part of this gram flour ladoo is the roasting method. The gram flour is continuously roasted in ghee on low to medium heat until golden in colour and turns aromatic. So, you have to be patient while doing this; only this roasting part is a bit hard, unless this recipe is very easy to prepare.
Avoid roasting gram flour at high heat unless you’ll end up with brown flour, which tastes so bitter. This process demands patience, which is the key, and if you don’t have that, then this dish is not for you. If you’re ready to do the consistent handwork with patience, then you can try this easily.
Ingredients
- Gram flour- Use fresh, high-quality besan for the best texture. There are two types of besan on the market, coarse and fine. Using coarse besan gives a slightly grainy texture, while fine besan gives a smoother texture. I have used the fine besan; you can use any, but I feel fine besan works well.
- Ghee (Clarified Butter)- Ghee is essential for roasting besan and gives the ladoos a rich taste with a soft texture. Use pure and fresh ghee for the best results. If having homemade works better than store-bought.
- Sugar Powder- I have used the store-bought sugar powder here. You can also blend easily into the blender and add them only after the mixture has cooled slightly.
How to make besan ladoo recipe
1. Heat 1/2 cup of homemade ghee in a heavy-bottomed kadai and a pan on medium heat.
2. Now add 1 cup of gram flour to it.
3. Mix well with a spatula, and you’ll find there will be lumps in the flour, so don’t panic, keep stirring. Here, turn the flame low.
4. Now begin roasting it on low to medium heat, and you will see the lumps disappear.
5. Keep stirring it with a spatula until it turns golden and aromatic.
6. When the flour starts releasing ghee from the edges of the kadai and turning golden, it means it is perfectly roasted. You can add the chopped nuts and cardamom powder here if you want.
7. It takes 25-30 minutes to reach the golden colour on low heat. Now turn off the flame and let it rest for some time to cool slightly.
8. I leave it for 10 minutes to cool, then add 1 cup of powdered sugar to it.
9. Mix all the ingredients well so that the sugar is well-coated with the gram flour.
10. Now the mixture is ready; shape it into ladoos.
Serving
Serve besan ladoo with a cup of chai for an evening treat. You can also pair it with warm milk for a traditional combination. You can offer them as a homemade gift during festivals or special occasions. After meals, enjoy gram flour ladoo as a sweet snack.
Pro Tips
- Roast the besan patiently on low heat for perfect flavour and texture.
- Stir continuously while roasting to prevent burning and ensure even cooking.
- Let the besan mixture cool slightly before adding sugar to avoid a grainy texture.
- If the mixture feels dry, add a little more ghee to help bind the ladoos.
- Shape the ladoos when the mixture is slightly warm but comfortable to handle.
- Add some chopped almonds, cashews, and pistachios, along with cardamom powder for extra crunch and flavour.
- In case the mixture is runny, adjust the consistency by adding some roasted makhana (lotus seeds) powder.
- You can store these homemade besan ladoo in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
More ladoo recipes you can try:
Besan Ladoo Recipe – Easy, Melt-in-the-mouth Sweet
Ingredients
- 1 cup gram flour (besan)
- ½ cup ghee
- 1 cup sugar powder
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed kadai on medium heat.
- Now add gram flour to it.
- Mix well with ghee and roast it with the spatula on low to medium heat.
- Stirring it continuously until it gets golden and aromatic.
- When the gram flour starts releasing ghee and fragrance, it means it is roasted.
- It takes 25 to 30 minutes on low to medium heat to roast properly.
- Now turn off the flame and let it cool down slightly.
- When it cools, add powdered sugar.
- Mix well so that the sugar powder is well-coated with gram flour.
- When the mixture is ready, shape ladoos one by one.
- Garnish with almonds or cashews before serving.
Notes
- Roast the besan on low to medium heat for even cooking.
- Always let it cool slightly before adding sugar.
- Add some dried fruit for extra crunch.
- Garnish with some almonds and cashews before serving.
