Besan Ladoo

Festive seasons are full of fun, frolic, and food, and Indian festivals can’t be considered complete without festive desserts and sweets. And when we talk about sweets, besan ladoo perfectly fits the bill. 

Besan ladoos are traditionally prepared with besan, ghee, and boora chinni as the base ingredients, but these ladoos have also seen regional variations in the ingredients.

There is a long list of ladoos in the sweets list, like —

• Motichoor ladoo,
• Moong dal ladoo,
• Gulkand filled rose ladoo,
• Kaju gulkand ladoo,
• Til ke ladoo and many more.

When packed creatively in beautiful boxes, ladoos also make for a great gifting item during celebrations and festivals. You can also make a big batch and store it for later munching through the weeks to come.

What is Besan Ladoo

In Hindi, Besan means chickpea flour, and ladoo means round edible balls made with different ingredients.

Besan ladoo is an incredibly delicious sweet prepared with pantry staples and flavored subtly with cardamoms. Besan is slowly roasted in ghee until it attains a beautiful golden brown hue.

Dry fruits and nuts are then added to elevate their nutritional value. These melt-in-the-mouth ladoos are hard to resist for their irresistible flavor and exciting nutty aroma that comes from the besan-ghee concoction.

They make a quick filling snack at any time of the day. 

Reasons You’ll ♡ Besan Ladoo

Besan ke ladoos are simple to make and are prevalent in India as one of the most loved festive desserts. Here are the reasons why you will love these sweet balls of delight —

• It’s a traditional recipe, simple to make.
• Are delicious, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.
• Are nutritious and healthy.
• A perfect make-ahead dessert.
• Can be prepared in a big batch.
• Require just a few essential ingredients.
• Better than the store-bought ones. 

As they are kids’ favorite too, you can easily include the goodness of besan and nutrition of nuts in their daily diet with these ladoos. You can even slide a couple of ladoos in your kid’s lunch box to surprise them with this yummy treat.

Ingredient list for Besan Ladoo

Ghee — Pure homemade ghee makes the most delicious besan ladoos with a heavenly aroma. Check out my homemade ghee recipe to prepare the best besan ke laddu.

Besan — Also known as chickpea flour (gram flour) is the base ingredient for the ladoos. Use fresh fine besan for the lovely smooth textured ladoos.

Cardamom (Elaichi) powder — Lends a superb flavor to the ladoos.

Boora Chinni — Porus in texture, Boora chinni (boora sugar) is fine powder sugar used for this recipe as it mixes well with the besan. You can use regular sugar too, but you have to crush it to the powder form.

Pistachios — They are added to adorn the ladoos.

How to make Besan ladoo

Prepare Boora Chini — Combine sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pan. Cook the sugar for 20-25 minutes until it forms a softball stage. After reaching the softball stage, add ghee and keep stirring the sugar. Finally, sugar will reach a point where it has lost its moisture and will resemble a fine powder. This fine powder is Bura chini or Boora sugar!

What is Boora Chinni — Boora chinni/ bura sugar/ bura shakkar or Tagar is the least processed form of sugar. It is specially prepared by melting the sugar and cooking it until it reaches the point where it begins to crystallize.

Protip — Bura sugar is free-flowing and lump-free and has a longer shelf life. It is mainly preferred for making Indian desserts and sweets.

Roast Besan — Combine ghee and besan into a heavy-bottomed kadhai. Roast until it is light brown and starts to release ghee while emitting a fabulous aroma that fills the entire house. 

Proper roasting of besan is the key to the most scrumptious ladoos! If not roasted up to perfection, a raw smell will linger in the ladoos, making them unpalatable. 

Add sugar — Add sugar only once the besan is roasted correctly. Also, do not add the sugar to the hot besan mix, as this will melt the sugar and loosen the mixture, making it difficult to shape the ladoos.

Ensure that the pan (kadhai) is taken off the flame and the besan has slightly cooled when you add sugar.

Shape the ladoos — After the sugar has mixed in, allow the besan ladoo mixture to cool slightly. When comfortable to touch, shape the mix into round balls, garnish with dry nuts, and enjoy!

Recipe tips & Variataions

Sieve besan — Before adding besan to the ghee, make sure to sieve it. This prevents the formation of lumps on mixing it with ghee.

Use a moderate quantity of ghee — Ladoos need to be prepared while keeping in mind little tips. Like, always add a reasonable amount of ghee. More of it will result in a runny mixture that will make shaping the ladoos tough.

Maintain heat during roasting — Besan tends to stick to the base of the pan and burns quickly if roasted on high heat. This will result in the ladoos with streaks of dark color as well as an unpleasant burnt smell. Therefore, maintain the heat throughout the roasting process.

For crunchy textured ladoos — These besan ladoos are smooth textured, but if you like to lend a slight crunch to the ladoos, add ¼ cup of sooji (semolina) to the mixture. However, make sure to roast the sooji well before adding it to the mix.

Sugar alternative — Boora sugar is super fine in texture and blends perfectly well with the besan to make smooth and luscious ladoos. This recipe is prepared using boora chinni, but you can also use powdered sugar if you prefer.

Ladoos are not holding shape — Excess ghee will result in a runny mixture that is difficult to mold into ladoos when warm. The best way out in this situation is to let the mixture rest overnight and then shape the ladoos in the morning. Overnight, the mixture will solidify and will be ideal for making the perfectly-shaped ladoos.

Vegan ladoos — If you are looking for a Vegan version of these ladoos, just substitute ghee with coconut oil, and you will have the delicious vegan ladoos to relish!

Adding the nutty nutrition — You can add more nutrition to your yummy besan ladoos by including healthy nuts like almonds, pistachios, and cashews in the recipe.

It’s a versatile recipe — This delicious recipe is versatile too! You can half, double, or triple it to suit your preference and keep snacking on it through the week or months.

Alternative to Ghee — You can use unsalted butter to substitute for ghee in this recipe. Melt the butter in the pan first, and then add the sieved besan. The rest of the steps for preparing ladoos are the same.

Let me know what you think!

Drooling for these luscious besan ladoos? No worries!

The step-by-step instructions and the related images will help you prepare the best ladoos that you can flaunt and earn accolades. Assemble your ingredients, and let’s begin.

Should you make this besan ladoo recipe, please let me know your thoughts by sharing your comment below. And don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.

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