Here is a tried and tested grandma style besan ladoo recipe for which you need only 4 ingredients and little bit of patience.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
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What is laddu?
According to Wikipedia, ‘Laddu or laddoo (laḍḍū, lāḍḍū) is a sphere-shaped sweet originating from the Indian subcontinent. Laddus are made of flour, fat (ghee/butter/oil), and sugar, with other ingredients varying according to the recipe.’
Besan Laddu is one of the most popular traditional Indian sweets. Whether it is festive celebrations, religious rituals, or marriage, besan ke laddu is always part of the dessert platter.
Gram Flour (the ground chickpea flour) is the key ingredient in making this ladoo. The chickpea flour is called ‘besan’ in Hindi. They are simple to prepare, easy to store and remain fresh for more than a month. There is another version of besan laddu made with roasted brown chickpeas (sattu), known as sattu ke laddu.
My Tried and True Tips
The making process of besan laddu is very simple and straightforward. All you need to be careful at specific steps.
- Never ever be in a hurry to roast the gram flour. That is the soul of this sweet – a slow-roasted gram flour. And you need to be around the stove to stir the roasting gram flour continuously.
- Ghee: You can’t skim the quantity of ghee while making ladoo or other Indian sweet.
- Powdered Sugar: We don’t need castor sugar to make besan ladoo. You can grind granulated white sugar to a coarse powder using a mixer. While adding the powdered sugar, ensure that the flour and ghee mixture is lukewarm to touch and not piping hot.
Don’t hesitate if the ladoo do not come out flawless in the first trial, make a note of shortcomings and try to fix them in the next round. That is how I learned to make the perfect besan ke ladoo.
FAQs Related To Besan Ladoo
The ladoo becomes hard when ghee solidifies. Since ghee solidifies when cold, the ladoo becomes hard if too much ghee is used. Follow the precise ingredient measurements and leave ladoo at room temperature for a few minutes before eating.
Make sure not to add sugar to hot roasted gram flour. Else the sugar will melt, and then you won’t be able to bind the ladoo. Always let the roasted gram flour cool down for 5 – 10 minutes or till it becomes lukewarm to touch. Another way to fix the problem is to refrigerate the ladoo mixture for 10 – 15 minutes.
You can store them in an airtight box or a jar. Do not stack them or pack them tightly as they might crumble. Arrange them neatly in rows in the container.
You can store besan ke ladoo for almost 4 – 6 weeks in an airtight container. You can even refrigerate the ladoo but due to the addition of ghee, the ladoo will solidify and become harder. What best you can do is, keep the ladoo out of the refrigerator for about 1 hour before consumption to bring it back to room temperature.
To make a vegan besan ladoo, you can skip adding ghee for binding instead, add some vegan fat to bind the ingredients.
Watch Besan Ladoo Video
More Indian Sweet Recipes
- Khoya Gulab Jamun
- Dry Fruits Atta Ladoo
- Kesar Mawa Ghujia
- Coconut Laddo
- Sattu Ke Laddu
- Mawa Modak
- Jalebi
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Besan Ladoo Recipe
- Heavy Bottom Kadhai
Ingredients
- 2 Cup gram flour (besan)
- ½ Cup clarified butter (ghee)
- ½ Cup powdered white sugar
- 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder
Instructions
- In case you do not have powdered sugar at home, grind regular white sugar into a coarse powder using the mixer. This step is optional.
- Heat ghee in a heavy bottom flat pan.
- Once the ghee is hot enough, reduce the flame to the lowest setting. Add gram flour ad stir to combine.
- Stir continuously and roast the gram flour over low heat. Try to be around the stove to stir the roasting gram flour continuously. Because it gets burnt with a blink of an eye. This is Stage 1 of roasting.
- After 5 – 6 minutes the gram flour will turn into a bubbling liquid. The perfectly roasted gram flour will release a nice nutty aroma and will turn pale golden in color. Turn off the heat. This is Stage 2 of roasting.
- Transfer gram flour mixture to a wide ceramic plate or baking sheet. Allow to cool down a bit. The gram flour mixture should be lukewarm while adding sugar. This is Stage 3.
- Once gram flour mixture becomes lukewarm stir it using a spoon. Add powdered sugar and cardamom powder. Stir to mix nicely. The mixture will form a smooth, soft dough. This is the final Stage 4.
- Apply a teaspoon of ghee in your palms and fingers.
- Pinch a lemon size portion of the ladoo mixture and shape it into a round ball. Similarly, prepare all the ladoo from the gram flour mixture.
- If you prefer, garnish each besan ladoo with sliced dry fruits.
- Store Besan Ladoo in an airtight container for a month. I store them in the fridge during the summer season while during winters they are good at room temperature.
Recipe Notes:
- Never ever be in a hurry to roast the gram flour. And you need to be around the stove to stir the roasting gram flour continuously.
- While adding the powdered sugar make sure that the flour and ghee mixture is lukewarm to touch and not piping hot.
- If you are unable to shape the ladoo because the dough being too soft keep it in the fridge for 15 – 20 minutes. And then try to shape the ladoo.
- You can store ladoo in an airtight box or a jar. Do not stack them or pack tightly as they might crumble. Arrange them neatly in rows in the container.
Jayalakshmi says
Your recipes are v easy and easy to follow. All are r looking v tasty
Hina Gujral says
thank you so much!
Naita says
We dont make ladoos for Christmas yaaa… U have put Christmas song