Besan Ladoo Recipe

Besan Ladoo with a melt-in-the-mouth texture are a divine treat that you will love anytime. Also known as besan ke laddu these are immensely popular across India and made during special occasions like festivals, weddings and celebrations. Treat your family and friends this Diwali with these delicious and aromatic sweets. This recipe with video and easy step-by-step photo guide will help you make the best besan ladoo at home.

About Besan Ladoo

Besan ladoo are aromatic and delicious traditional North Indian sweet balls made with gram flour, ghee, powdered sugar & cardamoms. Besan is the Hindi word for gram flour and ladoo are ball shaped sweet delights from Indian cuisine. These Besan ke laddu are made by slow roasting gram flour in ghee until it turns aromatic and golden in color. This nutty mixture is cooled down and then mixed with powdered cardamoms and sugar.

Some variations use cashews, pistachios and melon seeds as well. Portions of this warm mixture is lastly pressed down in the palm to shape to balls which are known as Besan ladoo. These are made almost in every part of India with numerous variations. The traditional version requires nothing more than gram flour, pure ghee, sugar and cardamoms.

Also the traditional version uses coarse besan and boora or bura shakkar which is a kind of sugar made by melting and cooking sugar until it reaches a crystallization stage. Bhura shakkar enhances the taste and flavor of besan ladoo. The combination of roasted gram flour, sugar and ghee is unbeatable as it results in a great divine aroma, flavor and taste.

Like these Besan ladoos, Besan burfi, Mysore pak and besan halwa are also much loved for the same reason. Apart from Gulab jamun, Rasmalai and Rasgulla these ladoos are also quite popular and are made for Diwali. It is believed that Lord Ganesha loves ladoos. During Ganesh Chaturthi, Modak and many kinds of ladoos like these besan ke laddu, Coconut ladoo, Rava laddu, Bondi ladoo and Peanut laddu are also made.

Making besan ladoo at home is simple and pretty straight forward. But the most important part is to use the correct ratio of flour:ghee & using the right ingredients. Here is how to choose & use them in this recipe.

Choosing Ingredients

Besan (gram flour): Gram flour that’s been sitting in the super market shelves for too long can taste bitter so use good quality fresh flour that has been packed recently. Avoid using flour that is too old and always taste test before using it to make sure it has not gone bitter.

Slightly coarse ground gram flour known as ladoo besan is best for this recipe as it provides a texture and prevents the flour from sticking to your mouth. However I have had great success with the normal regular fine flour but if you prefer a texture, substitute 1 to 2 tbsps of besan with fine semolina or with almond flour.

Sweetener: Traditionally boora/bura shakkar or tagar is used. But the recipe works with regular sugar that’s been ground to a fine powder. In a pinch you can use store bought confectioners’ sugar or even jaggery. With jaggery it tastes very different and I would instead suggest trying this pinni recipe made with jaggery.  

Ghee: Using good quality puree ghee helps to make these besan ladoos more aromatic. Homemade ghee is the best. I made it following this ghee recipe.

Expert Tips

Arm work due to nonstop stirring:: Making perfect besan ladoos is a lot of arm work as it involves stirring continuously. If you have weak arms, please do not attempt this without a helping hand. You have to keep stirring non-stop & continuously without taking a break even for a few seconds especially at the later stage. Else there are chances of the besan getting burnt.

Patience: Please note that patience is the KEY to making awesome besan ladoos. Do not get impatient and increase the heat while you roast. You need to slow-roast the flour. If you feel the mixture is getting too hot at any stage, take off the pan from the stove for a while to bring down the temperature.

Adding ghee in batches: I do not use the entire ghee at the beginning to roast the besan. Adding all the ghee in the beginning makes the flour mixture heavy and is harder to roast. I find it easier the way I showed in the recipe.

Roasting besan to the correct aromatic and deep golden stage without burning is crucial. Undercooked flour will taste raw with bitter tones and over roasted flour will smell burnt and taste bitter. To get it to the right stage, begin on a medium heat until the flour is hot, reduce heat to low and roast until aromatic and fluffy. To make sure it does not taste raw, cool down a bit and taste test.

Consistency of Roasted Besan: After the besan is roasted, the mixture can be in any of the 3 states – solid, semi-solid or liquid state as this depends on the kind of besan and ghee used. So remember not to panic in any case. If your besan mixture turns runny, it will thicken back when the mixture cools down. If it is in a solid state, make sure you roasted it well.

Roasting time: I suggest not to go by the time as it depends on the kind of stove, pan and the intensity of the flame. The time frame I have mentioned in the post is just a guideline.

Photo Guide

How to make Besan Ladoo (Step-by-step photos)

Preparation

1. Measure 1 cup sugar (200 grams) and add it to a blender or grinder jar. Add ⅔ tsp cardamom powder and grind to a very fine powder. You can use white sugar or demerara sugar. Do not open the lid of the jar immediately after grinding as the sugar drifts everywhere. Wait for a minute and then mix a few times with a spoon and grind well again.

If you do not have a powerful grinder, do not add whole cardamoms as the shells may remain in bits without becoming a fine powder.

2. Check if the sugar is super fine. It has to be very fine as we don’t want any sand like texture in the besan ladoos. Set this aside.

3. Weigh or measure your besan and ghee correctly. We will need
2 cup besan (220 grams)
½ cup ghee (8 tbsps) (100 grams)
If you go wrong with the quantities your ladoos may not bind or may turn flat. Fluff up the flour in the jar with a fork and then scoop it to the measuring cup. You can use ghee in liquid or solid form. Both will be same.

Roasting Besan

4. Add 1½ tablespoons ghee to a heavy bottom pan (from the ghee you measured earlier). Heat it. We are using only 1½ tbsps ghee at this step from the total amount required for the recipe. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped cashews to the ghee and fry them on a medium flame until crunchy. Remove them to a bowl. If you don’t prefer cashews, you may skip them.

6. Lower the flame. Add besan to the same pan. Do not add any more ghee at this stage. Adding all of it at this stage will make it hard to fry the besan well.

7. Mix both of them well. Keep stirring and begin to fry on a medium low heat. You may see small lumps of ghee and besan. Just ignore them.

8. Keep stirring constantly for even roasting and to prevent burning. After 5 mins of roasting, the color of the besan begins to change to a slightly deeper color with a slight aroma.

9. Reduce the flame to lowest, then quickly add the rest of the ghee.

10. Do not stop stirring. Keep stirring to incorporate the ghee well & continue to roast the besan on the lowest flame. The flour will absorb all of the ghee and become lumpy at this stage.

11. As you fry the mixture will turn to a mass.

12. Keep roasting and stirring non stop till the besan smells aromatic and turns deep golden color. Besan will begin to look fluffy and airy, indicating it is ready and done. It took 25 mins for me to reach this stage from the time I added the flour to the pan. Timing may vary depending on the kind of pan and intensity of heat used.

13. As soon as you smell it aromatic, remove the pan immediately from the stove & place it on the counter. If you don’t remove the pan in time, the mixture will burn. In just few minutes you will notice ghee begins to ooze out from the mixture. The color changes to golden and the consistency begins to change.

The quantity of ghee that oozes out depends on the texture of besan & the kind of ghee. Most times it turns to a semi solid stage. But since there are different kinds of besan in the market, the mixture may or may not turn to a runny or semi solid stage. Sometimes it may turn completely runny and watery like. Don’t panic it is just normal & it thickens back after it cools down. So once the mixture turns aromatic. airy and fluffy, stop roasting.

Make Besan Ladoo

14. After keeping on the counter, stir for another 2 to 3 minutes as the besan will continue to cook in the hot ghee. This is how it was after 3 mins. Taste test this to ensure it is not raw. If it tastes nutty it is roasted correctly.

15. Allow it to cool down to a warm temperature. Touch with your fingers and check, it should be warm and not hot. Also if you live in a cold region, make sure you don’t let the mixture become cold because the ghee will solidify and the besan ladoos won’t bind well. Add cashews.

16. Add powdered sugar. If you prefer less sweetness in your besan ladoo reduce the sugar. I use all of the powdered sugar. Ensure the besan has cooled down to warm temperature before adding sugar. If you add sugar to hot besan, sugar will instantly melt and ruin.

17. Mix well to incorporate the sugar with the besan mixture. Knead with your hand. At this stage, it will look dry but as you mix, the warmth in your hand will melt the ghee and help to bind all of the ingredients.

18. The mixture should look something like this. It will be greasy.

19. Take small portions and roll to balls. You will be able to make 16 besan ladoo. Store them in a air tight jar and use with in 3 weeks.

If using coarse besan, ladoo may not look smooth. To give a nice smooth finish, after few hours of making these, place each ladoo in a clean white muslin cloth and roll gently. I did not use a cloth but just rolled them once more after 30 mins. Store besan ladoo in a air tight jar, away from moisture.

Storing

Besan ladoo keeps good at room temperature for at least 3 weeks if handled well. Store them in air tight jars and keep away from high humid places like kitchen counter. If refrigerated they keep good for 2 to 3 months but ghee will solidify. So reheat them in oven at 80 C or 160 F until the ladoos become slightly hot (little more than being warm). Do not keep for too long the ladoos will melt down. Alternately you may leave them at room temperature during summers.

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