Besan ladoo also known as Besan ke laddu is a popular festive sweet recipe made using gram flour, sugar, cashews and ghee. This melt in mouth ladoo is perfect Diwali sweet recipe. This is one of the most popular sweets made with gram flour like many sweets including mohanthal, mysore pak and many other sweets.
Besan Ladoo Recipe
This recipe for besan ladoo was originally published on 2015. Now it has been updated with new, easy to follow measurements and fool proof technique which gives you most authentic results.
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The first recipe which I made is many years ago which was a microwave version. Now I wanted to update the recipe with newer and easy to follow technique which anyone can do. This recipe is one of the easy recipe for besan ladoo, which has Halwai style grainy and melt in mouth texture.
About Besan Ladoo Recipe
First of all, what is besan ladoo. it is one of the popular recipe made using gram flour (besan). It is high in protein and loved by many because it has a melt in mouth, slightly grainy texture which is nutty and sweet. Gram flour has a tendency to give melt in mouth texture to the ladoos.
Besan ladoo is also known as besan ke ladoo, besan laddu, kadala maavu urundai and gram flour ladoo in many places. Not to confuse with the Bandar laddu which is slightly different that this. It is known as Thokkudu laddu popular in Andhra region made with jaggery.
Besan ke ladoo is made with a combination of gram flour, sugar, cashews and ghee which gives the unique taste to this ladoo. This is not only made during Diwali, it is specially made on ganesh chaturthi as well. Along with this urad dal ladoo, maladu and boondi ladoo can be made as well.
You can also make more popular diwali sweets like adirasam, gulab jamun, kaju katli. This ladoo is so easy to make, but taste so healthy and yummy. I love the colour which was in the ladoo without adding any food colouring.
What makes besan ladoo special is the texture. It can be made from start to finish in under 40 mins, this includes shaping ladoos too.
Similar Ladoo Recipes
Besan Ladoo Troubleshooting
One of the main difficulty people face in this ladoo recipe is the texture. Some recipe fail due to certain issues. Even I have failed making besan ladoo multiple times. So I know all the issues you will be facing while making this recipe.
The first and most important is the measurements. If you add too much ghee to the besan when roasting will result in a very loose texture. I found ¼ cup of ghee is perfect for 1 cup of gram flour.
When you roast the besan in ghee, it will be crumbly at first but as you keep roasting it will get slightly loose. If your mixture is too loose, then you may dry roast another ½ cup of besan in a separate pan and mix with the first batch to fix this issue. You may need to add more sugar also.
The second and important mistake people make is not allowing the roasted besan to cool before adding sugar. You have to let it cool completely before adding sugar. Even if it is slightly warm, will melt the sugar and make the ladoo mixture loose and unable to shape.
If that happens, keep the mixture in fridge for 30 minutes before shaping will fix this issue.
My Personal Tips for Perfect Besan ladoo
Now that you learned the issues you may face when making perfect ladoo. Lets talk about the perfect ladoo texture. First important tip is to, take your time when roasting besan. Even slight raw taste from besan affect the end ladoo. Besan takes longer to roast, atleast 15 to 20 minutes for perfect nutty roasted besan.
Besan ladoo has a melt in mouth, slightly grainy texture. That comes from the water which we are sprinkling over the roasted besan.
This tip is followed by every halwai stall. It gives the perfect amount of grainy texture without affecting the melt in mouth texture. Also don’t add too much water, else it may affect the shelf life and texture of ladoo.
Traditionally Burra sugar (also spelled bura, boora, or tagar) is used for making besan ladoo. it is a coarsely powdered unrefined, sulphurless cane sugar which is widely used to make sweets. But regular sugar works perfect.
Also the amount of sugar is perfect in this recipe. For 1 cup of besan, you need ½ cup of granulated sugar. The ladoo is not overly sweet which I like.
Be generous with the cashews, it adds a crunchy bite when you have the ladoo. Besan ladoo has slightly long shelf life. When you keep it covered air tight, it can last upto a week or more.
Ingredients
- Gram Flour – Gram flour, besan or chickpeas flour. You should use finest quality of gram flour for best taste. If your gram flour is lumpy, sieve it once for smooth texture.
- Sugar – traditionally burra sugar is used. but i prefer granulated sugar which everyone has. Powder them before using.
- Cardamom – You can skip cardamom, if you don’t like the taste of it. But I like to add a couple of pods when powdering the sugar.
- Ghee – desi ghee is what makes the besan ladoo taste so amazing.
- Cashews – Be generous with the cashews, it adds a crunchy bite when you have the ladoo. Break them into small pieces, which makes shaping the ladoo easier.
- Water – a tablespoon of water is sprinkled over the roasted besan, which helps achieve the grainy halwai style texture.
Step by Step Pictures
Making powdered sugar
1)Take sugar and cardamom pods in a blender and make it into a fine powder.
2)Set this aside, we will use it later.
Fried cashews
3)Take 1 teaspoon ghee in a pan in which you are going to make ladoo. Make sure to use heavy bottom pan. Add in cashews and fry till light golden brown and well toasted.
4)Remove the cashews to a bowl or plate and set aside.
Roasting Besan
5)Now in the same pan add in gram flour and the remaining ghee and mix well on low heat. Make sure the heat is on very low.
6)We are going to toast the gram flour till it gets nutty and aromatic. The colour will change to a darker yellow colour.
7)Keep toasting the gram flour in ghee for at least 12 to 15 minutes. At first the gram flour mixture will be thick and crumbly.
8)As you keep toasting them it will get more loose and runny in texture.
9)You have to toast the gram flour till all the raw smell leaves. It is what makes the ladoo taste delicious.
10)If you are not sure whether you have toasted the gram flour well, you may taste and check. The toasted gram flour will taste more nutty without any raw smell.
Besan Ladoo Grainy Texture Hack
11)At this point, add in 1 tablespoon of water and mix well.
12)The mixture will bubble up and get slightly crumbly. This will give the ladoo slight grainy texture. Don’t add too much water.
13)Once the water is mixed well, take it off the heat.
14)transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside to cool down completely. This step is very important. The ladoo mixture should be cooled completely before adding in the sugar.
Making Besan Ladoo Mixture
15)Once the gram flour mixture is cool, add in the powdered sugar and the fried cashews.
16)Use your hands to mix this mixture really well so the sugar is evenly combined into the gram flour mixture. This will resemble coarse texture. But you should be able to shape ladoos. If your mixture is too dry, you may add 1 teaspoon of ghee.
Shaping ladoo
17)Now take small portion of the ladoo mixture in your hands.
18)Shape it into tight ball like ladoo. Press the mixture really well to shape the ladoo.
19)It will be very easy to shape the ladoo.
20)Place it on a container and finish with the rest of the mixture. With this amount you will get around 12 ladoos. You can store the ladoo covered in an air tight container at room temperature for upto a week. Enjoy.
Expert Tips
Roasting Besan – take your time when roasting besan. Even slight raw taste from besan affect the end ladoo. Besan takes longer to roast, atleast 15 to 20 minutes for perfect nutty roasted besan.
For Grainy Texture – The water sprinkling tip is followed by every halwai stall. It gives the perfect amount of grainy texture without affecting the melt in mouth texture. Also don’t add too much water, else it may affect the shelf life and texture of ladoo.
Measurements are key – Measure ghee, sugar and besan correctly for perfect texture. More ghee and sugar makes loose ladoo.
Temperature – Allow the roasted besan to cool before adding sugar. You have to let it cool completely before adding sugar. Even if it is slightly warm, will melt the sugar and make the ladoo mixture loose and unable to shape.
Storage – Besan ladoo has slightly long shelf life. When you keep it covered air tight, it can last upto a week or more.
FAQ
1)Why are my besan ladoos not binding?
If your besan ladoo is not coming together when shaping and looks dry, add more ghee and shape. If it is too loose, keep the mixture in fridge for 30 minutes before shaping will fix this issue.
2)Why my ladoo taste raw?
It is because, You haven’t toasted the gram flour till all the raw smell leaves. It is what makes the ladoo taste delicious. If you are not sure whether you have toasted the gram flour well, you may taste and check. The toasted gram flour will taste more nutty without any raw smell.
3)How to fix soft besan ladoo?
If your ladoo is too soft, then you may need to dry roast another ½ cup of besan in a separate pan and mix with the first batch to fix this issue. You may need to add more sugar also.
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Besan Ladoo Recipe (Besan Ke Laddu Recipe | Gram Flour Ladoo)
Notes
- Roasting besan is very important. Take your time and roast it on very low heat.
- Constant stirring of besan when roasting is very important.
- Use fine powdered sugar for better texture of besan ladoo.
- Cool down the besan mix before adding sugar. Else the sugar may melt in the heat.
- Use good quality desi ghee for the ladoos.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Besan Ladoo Recipe (Besan Ke Laddu Recipe | Gram Flour Ladoo)
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @aarthi198689@gmail.com and I’ll help as soon as I can.
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