Sep 08, 2022, Updated Aug 28, 2023 Festivals are incomplete without sweets and in India festivals are incomplete without ladoos. Ladoo, an Indian sweet can be made using various ingredients and is round in shape. We make ladoos out of so many ingredients, there’s motichoor ladoo, atta ladoo (made with whole wheat flour), rava ladoo (made with semolina), coconut ladoo and so on. Out of all these amazing ladoos, besan ladoo is my absolute favorite.
What is Besan Ladoo
Besan Ladoo is a round dessert ball made with gram flour which is called besan in Hindi and hence the name. Flour is roasted with ghee (clarified butter) and then sugar is added and then it’s shaped into round balls. Nuts and raisins can be added. Some people also add sooji (rava/semolina) to the besan for the crunch. However I personally prefer this ladoo plain, minus the sooji. It is definitely my favorite ladoo and also one of my favorite sweets ever. Back home during Diwali, I would always scan through the sweet boxes to see if any one of them had besan ladoo in them. My nani (maternal grandmother) used to make the besan ladoo. So I kind of grew up eating these homemade ladoos. I have so many memories associated with them. I don’t think my ladoos can ever match hers though as they were simply the best! 🙂
Ingredients
Besan (gram flour): there are 2 main types of besan available in the market- the fine besan which is what we regularly use in homes to make chilla, pakora etc. and the ladoo besan which is the coarse variety. Most sweet shops use the coarse variety, ladoo besan to make besan ladoo however you can use the regular besan as well and it will be just fine. Use whichever besan you want or have on hand. Bura/Boora: it is a type of sugar that is made by boiling sugar with water and let it crystallize. The moisture from sugar gets evaporated and on top of that ghee is also often added to it which makes it more flavorful. It is for this reason that you should use bura to make these ladoos. If you can’t find bura and have no time to make it at home, just take regular white sugar in a grinder and grind it to a finer consistency and use that. Ghee: there’s so besan ladoo without ghee! For best results use homemade ghee or the best quality ghee that you can fine. My nani would always make these ladoos with homemade ghee.
Fine or Coarse? Which Besan to Use?
I make ladoos with both types of besan and you can use either depending on what you have on hands and also what you prefer. If you prefer sweet shop style besan ladoos with texture -> use coarse besan (ladoo besan) If you prefer more home style ladoos and don’t care so much about texture -> use fine besan (the regular variety which you have at home to make kadhi, chilla etc.)
Step by Step Pictures- How to Make Besan Ladoo
Before you start, you can sift the besan if you like. 1- To a heavy bottom pan, add 1/4 cup ghee (55 grams) and let it melt on medium heat. Once the ghee melts, add 1 cup besan (110 grams) to the pan. Stir and set heat to low. 2- Mix the besan and the ghee together, at first it will form a clump. 3- Don’t worry and keep stirring, it will start to loosen up a bit around 7 to 8 minutes. 4- Then it will continue to become loose and light, keep stirring on low heat. Do not stop stirring else besan might burn. 5- Keep stirring continuously on low heat. Besan will continue to loosen up and after around 15 minutes (picture 5), it will turn into a smooth paste like consistency. PS: do not worry if your besan never turns into this consistency, it can happen due to different types of besan available in the market, just keep going and roast the besan. 6- I roasted the besan for around 25 minutes on low heat until it had a nice golden-ish color. Your kitchen will also be filled with a aroma by then (for more ways to check doneness of the besan, please refer to notes below). This time may differ depending on several things like thickness of pan, intensity of heat etc. 7- Remove pan from heat. If you want, you can transfer the besan to another container so that it doesn’t cook further and doesn’t burn. I just kept stirring it after removing from the pan for around 5 minutes until it cooled down a bit. In total let the besan cool down for around 10 minutes, lukewarm is fine, but it should not be super hot before you add the sugar. Then add 1/2 cup bura (75 grams) to it which in simple terms is a type of powdered sugar. Bura is not be be confused with confectioners sugar/icing sugar. If you don’t have bura, just pulse some granulated white sugar in a blender and use that. 8- Add 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder. You can also add chopped nuts and raisins if you like at this point. 9- Mix everything together until the sugar and cardamom is well combined with the besan. You will get a smooth besan dough. 10 & 11- Now, pinch a small bowl from the dough. Press and then roll between your palm to form a round shape 12- . Repeat with the remaining dough and make all besan ladoo similarly. You will get 7 to 8 ladoos out of the mixture. You can garnish them with nuts if you like.
Storing The Ladoo
You can store besan ladoo at room temperature in a clean air tight container for 2 weeks. If you wish to increase their shelf time, you can refrigerate them.
Expert Tips to Make Perfect Besan Ladoo
So, the ingredient list to make besan ladoo is pretty small but here are few tips that will help you make then perfectly. Roast the besan properly: the most crucial thing to keep in mind while making besan ladoo is to make sure the besan is roasted well. It will take time and you will need to have lot of patience. Do not rush this step! If you don’t roast the besan properly, the ladoos will taste bitter and raw. And how would you know that besan is roasted? You will be able to tell from the aroma and also the color of the besan will change to a golden-ish hue. Also, the besan turns into a smooth paste once it’s cooked (see pictures below in the recipe steps). But don’t over roast it either else you will burn it. Keep the heat on low at all times: equally important is to keep the heat to low at all times. If the heat is high, the besan will turn brown and even burn while still being raw. Keep stirring continuously: yes, this recipe is a good hand workout. You need to stir continuously as you roast, which will be around 20 to 25 minutes! But the end result will be worth it, trust me! Let the roasted besan cool down before adding sugar: once the besan has roasted let it cool down for at least 10 minutes before adding the sugar. If you add the sugar while besan is still warm, the sugar will melt and loosen up the mixture and you won’t be able to bind the ladoos. Roasting time may differ depending on intensity of heat, thickness of pan: please keep in mind that roasting time needed for besan may differ. It takes me around 25 minutes of low heat to roast the besan, it might take you 15 or 50. It depends on several things including if you have gas, induction, coil. It also depends on intensity of heat (medium, low, low-medium) and the thickness of the pan you are using. If you are not sure rely on aroma of the besan rather than the time, you should smell that nutty aroma. When making besan ladoos, they are some common problems that you may face or come across. I will try to address each one and offer their solutions here.
Making Besan Ladoo with Jaggery
I have made these ladoos with jaggery powder and it works fine. You would need to add a little more jaggery than the amount of sugar that is mentioned. Please note that I have only tried with readymade jaggery powder that’s sold in the market and not with a block of jaggery. This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in November 2013. If you’ve tried this Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen and on YouTube to watch my latest videos.
title: “Besan Ladoo " ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-24” author: “Steve Livingston”
Sep 08, 2022, Updated Aug 28, 2023 Festivals are incomplete without sweets and in India festivals are incomplete without ladoos. Ladoo, an Indian sweet can be made using various ingredients and is round in shape. We make ladoos out of so many ingredients, there’s motichoor ladoo, atta ladoo (made with whole wheat flour), rava ladoo (made with semolina), coconut ladoo and so on. Out of all these amazing ladoos, besan ladoo is my absolute favorite.
What is Besan Ladoo
Besan Ladoo is a round dessert ball made with gram flour which is called besan in Hindi and hence the name. Flour is roasted with ghee (clarified butter) and then sugar is added and then it’s shaped into round balls. Nuts and raisins can be added. Some people also add sooji (rava/semolina) to the besan for the crunch. However I personally prefer this ladoo plain, minus the sooji. It is definitely my favorite ladoo and also one of my favorite sweets ever. Back home during Diwali, I would always scan through the sweet boxes to see if any one of them had besan ladoo in them. My nani (maternal grandmother) used to make the besan ladoo. So I kind of grew up eating these homemade ladoos. I have so many memories associated with them. I don’t think my ladoos can ever match hers though as they were simply the best! 🙂
Ingredients
Besan (gram flour): there are 2 main types of besan available in the market- the fine besan which is what we regularly use in homes to make chilla, pakora etc. and the ladoo besan which is the coarse variety. Most sweet shops use the coarse variety, ladoo besan to make besan ladoo however you can use the regular besan as well and it will be just fine. Use whichever besan you want or have on hand. Bura/Boora: it is a type of sugar that is made by boiling sugar with water and let it crystallize. The moisture from sugar gets evaporated and on top of that ghee is also often added to it which makes it more flavorful. It is for this reason that you should use bura to make these ladoos. If you can’t find bura and have no time to make it at home, just take regular white sugar in a grinder and grind it to a finer consistency and use that. Ghee: there’s so besan ladoo without ghee! For best results use homemade ghee or the best quality ghee that you can fine. My nani would always make these ladoos with homemade ghee.
Fine or Coarse? Which Besan to Use?
I make ladoos with both types of besan and you can use either depending on what you have on hands and also what you prefer. If you prefer sweet shop style besan ladoos with texture -> use coarse besan (ladoo besan) If you prefer more home style ladoos and don’t care so much about texture -> use fine besan (the regular variety which you have at home to make kadhi, chilla etc.)
Step by Step Pictures- How to Make Besan Ladoo
Before you start, you can sift the besan if you like. 1- To a heavy bottom pan, add 1/4 cup ghee (55 grams) and let it melt on medium heat. Once the ghee melts, add 1 cup besan (110 grams) to the pan. Stir and set heat to low. 2- Mix the besan and the ghee together, at first it will form a clump. 3- Don’t worry and keep stirring, it will start to loosen up a bit around 7 to 8 minutes. 4- Then it will continue to become loose and light, keep stirring on low heat. Do not stop stirring else besan might burn. 5- Keep stirring continuously on low heat. Besan will continue to loosen up and after around 15 minutes (picture 5), it will turn into a smooth paste like consistency. PS: do not worry if your besan never turns into this consistency, it can happen due to different types of besan available in the market, just keep going and roast the besan. 6- I roasted the besan for around 25 minutes on low heat until it had a nice golden-ish color. Your kitchen will also be filled with a aroma by then (for more ways to check doneness of the besan, please refer to notes below). This time may differ depending on several things like thickness of pan, intensity of heat etc. 7- Remove pan from heat. If you want, you can transfer the besan to another container so that it doesn’t cook further and doesn’t burn. I just kept stirring it after removing from the pan for around 5 minutes until it cooled down a bit. In total let the besan cool down for around 10 minutes, lukewarm is fine, but it should not be super hot before you add the sugar. Then add 1/2 cup bura (75 grams) to it which in simple terms is a type of powdered sugar. Bura is not be be confused with confectioners sugar/icing sugar. If you don’t have bura, just pulse some granulated white sugar in a blender and use that. 8- Add 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder. You can also add chopped nuts and raisins if you like at this point. 9- Mix everything together until the sugar and cardamom is well combined with the besan. You will get a smooth besan dough. 10 & 11- Now, pinch a small bowl from the dough. Press and then roll between your palm to form a round shape 12- . Repeat with the remaining dough and make all besan ladoo similarly. You will get 7 to 8 ladoos out of the mixture. You can garnish them with nuts if you like.
Storing The Ladoo
You can store besan ladoo at room temperature in a clean air tight container for 2 weeks. If you wish to increase their shelf time, you can refrigerate them.
Expert Tips to Make Perfect Besan Ladoo
So, the ingredient list to make besan ladoo is pretty small but here are few tips that will help you make then perfectly. Roast the besan properly: the most crucial thing to keep in mind while making besan ladoo is to make sure the besan is roasted well. It will take time and you will need to have lot of patience. Do not rush this step! If you don’t roast the besan properly, the ladoos will taste bitter and raw. And how would you know that besan is roasted? You will be able to tell from the aroma and also the color of the besan will change to a golden-ish hue. Also, the besan turns into a smooth paste once it’s cooked (see pictures below in the recipe steps). But don’t over roast it either else you will burn it. Keep the heat on low at all times: equally important is to keep the heat to low at all times. If the heat is high, the besan will turn brown and even burn while still being raw. Keep stirring continuously: yes, this recipe is a good hand workout. You need to stir continuously as you roast, which will be around 20 to 25 minutes! But the end result will be worth it, trust me! Let the roasted besan cool down before adding sugar: once the besan has roasted let it cool down for at least 10 minutes before adding the sugar. If you add the sugar while besan is still warm, the sugar will melt and loosen up the mixture and you won’t be able to bind the ladoos. Roasting time may differ depending on intensity of heat, thickness of pan: please keep in mind that roasting time needed for besan may differ. It takes me around 25 minutes of low heat to roast the besan, it might take you 15 or 50. It depends on several things including if you have gas, induction, coil. It also depends on intensity of heat (medium, low, low-medium) and the thickness of the pan you are using. If you are not sure rely on aroma of the besan rather than the time, you should smell that nutty aroma. When making besan ladoos, they are some common problems that you may face or come across. I will try to address each one and offer their solutions here.
Making Besan Ladoo with Jaggery
I have made these ladoos with jaggery powder and it works fine. You would need to add a little more jaggery than the amount of sugar that is mentioned. Please note that I have only tried with readymade jaggery powder that’s sold in the market and not with a block of jaggery. This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in November 2013. If you’ve tried this Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen and on YouTube to watch my latest videos.
