Besan ladoo recipe, how to make besan ladoo, besan recipes

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Besan ladoo recipe

Besan ladoo recipe, a gluten free, traditional Indian sweet made with chickpea flour and ghee for festivals like Diwali & Ganesh Chaturthi puja

Besan ladoo is one of the finest traditional Indian sweets that is prepared during festivals as an offering to God or to celebrate a special occasion and many a time just to cater to a sweet tooth. It is no exaggeration that it is a treasured culinary gem among Indian besan flour recipes. This gluten free dessert with a beautiful yellow shade has a unique, rich flavor with a soft and melt in the mouth texture. One of my most favorite Indian dessert and am surprised it took me so long to blog besan ladoo recipe.

besan-ladoo
besan ladoo

Chickpea flour in hindi is called ‘besan’ and ‘ladoo’ is a round shaped, bite sized, sweet ball. Besan stand strong in terms of health benefits due to its high protein and folate content, low glycemic index and not to mention, its gluten free. It helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. You will find that pregnant women regularly eat besan ladoo, besan chilla and dhokla among other besan recipes. During pregnancy, women who crave sweets are encouraged to eat besan ke ladoo.

It is a popular North Indian sweet but is equally popular in Maharashtra and down South too. In fact, I have posted a besan laddu recipe earlier where the cooking method involved preparation of a sugar syrup which can be difficult for beginner cooks. Both the North Indian version and Maharashtrian style besan ladoo does not require the making of sugar syrup. It is comparatively much easier to make for those attempting to make it for the first time.

besan-ladoo-preparationbesan-ladoo-consistency
besan ladoo ingredients, preparation, consistency

Besan ke ladoo is a simple and easy recipe that does not involve the making of sugar syrup. Just roast the besan or chickpea flour in ghee, cool and mix in powdered sugar and coarsely crushed nuts and flavor with cardamom powder. Roasting the besan is time consuming but worth the effort since it is the ghee roasted besan which brings in all the flavor to the ladoo. You have to roast till your home is filled with a fragrant aroma that is enticing. Roasting on very low flame and continuous mixing of the besan flour so that it does not burn are the key points to be taken care of during besan ladoo preparation. You do not want to bite into a raw tasting ladoo, so roast, roast and roast away. 🙂

besan-ladoo-recipe
besan ladoo recipe

Usually a generous amount of ghee is required if we want to savor its true flavor but I have used less ghee in the besan ladoo recipe as I have added khoya or reduced milk solids to give it a richer flavor. In spite of reducing the amount of ghee, the flavor of the besan ke laddo was not compromised. Simple tips to follow for besan ladoo preparation involve the use of the coarser variety of besan flour also called mota besan or laddu besan and not the super smooth besan flour, roasting on low flame till no trace of rawness and the use of pure desi ghee. If you do not have access to the coarse besan, add a tablespoon of semolina or sooji to a cup of chickpea flour.

besan-laddu-recipe
besan laddu

You can encounter a couple of problems while making besan ladoo like the mixture being too dry, not binding or not forming into a round ladoo shape. This can arise if you have used less ghee than required. At the time of shaping the ladoos, add a little more warm and melted ghee and mix. Start with a teaspoon and slowly add more if required. You can even add milk in place of ghee. In fact, many home cooks add warm milk to the roasted besan which helps yield a grainer besan ladoo. If milk is added the shelf life is reduced and the ladoos have to be refrigerated for a longer shelf life. Normally, the shelf life of besan ladoo is two weeks. Since I have added khoya, the besan ladoos have to be refrigerated within 24 hours of preparation.

besan-ke-ladoo
besan ke ladoo

If you’re looking to make a super tasty, gluten free dessert, make besan ke ladoo which requires minimal ingredients. Even a beginner cook, cannot go wrong with these simple ingredients. Trust me! Do check out a few other variations to the besan ladoo recipe posted in the Hare Krishna food website. Also check out besan ka ladoo on Sanjeev Kapoor’s site.

Learn how to make besan ladoo recipe

Besan ladoo recipe

  Prepare time:  Cook:  Serves: 12  Cuisine: north indian besan,chickpea_flour,dessert,diwali-sweets,festival_sweets,sweet,sweets,All Recipes,Festival Foods,Flour Recipes,Indian Festivals,Indian Sweets Recipes,Navratri Recipes,North Indian Recipes
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 Ingredients

  •   Chickpea flour 2 1/4 cups (besan/senagapindi), coarse (sift without lumps)
  •   Ghee 1/2 cup, melted (clarified/neyyi)
  •   Powdered sugar 3/4 cup
  •   Khoya 1/3 cup (saute in a tbsp of ghee for 3 mts)
  •   Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp (elaichi/elakaya)
  •   Almonds 1/4 cup (badam/badam pappu)
  •   Cashew nuts 1/4 cup (kaju/jeedipappu)

Method for making Besan ladoo recipe

  1. Heat a tbsp of ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the cashew nuts and saute on low medium flame till they turn golden brown. Remove from the vessel and place in a bowl.

  2. In the same ghee, add the almonds and saute on low flame for 3 mts. Remove from vessel and place in the bowl which has the cashew nuts. Set aside.

  3. In the same vessel, add the ghee and allow to melt and turn warm but not hot. Add the besan to the warm ghee and cook on low flame stirring continuously. This is a time taking process and requires some patience. Roast only on low flame till the besan turns color and a lovely aroma emanates the kitchen. This will take at least 30-35 mts of constant stirring. Turn off flame.

  4. Remove the roasted besan to a wide plate and allow to cool down. It can be slightly luke warm.

  5. Meanwhile, add a tbsp of ghee to the same vessel and saute the grated khoya for 2-3 mts. Turn off flame and remove from vessel.

  6. Grind the roasted cashew nuts and almonds to a coarse powder. Add it to the roasted besan. Add the powdered sugar and mix to combine.

  7. Finally add cardamom powder and mix the contents gently. Shape the mixture into small lemon sized even balls. You can place any nut on top as garnish.

  8. Besan ladoo has a shelf life of two weeks at room temperature.

Tips

  •   Adding khoya or mawa is purely optional. If not using khoya, add more melted warm ghee while shaping the mixture into laddus. Add only if the mixture is not binding to form ladoo shape.
  •   If not using coarse besan, use 1/4 cup semolina/sooji to for the above recipe. After roasting the besan in ghee and removing from the vessel, add a tbsp of ghee and roast semolina on low flame for 7-8 mts and add it to the roasted besan and follow rest of the procedure to make ladoo.
By Published: Besan ladoo recipe, an easy, gluten free, Indian sweet made with chickpea flour, khoya, ghee & nuts. How to make besan ladoo with simple preparation & tips.