Besan Ladoo is a popular Indian sweet, which is made and consumed throughout the year. Besan means Bengal Gram flour and ladoo means round balls. Here, the besan or gram flour is thoroughly roasted in ghee or clarified butter and then added with sugar and spices. Besan ke ladoo is particularly very popular as Diwali sweets or during other festivals and marriages.

Many recipes call for nuts in the ingredients list, however, I have kept it as a nut-free recipe and added some melon seeds, instead.

Besan is an excellent substitute for normal flour as it is gluten-free and rich in protein and other nutrients. It is highly popular in Indian cooking, especially in Indian sweets recipes. At the end of this article, I have included a list of Indian sweets from my blog that can be made using besan flour.

As a kid, I was hooked to this Indian sweet dish. If anybody ever asked me what would be my favourite food, 9 out of 10 times it would have been besan ke laddu.

The store-bought besan ladoo used to be sugar-laden, and often not made with pure ghee. But that would hardly deter me from loving this particular sweet. As I grew, that overtly sweet taste somehow got me off this sweet.

Now, since I have started making my own Indian sweets at home, I thought why not try the besan ke ladoo recipe and tweak it a little bit as my liking.

So, let’s see what are the ingredients that I have used here and what are tweaks to the besan ladoo recipe.

How to make easy Besan Ladoo recipe – Ingredients list

• Besan or Bengal Gram Flour – I have used the fine grain flour, you may use the coarser variety as well. In that case, use only 1 cup of Mota Besan or coarsely milled Gram flour, instead of 1,1/4 cups.
• Boora – alternate would be Castor Sugar or Icing Sugar
• Ghee or Clarified Butter – alternate would be unsalted Butter but no EVOO or any other oil. Indian sweets are non-forgiving in this matter!
• Melon Seeds
• Nutmeg Powder

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What is Boora?

To make Boora, Sugar is boiled with water till it gets dissolved. It is then further cooked till the water has evaporated completely leaving crystallized sugar. At this stage, it will be dry and lumpy. It is known as ‘Tagaar‘.

When these lumpy crystals of sugar are further passed through a sieve or processed in a food processor to get a finer mix, it is called ‘Boora‘.

This Boora is highly preferred for Indian ladoo recipes like this besan ke ladoo recipe.

Step-by-step instructions on how to make Besan ke Ladoos at home

• Take a heavy bottom non-stick pan and place it over lowest flame. Add the ghee and the besan or gram flour in it. Now roast it over a low flame by stirring continuously to ensure even cooking. At first, it will turn into a slurry and then slowly you will see the colour changing into a darker shade. It will also become very aromatic and release a nutty fragrance. It should take somewhere around 20-25 minutes.
• Once it is done, turn off the heat and remove the roasted mix from the pan onto a flat dish to allow it to cool a bit. Stir it for a couple of times so that it stops cooking in its own residual heat.
• Once it is cool enough to touch yet still warm, add rest of the ingredients and give it a thorough mix.
• Now, as it has cooled down enough for handling, divide the mix into 6 equal portions for small lemon sized ladoos. You can adjust the size as per your liking.
• Now, press each of them in your palm to form a ball and then roll it between your palms to make it smooth. Repeat with the rest of the portions. In case you find it crumbling away and not holding its shape, add a teaspoon of ghee into a mix and mix it through. Repeat till you are able to make the ladoos
• Keep them in an air-tight container and consumer them in next 3-4 days. No need to refrigerate. However, if you stay in a hotter climate, keep them in a cool place.

In case you are looking for more Indian sweets recipes made with Besan or Gram flour, then you can try Boondi recipe and then make some Boondi Ladoo with them.

Here’s a quick list of some of the most popular Indian sweets recipes from my blog

• Instant Gulab Jamun recipe using Milk Powder
• Instant Kalakand recipe using Condensed Milk
• Instant Malpoa recipe
• Gajar ka Halwa recipe without using Khoya
• Instant Gajar ka Halwa recipe
• Atta ka Halwa recipe
• Kesar Peda
• Sweet Boondi
• Rasbhari
• Khaja or Chiroti
• Chanar Jilipi or Paneer Jalebi
• Pranhara Sandesh
• Kesar Peda
• Kesar Motichoor Ladoo
• Balushahi
• Besan Ladoo
• Narkel Naru or Coconut Jaggery Ladoo

Have you tried this recipe? I would love to hear about it.
Tag me on Instagram @priyankabhattacharya.sa or Facebook @hashdiaries and I will share it further.

This post was first published on October 28, 2020, later republished on August 20, 2021 with the recipe video and a more elaborate description of the recipe.

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