Besan Ladoo | Easy Besan Ladoo Recipe

Besan Ladoo with step-by-step photos and instructions.

Besan Ladoo are one of the most loved and popular Indian sweet. It is traditional sweet prepared during festivals like Diwali, religious occasions, functions etc.. Almost every Indian household prepares besan ladoos.

What are Besan Ladoos?

Ladoos are round-shaped sweet balls which are prepared from different ingredients. Depending on the ingredient used there are different types of ladoos. For example, besan ladoo, rava ladoo, motichoor ladoo, til ladoo etc.

These ladoos serve as a perfect mid-meal or as a snack. You can also carry ladoos while travelling as they have a good shelf life. Prepared using healthy grains or legumes, these small balls are power-packed with nutrients and give you instant energy.

Besan Ladoo is prepared using besan flour (gram flour), sugar and ghee and shaped into balls using palms. You can directly use readymade besan flour or make your own flour by roasting chana dal (split Bengal gram) and grinding it in a flour mill. The latter method yields flavoursome ladoos.

What is Besan Flour?

Besan flour/gram flour is flour made from chana dal or split Bengal gram. Gram flour should not be confused with chickpeas flour. Both are different with respect to taste and texture.

Gram flour is more popularly known as ‘besan‘. The readymade besan flour available in stores is super-fine in quality. Grinding the chana dal in a flour mill to a slightly coarse (but not granular) texture will give you tasty ladoos. This will require additional work, but it is worth the effort.

How to make your own besan flour for besan ladoos?

If you are going to grind the chana dal in a flour mill, roast the dal prior to grinding. Roasting the dal brings out the flavours in it. The chana dal should be lightly roasted on low-medium flame until light brown. Do not burn the chana dal. Allow it to cool and further grind this dal in a flour mill to a slight coarse texture.

Tips to prepare perfect besan ladoos

1. Besan Flour – Use good quality, fresh besan flour for best results. Besan flour turns bitter after a few months. Taste and check for bitterness.
2. Roasting – This is the key to making delectable ladoos. The flour should be slowly roasted on a low flame. Slow roasting releases a heavenly aroma and gives a nutty flavour. If the flour is not roasted properly the ladoos will have a raw taste of besan flour. Roasting time varies depending on the flour, flame, pan used etc.
3. Ghee – Use desi ghee (clarified butter) for a great taste and aroma. Do not use vanaspati. To know how to make homemade ghee from scratch, click here.
4. Sugar – I prefer making sugar powder at home as the store-bought powder sometimes has lumps in it. Also, adjust sugar to your taste.
5. Shaping – If your ladoo mixture has less ghee it will be difficult to roll the ladoos. On the contrary, more ghee will cause the ladoos to fall flat. So add ghee little by little, roll and check.
6. Rolling – The mixture should be warm while rolling the ladoo. If it cools and you are unable to roll, just reheat the mixture till warm.
7. Storage and shelf life – Store in an airtight container, in a cool and dry place away from heat. These ladoos have a shelf life of about a month.
8. Dry fruits and nuts – This is a basic besan ladoo recipe. You can add cashew and raisins too.
9. Nutmeg powder – Addition of nutmeg powder or jaiphal gives a nice flavour to the besan ladoos. It also prevents flatulence that can be caused due to gram flour. However, it is completely optional.
10. Servings – The proportions given in this recipe will give you about 15 ladoos. Nevertheless, this may vary depending on the size of the ladoos.

How to prepare besan ladoos?

1. Heat a little ghee in deep-bottomed kadhai. Add flour and keep stirring on low-medium flame. Do not leave the mixture unattended as the flour may burn.

(Note: I have roasted the chana dal and ground it in a flour mill to a slight coarse texture.)

• 

• 

2. Keep roasting the flour until it turns light golden in colour. Break any lumps in the flour. Also, a divine aroma will be released while roasting. Roasting time varies depending on the flour, flame, pan used etc. Once evenly roasted, allow the besan flour to cool completely. (Note: The roasted besan should have a nutty flavour. It should not taste raw.)

• 

• 

• 

3. While the flour cools down, grind the sugar to a fine powder in the mixie.

• 

• 

4. Once the roasted flour cools down, add sugar and salt. Mix everything well.

• 

• 

5. Add cardamom powder and freshly grated nutmeg powder.

• 

• 

6. Next heat ghee and add it to the mixture.

• 

• 

7. Further combine and blend everything well. Knead the mixture well using your palms.

• 

• 

8. The mixture should look uniform as shown below. Take a small amount of the mixture and try shaping into a ball. If you are not able to roll, add a little more warm ghee and check again.

• 

• 

9. Roll the mixture into the desired size of ladoo.

• 

• 

10. Finally, do this for the remaining mixture. Roll the ladoos and store in an airtight container.