Besan Ladoo are creamy, golden-hued, melt-in-your-mouth dessert balls often made during festivals and special occasions. One of the easiest Diwali recipes, besan ladoo or laddu are made with besan/gram flour, ghee and sugar laced with aromatic cardamom, nutmeg and saffron.
As a child, I recall waiting earnestly for the time when our heirloom copper pans would be brought out for roasting the besan for ladoos. As my mother patiently slow roasted the besan, adding ghee by spoonfuls, the entire house would fill with heavenly aromas, and we couldn’t wait to lay our hands on the finished dish!
The soft and creamy besan ladoo is rich in texture and nutrition, making it a perfect snack to quell that sweet craving. Recently my friend shared homemade besan ladoos with her friend from the Philippines that the entire family devoured. These delicious ladoos are so simple to make that they soon tried out out a batch of their own!
Today, I’m sharing with you our family recipe to make perfectly soft and delicious marathi besan ladoos that are finger-licking good and super easy to make. I promise they will fly off your pantry shelf as soon as you have made them and your kids will love you for packing this treat into their lunch boxes. So go on, give them a try!
What is Besan?
Besan also known as gram flour is a flour made from the yellow split bengal gram or chana daal. It is also sometimes called as chickpea flour, However, there is a slight difference between the two. Chickpea flour is made from whole white chickpeas or garbanzo beans.
Besan is available as coarse and finely ground in Indian grocery store. Traditional Maharashtrian Besan Ladoo that I grew up eating are made with superfine gram flour. I use Swad superfine gram flour and the package also refers to it as chickpea flour. So if you end up buying besan from Indian groceries, it most likely will be labelled as gram flour/chickpea flour. Besan is also sold as a coarse flour and the ladoos made with it also taste equally delicious.
Ministry Of Curry’s Pro tips for making besan laddu:
- Use fresh, good quality besan/gram flour. I usually buy the fine besan from Indian grocey stores.
- I like using homemade ghee for this recipe with its nutty taste and aroma.
- Use a thick bottom pan or a heavy nonstick pan for roasting the gram flour.
- Make sure to sift the gram flour and powdered sugar to remove any lumps.
- Use low to medium heat to fry the besan or gram flour to ensure the flour gets uniformly roasted.
- Allow the hot flour and ghee mixture to cool down before adding the sugar.
- You can grease your palms with ghee before shaping the balls, so that the mixture does not stick to your hand.
Mom’s Besan Ladoo notes:
The besan and ghee must be slow roasted over low heat stirring constantly until it gets light and fluffy, golden brown and aromatic. The timings in the recipe are for 1 cup of besan flour. It takes 25 minutes to roast 1 cup of besan, 35 minutes for 2 cups and 45 minutes for 3 cups of besan. The more the quantiy, the roasting time will increase.
Ingredients for Besan Ladoo:
- Besan / gram flour
- Ghee
- Powdered sugar
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground Cardamom
- Saffron (optional)
- Almonds or Pistachios (optional)
Step by step recipe for making Besan Ladoo:
Step 1 – Add ghee and besan to a medium sized heavy bottomed pan. Keeping the heat low, slow roast the besan flour, while stirring constantly with a spatula. Continue to stir evenly and break the lumps that will form initially (photos 1 – 4).
Step 2 – After about 10 minutes, the flour will start to loosen up and become light and fluffy. Continue roasting for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the flour turns light golden brown. At this stage the ghee will start to separate, filling the kitchen with a delightful aroma (photos 5 – 8).
Step 3 – Turn the heat off and take out the mixture into a bowl. This will avoid the besan from being overcooked. Allow it to cool for about 15 minutes or until it is luke warm to touch. Add saffron, cardamom, nutmeg and pistachios (photos 9 – 12).
Step 4 – Add powdered sugar and mix well. Next, massage the mixture with the palm of your hands, and as you do so the ghee starts to release, allowing the mixture to bind together. Take 2 to 3 tablespoons of mix at a time and start pressing and shaping to form round balls (photos 13 – 16).
Repeat with the remaining mix. Store in an airtight container. These laddus will stay good at room temperature for 8 to 10 days. For longer shelf like keep them in the refrigerator and remember to heat in the microwave for about 10 seconds before enjoying them.
Frequently Asked Questions:
There are many different varieties of laddu made in India. My favorite ones are Rava laddo, Motichoor ladoo and these easy, no fail Besan Ladoo. The main ingredient for Besan laddu and Motichoor ladoo is gram flour while rava ladoo are made with fine semolina.
Besan ladoo has refined sugar but can be reduced as per your taste. They are not deep fried, so I would call them relatively healthy and the best part is that they are gluten free. You can also skip the nuts in case of allergies and they will still be equally delicious.
Diwali is the most prominent and widely celebrated festival in India. Falling around the Autumn season, Diwali signifies the triumph of good over evil and is also popularly known as the festival of lights. Friends and family members dress up in finery and get together over 4-5 days of festivities to exchanges sweets, gifts and good wishes.
Did you enjoy this delicious recipe? Here are some more of my family recipes made during the Diwali festival:
- Layered Karanji / Gujiya with rose flavored coconut filling
- Shankarpali
- Rava Laddu with fresh coconut
- Saranachi Puri or Satori
- Savory Chakli with homemade rice and lentil flour
Love Indian desserts? Here are some of my go to desserts when I am hosting a party:
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- 1 cup fine besan / gram flour sifted
- ¼ cup ghee
- ½ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tablespoon pistachios thinly sliced, optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon saffron mixed in 1 tablespoon warm milk optional
- Add ghee and besan to a medium sized heavy bottomed pan. Keeping the heat low, slow roast the besan flour, while stirring constantly with a spatula. Continue to stir evenly and break the lumps that will form initially.
- After about 10 minutes, the flour will start to loosen up and become light and fluffy. Continue roasting for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the flour turns light golden brown. At this stage the ghee will start to separate, filling the kitchen with a delightful aroma.
- Turn the heat off and take out the mixture into a bowl. This will avoid the besan from being overcooked. Allow it to cool for about 15 minutes or until it is luke warm to touch.
- Add powdered sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, saffron milk and pistachios. Massage the mixture with the palm of your hands, and as you do so the ghee starts to release, allowing the mixture to bind together.
- Take 2 to 3 tablespoons of mix at a time and start pressing and shaping to form round balls. Repeat with the remaining mix. Store in an airtight container. The laddus will stay good at room temperature for 8 to 10 days. For longer shelf like keep them in the refrigerator and remember to heat in the microwave for about 10 seconds before enjoying them.
Use fresh, good quality besan/gram flour. I usually buy the fine besan from Indian grocey stores. Make sure to sift the gram flour and powdered sugar to remove any lumps.
I like using homemade ghee for this recipe with nutty taste and aroma.
Use a thick bottom pan or a heavy nonstick pan for roasting the gram flour.
Use low to medium heat to fry the besan or gram flour to ensure the flour gets uniformly roasted.
Allow the hot flour and ghee mixture to cool down before adding the sugar.
You can grease your palms with ghee before shaping the balls, so that the mixture does not stick to your hand.
Recipe Video
The besan and ghee must be slow roasted over low heat stirring constantly until it gets light and fluffy, golden brown and aromatic. The timings in the recipe are for 1 cup of besan flour. It takes 25 minutes to roast 1 cup of besan, 35 minutes for 2 cups and 45 minutes for 3 cups of besan. The more the quantiy, the roasting time will increase.
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Mansi says
recipe did not work for me. i chnaged it for 12 ladoos and used .5 cup ghee, even after 40 minutes no ghee separated. i improvised and put some more ghee, still no where close to the pics above.
Archana says
Mansi if you double the recipe, it should be roasted for atelast 45 mins as mentioned in my notes. Also teh ghee does not really separte but the flour become liquidy, light and fluffy.
Ratna Wynn says
I love your recipes but this one did not work. I doubled the recipe but 1 hour later still no separation. A shame
Archana says
I am so sorry that this did not work out. Were you using fine besan?