Besan Laddu

Besan Laddu

I had every intention to put this recipe up just before Diwali since I had many requests for this laddu recipe especially after this post. I was travelling this Diwali which is very unusual considering that I love to have all the traditional pujas and festivities at home. But the travel to Chennai couldnt be avoided and after the important occasion for which we were there was over, we proceeded to Pondicherry for a short vacation.

So, this Diwali meant that I did not get to wear my kanjeevaram saree, light my entire home with lights, have the Lakshmi and the Govardhan Puja and make the number of food preparations I had in my mind. But, I did manage to make these Besan laddus to carry with me and managed to shoot the pictures just before I left for the post to be up on Diwali eve.

But life had other plans and there were quite a few events to attend and me falling sick and not being my usual self didnt help either. Since my inlaws also travelled to Chennai from Bangalore we had a small puja with arati in our hotel room and ate these Besan laddus along with the sweets my mother-in-law brought (no Diwali is complete for me without savouring one of my favourite sweets, Kaju Kathri or Cashewnut Burfi).

I thought I have to put this very special recipe up today under any circumstances, before I got into the Christmas and New Year mood of  cookies and cakes.

I call this special because this recipe comes from my grandmother who has been known in our family to make the best besan laddus. My grandmother with the help of family members made 1500 besan laddus for my mother's wedding in 1978.  I must admit that it is a bit difficult and requires a certain amount of skill, expertise and practice to master, but once done it is a mouthful of heaven in every bite. The secret to this recipe is ofcourse the proportion and the right amount of roasting the besan flour in the ghee. You under roast it and you get light coloured laddus with less flavour and you over do it and run the risk of burning the flour.

The aromas that waft through the air while making it, the deep golden coloured soft texture of the laddus accentuated by the raisins and the scent of the cardamom makes this a surreal experience. I'm quite surprised with the fact that I'm so fascinated with the laddus I never liked as a child. But now its a different story as I love to feed, eat and above all make them.

Surprisingly Hari does not have an aversion to these laddus and so they travelled with me to Pondicherry as part of my snack arrangement for those "just in case" moments when you are travelling with a child. In Pondicherry, we stayed in an eco resort where I milked a cow in the organic farm, ate some great food and revelled in a natural environment and considering that it was a short stay,  a resolve to get there again.

 

Watch how to make Besan Laddus in the video below-

Wish you all a very happy Deepavali (2015).

Besan Laddu Recipe

It is very important to roast the flour correctly in this recipe. You over roast it and you run the risk of burning the flour and if you under roast the flour, you will have light coloured laddus with no flavour in it.

 Ingredients:

220 gm (1 cup) pure ghee (preferably organic)

250 gm (2 cups) besan (chickpea) flour + 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup extra besan flour

8 to 10 cashews, broken into bits (optional)

2 tbsp raisins

280 gm (2 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar

seeds of 8 cardamom, crushed to a fine powder

Method:

Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed wok or kadhai and put in the chickpea flour and roast on low flame for about 20 minutes until golden in colour and the entire kitchen is filled with the beautiful aroma of the golden roasted chickpea flour.

Initially, the ghee absorbs all the chickpea flour and bubbles appear on the surface and later on assumes a liquid consistency. When the besan is nicely roasted in the ghee and is a golden brown colour and just before it starts to burn is the tricky stage, which occurs after 20 to 25 minutes after the start of the roasting. This is when we need to put in the extra 1/2 cup to 2/3rd cup besan flour.

Soon after you put in the extra flour, bubbles start to appear on the surface again. If the mixture looks liquidy then we need to put in an extra tablespoon or two of the chickpea flour and cook for a few minutes more, 8 to 10 minutes.

It is important to keep stirring all the while to prevent the besan or chickpea flour from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Take off the heat and add the cashews and raisins. Allow to cool completely.

It is necessary to keep stirring the besan mixture even after taking off the heat as the besan continues to cook with the ghee until completely cool.

After the prepared mixture is cool, stir in the cardamom and sugar and form into laddus. If you find that the besan mixture is a little loose, then you can put in some more sugar to get a thick consistency to form the laddus.

A few pointers for making great besan laddus-

  • The roasting time is dependent on several factors- The quality of the chickpea flour and the thickness of the utensil in which it is roasted are prime determinants of the time required for cooking these laddus.
  • You need to keep stirring the besan mixture after you take it off the heat as the besan continues to cook for a few minutes even after you take it is off the heat.
  • Stir in the sugar powder, only after the roasted besan is completely cool.

Makes approximately 48 small laddus.

 

To receive recipes, tips and inspiration that feeds your body, mind and soul subscribe to Divine Taste newsletter



47 thoughts on “Besan Laddu

  1. besan ladoos look more than perfect 😉 seeing your son's picture reminded me of my brother when he was small – he looked exactly the same, very cute . i called it the maggi hair phase 🙂

  2. Wonderfully written and delicious recipe. I tried your mango cheese cake today and it came out great yogurt was a bit runny so I had to add 1 spoon corn starch though.

  3. these besan laddus are so perfectly browned, im a bit intimidated to try, because i dont think i could replicate it. but besan laddus are also on the top of my fav laddus list, so maybe i should bite the bullet and give it a go!
    also, your son suddenly looks so grown up and adorable as usual. i dont know if its because you havent posted a picture in a long time or if he has had a growth spurt, but he looks like a little man! adorable.

  4. Nice pictures and backgrounds z d beauty of this site. Was eagerly waiting for you to come back and post new recipes.I hope you r doing well now.I'm goint to try these ladoos today for sure.waiting eagerly for cakes n dessertd spc walnut pie..

  5. Revati: If these laddus are on the top of your favourite list then you must give it a go. It took me 3 to 4 attempts to master. Thank you so much for the kind words for my son.

    Ruchika: Your enthusiasm and interest is inspiring to me. I'm a little better but not back to normal though. Thanks for enquiring! You seem to be a die hard cooking afficionado!

  6. I have never really made began laddus because I know it's hard to mater it. I hate bad began laddus!
    Good to know you enjoyed Pondicherry 🙂 My husband and I used to frequently go there before our daughter. I think it's time we make a trip to one of our favorite holiday destinations.

  7. Actually I'm getting inspiration from you. You express ur feelings towards cooking in such a beautiful way that anybody can get flattered. Get well soon.I open this site once a day to make sure that I'm not missing any new recipe.on diwali all ladoos n barfi turned out so well n all praised me what else you want in life. And that is because of you n ur simple recipes. Thanks a ton

  8. I make these laddoos often , and my proportion is very simple;
    100 grams ghee
    200 grams besan
    150 grams sugar (100+200/2)
    cardamom, cashew, raisins and sugar
    I follow the same method, and the laddoos turn out really yummy!

  9. Sorry – my receipe is a little different. I heat the ghee, and add all the besan, and keep roasting it till brown. It is grainy and dry initially, but as it gets done, it becomes sticky. Allow it to cool completely, and then add the powdered sugar(I powder the sugar and elaichi together in the mixie – saves time that way) Add one or two raisins, and one lightly roasted and chopped cashew while making the laddoos – that way every laddoo will have the raisins and cashews in it/

  10. Chinmayie: I know exactly what you mean when you say "bad" besan laddus! 🙂

    Ruchika: Very sweet of you to say such nice things! You seem to have put in a lot of efforts for Diwali and it seems it have paid off well! Keep it going!

    Aarti: I followed the same method of putting in all the besan into the ghee and ended up with a loose consistency besan batter. That's when my grandmother asked me to follow this method and it has never failed me! Besides I get to roast my besan to a deep amber colour and when I add a little extra dry flour towards the end, the besan does not burn. Grinding a few seeds in a mortar and pestle hardly takes 2 minutes and maintains its delicate flavour and using icing sugar means no powdering the crystal sugar in the mixer which saves extra time. A lot of people follow the method of one raisin and cashew per laddu but my grandmother always made hundreds of these laddus and her method saves time. Besides, adding the cashews and raisins into the hot besan batter plumps up the raisin and gives it a nice chewy texture. All you need to do is make sure all the laddus have cashews and raisins in them while forming them into laddus and yes all my laddus did have them 🙂

    I'm sure your method is nice too but this is my fail proof method.

  11. Finally got time to try these ladoos and they turned out well. Even my toddler enjoyed it. Thanks again for such quick n yummy recipes

  12. Really tempting and drool-worthy sweet recipes in your blog. The precision in your recipes is awesome, which mean amateurs can dish out them with professional perfection.

    This besan ladoo recipe brought back my college memories where my marathi roomie from Bombay used to get these after every holiday. The previous post – atte ka halwa, reminded me of the Ashoka (which is similar, but has moong dal) which is a part of most tam brahm marriage meals. Would be delighted to see the Ashoka recipe if you have it from your family's excellent cooks.

    Look forward to more dishes from you.

    Cheers

  13. First time here. You have a brilliant website with breathtaking pictures!
    I have several ideas now for sattvik cooking, after browsing through your pages. Will be visiting here often!

    Regards,
    Vidya

  14. Hi anushruti, i have a new born blog which is now almost 6 months old. i don't have such a beautiful pics there as i have a very simple camera and that is also broken now. your dishes attracts me so much and pictures of food more then that.
    I have a question here that the extra flour which we will add after 20-25 min will remain uncooked. So it should be like that only?
    Do visit me. It will inspire me a lot.
    thanks
    http://paricashkitchen.blogspot.in/2012/11/healthy-peanut-butter.html

  15. Hey Anushruti,

    I made these laddus today. They were just fantastic. I especially liked the fact that the besan is roasted so well. More often than not, my complaint with besan laddus has been that they taste raw. Great recipe as always! 🙂 I'm slowly becoming your recipe tester, having tried quite a few of them already!

  16. Ruchika: I'm glad!

    Vidya: Look forward to hearing more from you!

    PariCash: The flour wont reamin uncooked as we continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes more after adding the flour and since the remaining flour would have nicely browned this goes into the mixture and gives a good texture overall!

  17. Its not just pictures and descriptions which create a look its urs efforts which speaks. U put ur soul in cooking according to me.I'm a huge fan of ur blog now. Bit heart broken as I tried choclate ganache cake yesterday in microvawe on convection mode but due to my over excitment it was left half baked. Will be making another batch of besan ladoos tomorow. Please post lots of recipes so that we can experiment daily. I know it takes lots of efforts n I wanna thank u agn n agn

  18. What a lovely recipe Anushruti! Cant wait to try it. I would also love to know which eco-resort you stayed at in Pondicherry. We live in the US and I'm always on the lookout for new, eco-friendly places to explore when we visit India. Thanks so much!

  19. Love the first pic of the besan ladoos against the beautiful silk saree and love all your cutlery. I know I keep saying that everytime you post some thing but its hard not to…All those silver ware kept over time, washed and patiently polished and rubbed and used for putting in all those beautiful sweets that you make…Love every one of them…
    I remember one pic of all your silver ware that you had clicked outdoors at your mom`s….Lovely Anu!

    Shobha

  20. Tried yesterday…turned out well…but some how my flour was roasted in 15-20 mins although I used low flame..anywhich ways..these taste heavenly..thanks and wish u a gr8 year ahead 🙂

  21. Hi Anushriti,
    I tried this recipe yesterday….it tasted divine but I couldn't form laddus from the mixture….I think ghee was more so it spread as soon as I placed the laddus it in a plate…but the taste was really superb.My husband didn't mind eating it with a spoon as halva… thank you for the easiest recipe.
    Happy Ugadi to you and your Family!!:)

  22. Tejal: The laddus couldnt form as you might have used less flour. Mix in more flour next time and you will get laddus.

  23. Hi Anu,

    I tried this recipe out today but could not get laddus to form at all despite following it to the T. The batter remained of a very loose consistency and simply would not change despite adding lots more besan than you even said. I was really disappointed 🙁 Ended up spreading it out on a plate and eating it with a spoon like Tejal yesterday. Any idea on what the batter must look like when we take it off the heat? It firms up a little on cooling but just too sticky and still runny to roll into laddus. Thanks.

  24. Nandi: The batter shouldnt be loose at all when you take the laddus off the heat. Are you sure you measured the ingredients properly? Did you follow cup measurement or the metric? The flour to ghee ratio is pretty standard and if followed correctly, one should be able to get good laddus. That said, besan laddus are quite tricky to make and this definitely is not an easy recipe to master. Measuring right, following the recipe and trying it well should put you on the right track.

  25. Cent per cent fail proof recipe if followed to the T. Made it second time today and turned out awesome….thanks a lot 🙂

  26. I tried this recipe today with great trepidation as this is the first time I am trying it
    But I am so delighted that it turned out so well. Really I am convinced that your recipes are very fail safe and a boon for dummies like me. Thanks. Really appreciate your generosity in sharing such excellent recipes. You mentioned that this is your grandmother's recipe. I also know from experience that you can never go wrong when you follow your grandmother's recipes 🙂 They are the best!

  27. I tried this recipe with lot of anxiety that I may not get this right . But to my surprise , it turned out to be one of the best besan ladoo that I have ever made.
    Thanks for this detailed and very clean recipe.

  28. Tried this recipe today.Followed the exact recipe.Came out perfect.This is the first time I am making besan laddus and I am very happy with the result.Thank you Anushruti for the perfect recipe.

  29. Thank you so much for this recipe – It's easier than several others I've tried. I also add saffron, cinnamon and sliced dates to mine.

  30. Is this a magical recipe? Anushruti,like ur name ,this recipe also is so unique and lovely…thanks a ton dear. I can't describe in words but I only know how many types of besan laddoo recipes I have tried but this is simply awesome.

  31. Thank you. The recipe worked like magic. Made this to offer to Devi and everyone polished off the Prasad 🙂 . I did reduce the quantity of sugar by 25%, but that's cause all of us don't like our sweets too sugary. All the tips , esp the one of adding some flour later worked like a charm. Thank you once again !

  32. The wok that you have used looks so good. I would like to know about it too;)

  33. Hi
    An extra trick I learnt from my mom was to add half – 3/4 cup of milk for every kg of flour after switching off the flame and stir it real brisk till milk gets incorporated, it gives that rich colour and enhance The flavour even more. Do try and let me know the difference

  34. Hi Anushruti, thanks for another wonderful recipe. The photos looks amazing and I'm going to try this while the lockdown continues. I just had a question, why do we add some of the flour later into the cooking process and not all of it right at the beginning?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *