Besan Ladoo

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Rich, delicious, creamy and melt in your mouth Besan Ladoo are one of the most popular Indian sweets made especially during festive times.

Made with simple ingredients like gram flour, sugar, and ghee flavored with saffron, cardamom and sometimes nutmeg these Besan Ladoo's are completely Gluten-free and easy to make.

Besan Ladoo has always been my most favorite sweets. I still remember those times during childhood when my mom used to make besan ladoos. The aroma of besan being roasted with ghee used to fill up the house and I used to sit in the kitchen with a twinkle in my eyes waiting for the ladoos to be made.

Me and my dad used to wait for the besan to cool down so that we could add sugar and start rolling them into balls. It used to be fun when we all as a family used to enjoy some family time and also make those delicious ladoos.

My earliest memory of besan ladoo is when I was very young, probably 2 or so. My mom used to keep a box full of besan ladoos beside my bed. As per her, I used to ask for ladoo in the middle of the night in my sleep. Well I know it sounds hilarious but then that's the story of my life and my love for these amazing ladoos.

As I grew up and ventured into my kitchen to make Diwali sweets I asked my mom for this recipe. For me, Diwali is incomplete without these ladoos.

This recipe is something that has probably been passed down for generations. I learned from my mom and my mom from her mom. It also has some influence on my aunt i.e. my mom's sister.

So before we dive into my mom's besan ladoo recipe let me share some tips.

What is Besan?

Besan, also known as gram flour, is made from Chana dal or yellow split Bengal gram. It is also sometimes referred to as chickpea flour. But there is a difference between both, as the chickpea flour is made from chickpea or garbanzo beans.

There are two types of besan available in the market, fine powder besan and coarse besan. Traditionally the besan ladoos are made from the coarse besan. However, since childhood, I have grown up eating the Besan Ladoo made from fine gram flour.

Both flours have a distinct texture and taste and will impact the outcome of the ladoos. Also, the quantity of ghee used in the recipe varies with the type of besan used.

What is a Ladoo?

Ladoo or laddu, however you call it, is a round or sphere-shaped sweet that is popular in India.

Ladoo is made using different kinds of flour, ghee, sugar, and some other ingredients.

Ladoos are served in India for many occasions from religious events to simple get together or even Weddings.

Why to use milk in Besan Ladoo recipe?

Well, there would be a lot of debate on the internet that would suggest against the use of milk in besan ladoos as it reduces the shelf life of the sweet.

But in cooking any food it's not just about the ingredients but the right use of the ingredients.

It is how you use the milk that will define the shelf life and taste of your ladoos.

The milk used for this recipe should be at room temperature. Secondly, it should be added to the besan and ghee mixture when the besan is perfectly roasted.

And most importantly after adding the milk turn the flame medium-low and roast the mixture for at least 5 minutes.

When you roast the besan, ghee, and milk mixture after adding the milk, the milk cooks properly and thus incorporates so well that it does not impact the shelf life of the ladoo.

Adding milk gives the ladoos a rich, creamier taste, fluffier texture, and beautiful color.

Also, most of the time when you eat besan ladoo you feel a little stickiness in the throat. But when you add milk to the ladoo it takes away that stickiness.

I normally store my ladoos in an airtight container and they last well for about a month. Well, they might last for more time but they get finished by then at my place so never thought of it beyond that.

Quirky tip to make the regular besan ladoo stand out.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of fried poha to the ladoos to make them a little crunchy. My Maushi as in my mom's sister used to add fried poha to the ladoos and I absolutely used to love it.

Another way that I figured out to add that crunch to the ladoos is using rice Krispies. This is healthier too since it's not fried.

Just don't add too much as it is just for texture and adding too much will make it difficult to roll the ladoos.

What is the most important key point for making good besan ladoo?

• The Besan should be roasted on a medium low flame and stirred continuously. Patience is the key to tasty ladoos.
• Do not add all the ghee at once, add a tablespoon at a time. The reason being that when we initially start roasting the besan for ladoos we feel it is too dry and to make the roasting process easy we add lot of ghee to it. However always remember that as we keep in roasting the besan it cooks and eventually takes in only the required amount of ghee and leaves out the excess. Thus at the end of roasting process the mixture is much more runny as compared to the beginning even though it still has same amount of ghee in it.
• Let the mixture cool off completely before adding sugar to it. Adding sugar to hot mixture will make the sugar melt and you will not be able to roll the ladoos out of it.
• Always use good quality products.
• Sieve the besan before roasting.