India is a land of festivals. There is something to celebrate all year long. Anyway, we do not need a reason for having sweets. One such sweet is made with chickpea flour or gram flour, besan ladoo. This popular Indian sweet has been winning hearts all across the world. You can find besan lad even in Indian grocery stores abroad. It is also known as magaj ke laddu or magas na ladoo.
Actually, making it is very easy. Ingredients for laddu are minimal. Health wise, it is full of protein. Of course, there is some sugar too. Everyone loves it. This Indian sweet made every kid's childhood special. Every mom has addressed her sweet kid as a laddu some time. It has an easy circular shape but making besan ladoo with perfection, needs little mastering. It looks quite simple yet tastes different once you master it.
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Who invented besan Laddu?
Besan ladoo was first made by Susruta in 4th century BC, as an antiseptic to treat his patients.
How many Laddu are there?
There are so many different types of laddu, approximately,100. While east India loves sattu ladoo, north loves its atta or whole wheat one Pinni. South loves its coconut ladoo and rava ladoo while west its sesame based til laddu. Motichur ladoo is synonymous with weddings across India. Besan ke laddu during Ganesh chaturthi and Basant panchami. There are some region specific sweets too. Tirupati laddu which is the prasad from the holy Tirupati Balaji temple and Jodhpuri Kale boondi ke laddu. If you love to experiment, win hearts with oats laddu.
Why is laddu popular?
Indian Laddu is a huge hit with every one. There is something so satisfying when you make a dessert. Indian desserts come with all kind of cooking levels. Basic amateur like halwa to highly skilled chef level like ghevar. There is something for everyone. Young kids can also help you make homemade ladoo. If you like you can also set it as a burfi. It helps them hone the skill of cooking. Once they know how to cook, they are never dependent on anyone. Involving them when you cook, helps nurture their creativity and also pass on traditions easily. Of course, it should not be too hot for them to handle. ladoo making is fun.You will love the nutty flavor of this recipe and kids will love this too.
What is the significance of besan laddu?
We love making it especially when we worship Shri Ganesh. It is made on the occasion of Ganesh chaturthi and also on Basant Panchami. While we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi after rains, Basant panchami comes as the first day of spring. Basant or spring comes with its own yellow color. Colors of flowers blooming and ending of the dreaded cold winter. This day is super auspicious for weddings. Many kids begin their education journey today after the worship of Goddess Saraswati. People love to fly kites and wear yellow on this day. Mostly yellow color foods are cooked this day.
Ingredients
- Coarse besan /chickpea flour
- Ghee/clarified butter
- Sooji/semolina
- Powdered sugar
- Elaichi/cardamom powder
Equipment
- Frying pan/kadai
how to make besan ke ladoo?
- In a pan, dry roast chickpea flour with sooji/semolina for about 8-10 minutes on low heat.
2. Add ghee and cardamom powder to roasted besan, continue cooking on low flame
3. Keep on stirring the ghee mixture and cooking on a low flame.
4. Mix well until you get a nutty smell. Once it is done, turn off the heat.
5. Add powdered sugar to it and mix well .
6. Take a small amount of besan ladoo mixture in your palm ,once it comes together.
7. Shape it into a ball of the desired size. Store besan ladoos in an air tight container at room temperature.
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Besan ladoo recipe
Equipment
- kadai/frying pan
Ingredients
- 3 cup besan/chickpea flour
- 1 cup ghee/clarified butter
- ¼ cup. sooji/semolina
- 10 tbsp. sugar (½ cup + 2tbsp) sugar before grinding
- 1 tsp. elaichi/cardamom powder
Instructions
- In a pan, dry roast besan/chickpea flour with sooji/semolina for 8-10 mins on low flame
- Add ghee and cardamom powder to it,continue cooking on low flame
- Cook until you get light brown colour.
- Mix well until rawness disappears and you get a nutty smell.Turn off the heat.
- When it is slightly warm, start adding sugar to it. Stirring continuously.
- Take a small amount of dough in your palm once it comes together.
- Shape them into small balls as per the size of your choice.
- Store them in an airtight container.
Notes
Variation
You can garnish it with a single cashew atop of each besan ke ladoo. You can even dust it with some powdered sugar if you like it extra sweet. Sattu laddu tastes very similar to homemade besan ladoo as it is a mix of gramflour and cereals.
Storage
You can store besan ladoos in an air tight container at room temperature for 7-10 days. However, they are too irresistible to last that much in a container!
FAQ
If your chickpea flour is still raw, it will taste bitter. Key to good laddu is roasting besan well.
If you have added too much ghee or sugar, it will be soft.
add some warm ghee to it as the mixture may be dry.
There are so many chickpea flour recipes both savory and sweet. My favorite is Sindhi kadhi and kadi pakoda. Both of them are wholesome curries. If you love pancakes you must try savory breads, besani and besan chilla. If you have a sweet tooth, besan ki burfi & boondi ke laddu won't disappoint you. Fulfil your teatime snacks with an easy batter. Double-fried Sindhi onion pakora, mirchi vada & batata vada. are yummy Just make a mint chutney or serve with some tomato sauce.
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