Craving perfectly soft, aromatic besan ladoos just like the ones from your favorite sweet shop? Let me show you how you can easily made these aromatic ladoos at home, using your pantry staples. Plus you will find common mistakes to avoid while making these ladoos.

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My love for Besan Laddu
What are Besan Ladoos?
Ingredient Notes
How to make Besan Ladoos
Storage & Making it Ahead of Time
Common Mistakes to Avoid when making Besan Laddoos
Related
Melt-In-Your-Mouth Besan Ladoos + Tips

My love for Besan Laddu

My love affair with Besan Ladoos, is all thanks to my Nani, who made Besan Laddus for us everytime we visited her. I always enjoyed the warm nutty aromas of besan roasting in ghee in her kitchen and came running down to her. Guess what? Today my son came running down the stairs too, when I was making these ladoos, and it brought me so much joy to see him as excited as I used to be when I was young. My Nani always told me how easy it was to make these ladoos, if you do a few things right. As I share this recipe with you, I am referring to her pro tips to make the perfect besan ladoos.

What are Besan Ladoos?

Besan ladoos are rich, nutty, and melt-in-your-mouth treats, with the warm aroma of roasted chickpea flour (besan) and ghee filling every bite. Sweetened just right and delicately scented with cardamom, they have a soft, smooth texture that feels both indulgent and comforting.

Ingredient Notes

Besan - A lot of recipes online use the coarser variety of besan, however the day I went to buy it the grocery store didn't have it in stock, so I simply used the besan that was at home. no special besan. However if you would like to use the coarser variety of besan, you could use that too. Irrespective of using the regular besan, I will show you how you can achieve the halwai style texture.
Sweetener - Typically Boora or Tagar are used to sweeten the ladoos, however I have used a combination of powdered sugar and regular sugar to give the ladoos a little texture. If you have boora or tagar handy, use it by all means.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Besan Ladoos

Let me tell you straight up, making besan ladoos is super easy, no rocket science but it's a lot of arm work because you will be constantly stirring the wok while roasting the besan. So make sure you are giving the stirring your undivided attention to avoid the besan from over roasting or burning.

Roast the Besan - In a thick heavy bottom pan, add the ghee and allow it to heat. Now add the besan and on low to medium heat, keep roasting the besan by continuously stirring it for 15-20 minutes until the besan turns golden brown.
Texturize the Besan - If using coarse besan then skip this step. Tip - splash a tablespoon of water into the pan and keep stirring again for 2-3 minutes until you start seeing a coarser texture of the besan.
Cool the mixture - Once the besan is completeky roasted, transfer it into wide mixing bowl or parath and allow the mixture to cool down for about 8-10 minutes until the mixture is warm enough to hold in your hand. Tip -Don't let the mixture cool in the same wok, chances are the besan could still stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, leaving a bitter flavor.
Add Sugar & Cardamom - If you have boora or tagar handily available add that to the bowl or (Tip) add the powdered sugar and regular sugar or even a combination of powdered and regular along with the cardamom. Mix well, making sure there ae no lumps.
Shape the Ladoos - Take a little bit of the mixture in your hand and roll it into a tight ball. Do this for all the mixture. If you like, press a nut of your choice like almond, pistachio or almonds on each ladoo. Allow the ladoos to take their shape, keeping them aside for another 30 minutes.

Storage & Making it Ahead of Time

Besan laddus have a good shelf life of 2-3 weeks, if properly stored in an airtight container. They can be made ahead of time for special occasions and festivities.

To store them for longer than 2-3 week, you can refrigerate the ladoos however they will become firm in the fridge so simply microwave them before consuming them.

Common Mistakes to Avoid when making Besan Laddoos

Common Mistakes	Result	Solution (Personal Experience)
Roasting on high heat	Besan sticks tot the pan and burns	Don't rush the process, roast on medium heat.
Over or under roasting the besan	Over roasting besan ill result in bitter taste and under roasting will yield a raw chalky taste .	Roast until the besan is golden brown
Adding sugar while besan is hot	Sugar will loosen up the besan making it hard to shape the balls.	Allow the besan to cool down until its luke warm.
Mixture too runny	Won't hold shape	Add extra roasted besan gradually, stirring well, until the consistency is right. If still loose, refrigerate for 10 minutes before rolling.

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