Healthy Besan Ladoo
Soft, grainy besan ladoo made with slow-roasted chickpea flour, powdered jaggery, measured ghee, cardamom, and almonds. Nourishing festival mithai with the classic melt-in-mouth texture.
Equipment
- Heavy-bottomed kadhai or wide pan
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Mixing bowl
- Airtight tin for storage
Ingredients
For the ladoos
- 2 cups besan (chickpea flour) 200 g; preferably coarse ladoo besan
- 1/2 cup ghee 100 g; plus 1 to 2 tsp more only if dough will not bind
- 3/4 cup jaggery 120 g; powdered or finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon ground green cardamom (elaichi)
- 1/4 cup almonds 30 g; finely chopped
- pinch fine salt
- 1 tablespoon milk powder optional; for a slightly creamier finish
- chopped pistachios or saffron strands optional garnish
Instructions
Roast the besan
- Set a heavy pan over low to medium-low heat. Add the ghee and let it melt fully.
- Add the besan and stir constantly, scraping the bottom so nothing sits and scorches. At first it looks dry and pasty. Keep going.
- Roast 18 to 22 minutes until the besan turns deep golden, smells nutty (not raw or floury), and the ghee starts to look a little separated at the edges.
- Take the pan off heat. Stir in salt, cardamom, chopped almonds, and milk powder if using. Spread the mixture so it stops cooking in residual heat.
Sweeten and shape
- Let the mixture cool 3 to 5 minutes until warm, not hot. Hot besan melts jaggery into a sticky mess that refuses to roll cleanly.
- Add the powdered jaggery and mix thoroughly until no dry pockets remain. Taste for caramel sweetness with cardamom on top.
- When the dough is cool enough to handle but still warm, pinch golf-ball portions and roll into firm ladoos. If a portion cracks, warm 1 teaspoon ghee, mix it in, and try again. If greasy and soft, rest 5 minutes and roll again.
- Set the ladoos on a plate to firm up for 20 to 30 minutes. Garnish if you like. Store once completely cool.
Notes
Coarse ladoo besan gives classic grainy halwai texture. Fine besan works; roast carefully so it does not catch faster.
Powdered sugar makes a drier, paler ladoo. Jaggery is darker and stickier. Keep the mixture warm, not hot, when you add it.
If a test ladoo tastes floury, the roast was short. Return the mixture to a low flame for a few more minutes before shaping, stirring the whole time.
Too dry means not enough ghee or the mix cooled too much. Too soft means too much warm jaggery or ghee. Resting usually firms soft dough.
Store airtight at room temperature up to 7 days in cool weather, or refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.
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