besan ladoo recipe with step by step photos – i don’t think i need to write anything about besan ladoo. every indian knows about besan ladoo. it is one of the most common sweets made during every festive or special ocassions in india.
for my international readers who are new to the words besan and ladoo – basically these are sweetened roasted chickpea flour balls spiced with cardamom and nutmeg. besan ladoos are delicious and also make for a nice sweet treat.
this besan ladoo recipe is simple and easy to make. just some wrist muscle power is required to stir the ladoo mixture 
to make these ladoos you can use either powdered sugar or regular fine granule sugar. if you use the latter then the ladoos have a grainy texture and has its own taste and charm. for a smooth softer textured ladoos, add powdered sugar.
i usually add a little extra ghee to make the ladoos. however these besan ladoos can be made with 1/4 cup ghee too. the ladoos can be made with oil too, but while making the ladoo balls, they don’t hold shape as well as the ones made with ghee.
apart from this method, i have also shared the other way of making besan ladoos. in the other version the besan is roasted first for few minutes and then ghee is added. personally, i prefer this other method in which we dry roast the besan in ghee for some minutes. you can make the besan ladoo with either way.
lets start step by step besan ladoo recipe:
1: heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan. add the besan and stir. keep on stirring and continue to roast for 6-7 minutes on a low flame, till you start getting a nutty fragrance from the besan (chickpea flour).
2: continue to roast besan on a low flame till the color has changed and the ghee starts to release from the besan. approx 14-15 minutes and the aroma of the roasted besan will be clearly felt. if the besan is not roasted well then you will get a raw taste in the ladoo.
3: add superfine sugar or powdered sugar. i added organic unrefined cane sugar.
4: stir & mix on a low flame for 5-7 minutes remember to keep on stirring so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burns. switch off the flame.
5: then add dry fruits and cardamom powder. i have added raisins here.
6: stir the besan mixture well. let the besan ladoo mixture get warm or cool down.
7: once the besan ladoo mixture cools down or is warm enough for you to handle, then make small or medium sized besan ladoos from the mixture.
8: serve besan ladoos immediately or store them in an airtight container.
if you are looking for more sweet festival recipes then do check coconut ladoo, kesar burfi, ukadiche modak, boondi ladoo, suji halwa, motichur laddu and banana sheera or halwa.
besan ladoo recipe details are below:
- 2 cups besan
- ¼ to ½ cup organic ghee/clarified butter
- ⅔ to ¾ powdered sugar or superfine sugar as required ( i added organic unrefined cane sugar)
- 3-4 green cardamoms
- 1 tbsp raisins
- 1 tbsp chopped cashews or almonds (optional)
- a few chironji seeds/charoli or cashew halves to garnish (optional)
- heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan or kadai.
- add the besan and stir.
- stir and continue to roast for 6-7 minutes on a low flame, till you start getting a nutty fragrance from the besan.
- continue to roast on a low flame till the color has changed and you start seeing the ghee beginning to release from the besan. approx 14-15 minutes. the aroma of the roasted besan will be clearly felt.
- add sugar. stir & mix for 5-7 minutes remember to keep on stirring so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burns. switch off the flame.
- then add dry fruits and cardamom powder and stir well.
- let the besan mixture warm or cool down.
- don't cover the pan with any lid while the mixture is cooling down.
- once the besan ladoo mixture cools down or is warm enough for you to handle, then make small or medium sized besan ladoos from the mixture.
- serve besan ladoos immediately or store them in an airtight container.
if you are not able to make the ladoos of the mixture is too smooth and does not hold shape. then let the mixture cool and make the ladoos. if still not able to, then add refrigerate the mixture for 20-30 minutes. after refrigerating the mixture becomes firmer and then you can form the ladoos easily.
remember too do the entire roasting on a low flame. also continuous stirring is required so as to get a uniform cooking and even color.
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Divya says
simple to make and easy to understand. thanx a ton.
dassana amit says
welcome divya
Radhika says
Love the pictures. I want to make these but was looking for a microwave version. Do you have a microwave recipe for besan laddoos? I have made it from a recipe from internet but cant find that one anymore…
dassana amit says
thanks radhika. i don’t have a microwave version.
mansi says
hi dassana, what exactly is boora?
dassana amit says
boora is the desi variety of powdered sugar.
priya says
When should we switch off the flame exactly? It is bit confusing in the 5th point. Thankyou for the recipe I would really gonna try this.
dassana amit says
just switch off before you add the cardamom and dry fruits. i will add in this in the post too. thanks.
archana sharma says
Very nice
prabh says
hi di I made besan ladoo today bt they are nt formed well and there is some problem in taste too…what can I do next time to make good shaped ladoo….plz tell me…
dassana amit says
can you tell me what happened exactly. i can pinpoint and give you some tips.
prabh says
first the mixture is dry and as u said I add some melted ghee in it….then it become loose…..bt when I try to shape it breaks…..after aa long struggle I give them a shape bt nt like ur laddoos …..can I mix some condensed milk or whipping cream in it…
dassana amit says
the mixture has become too loose. i think extra ghee has gone into it. let the mixture cool down completely or refrigerate for about 10 mins. remove and form the ladoos. don’t add condensed milk or whipping cream. alternatively, you can also some besan and then add to the mixture.
layla says
Tried the laddoos today but they refused to form and I followed your recipe exactly. The aroma was good but the texture too grainy. Can you review the recipe again for accuracy? Would really appreciate it as this is my husbands favourite sweet
dassana says
layla, i just made the besan ladoo last week using the same recipe and i will update the new photos soon. usually the texture is little grainy and secondly gram flour has to be cooked very well otherwise you will get the raw taste. there are different types of besan or gram flour available in the market and each one will have a different absorbing and cooking capacity. you should have just added little bit more ghee or oil and then you would have been able to form the besan ladoos.
Priti says
Hi Dassana,
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your recipes. Thank you for sharing them with us.
I would like to make these ladoos for Ganesh Chathurthi this year. It will be my first time trying them and I wanted to ask if any readers had made these.
I have been reading the forum and I think the recipe is accurate, but I wanted to be sure.
Thanks
dassana says
hi priti. you can easily make this recipe. i have made these besan ladoos many times. if you make in oil, then the ladoos become a bit flat as oil is not able to hold the shape since oil is liquid at room temperature. if you make in ghee than the ladoos will hold shape since ghee is dense and solid at room temperature. i recently made them and have to update the pics with the new ones. i would suggest using powdered sugar as they dissolve easily.
Stephen says
Well Dassana you sure got that wrong, the quantities are wrong, I followed your recipe and ended up with liquid in the pan ……. too much oil or not enough flour, I am remaking as I type mixture is cooling in the pan, used 1/3 cup oil and it still is loose will see when it cools
dassana says
Hi Stephen
I checked the recipe in the notes which i had and you are right.
The besan quantity should be doubled.. that is 2 cups.
I am sorry this spoiled your cooking.
I will update the recipe.
Its very rare that such a mistake has happened. Thanks for pointing out the error.
Stephen says
Hi Dassana
These things happen not the end of the earth but what I don’t understand is why no one else has picked this up so either they have not made the recipe or they are not real people Oooops…………..
dassana says
i guess the recipe has not been made till now. hence no one has picked this up.
Stephen says
Well Dassana to be fair to you I’ve read through the comments again and I believe your right people are hinting that they have made this but have not.
My second attempt before I read your comment re: quantities, I cut back the oil content but still too loose, I cook the flour till it was dark and the aroma was wonderful still too soft to roll into balls so ate it off a spoon, taste was great but too sweet and grainy for me I will try again soon, will reduce the sugar content.
May I add that I think you have worked very hard to produce a very nice site.
dassana says
if the flour is cooked till dark brown, then they taste grainy. for smooth texture its better to just fry the flour till its rawness goes away. the mixture does appears loose. whilst its slighly hot, the ladoos have to be formed. but when you start to form the ladoos, the mixture starts to bind together and becomes one. or what can be done is grease a cake tin or a cake pan. pour the entire mixture in it. even the surface with a spatula and smoothen it. let it cool. then you can slice and serve them as a halwa or fudge. you can even garnish the surface with some cashews or almonds or pistachios. the sweetness of the sugar depends upon its quality. so it can always be adjusted.
regarding the comments, i did check and felt that no one has made the recipe. thanks for the words.
Harini says
That looks brilliant, Dassana! I add kokum butter for laddoos ever since I found it at a mela here.
dassana says
thanks harini. i am still searching for kokum butter. will make my life so easy if i find it.
Courtney Rae Jones says
Wonderful!
I love these. Beautiful photos! 
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Love the dark hues on the ladoo!
Nisa Homey says
Dassana, the next time I make I will try your recipe, especially adding coconut. I like the pictures with the incense sticks or zambranithiri as we call it in malayalam.
chinmayie @ love food eat says
They almost look like chocolate laddus! Yummy
nutan says
Hi,
usually i love
almost ur all recipes but sory 
to say ladoos r not looking good…..
thx
dassana says
thanks nutan for writing honestly. as i have mentioned in the post, we like the besan to be over roasted and hence the color. it is a matter of personal preference & choice. i wish i could make you taste the ladoos which were so good.
Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb says
yes we love ladoos! I never owned a recipe, we r christians soo ladoos are quite rare in our house. But we always get some from our hindu neighbors for ganpati. I was wondering that day, from where they originated in India? Do u have any Idea what the story of those yummy ladoos is? just curious… =)
Happy Ganpati from my side! =D
dassana says
happy ganesh chaturthi to you to helene. i really don’t know where they originated in india. i just know that ladoos are festival dishes. different types of ladoos are made during various festivals or special ocassions.
beena says
wonderful welcome sweet for favorite ganesha
the cashew halves look very cute on the ladoos and ladoos look very tempting… i love the flowers u used for the pics… very lovely.
Anamika @ madcookingfusions says
Happy ganesh chathurti to you & Amit! Lovely twist to the regular besan ladoos by adding in dessicated coconut, next time I plan to make your way, with dessicated coconut in my ladoos. Agarbatti’s adding to the festivity Dassana….
dassana says
happy ganesh chaturthi to you and your family too anamika.
biju says
thanku for this recipee
Richa says
love the soft laddoos. i bet they just melt in your mouth! happy ganesh chaturthi to you all!
dassana says
hey richa, wish you too happy ganesh chaturthi.
Kankana says
Happy ganesh chathurti. I Am liking your version of the besan Laddu. I usually make it more dry!
dassana says
happy ganesh chaturthi to you too kankana.
JENNIFER says
i like the besan ladoo recipe as i didnt know u have 2 add des.coconut.
will definately try . it will taste great am sure.can u pls share vegetable cutlet recipe.
my somehow becomes a flop.thanks
dassana says
adding coconut is optional. but adding coconut gives a slight different taste than the regular besan ladoos. there is a veg cutlet recipe on the blog here: http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/vegetable-cutlet-easy-veg-cutlet-recipe/
do try this one. the spice powders can be easily adjusted to your preference.
radha says
These are darker than the normal ladoos. But it would also mean that you are sure that the raw-ness of besan will not mar the taste. Very nice.
dassana says
that why we prefer it be extra cooked & browned so that no rawness remains.