i don’t think i need to write anything about besan ladoo. every indian knows about besan ladoo. 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 vegan, simple and easy to make. just some wrist muscle power is required to stir the ladoo mixture 
i made the ladoos with sunflower oil and not ghee. but it does not make much difference to the taste & flavor. if you want you can add ghee.
the ladoos were a bit more darker in color, since at home we prefer some extra roasted & browned besan (chickpea flour).
step by step recipe for making besan ladoos:
1: mix the besan, dessicated coconut, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder. heat oil and then add this dry mixture to the oil. stir and continue to roast for 5-6 minutes on a low to medium flame, till you start getting a nutty fragrance from the besan (chickpea flour).
2: now add sugar.
3: stir & mix. continue to roast for 5-6 minutes more. remember to keep on stirring so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burns.
4: add dry fruits. i only had cashews and hence could only add these.
5: stir and then again continue stirring for 4-8 minutes more till the mixture changes color and the sugar has completely melted.
6: this is how the mixture is looking after it is done and left to become warm. i have over roasted the ladoo mixture as this is how we prefer at home. hence the color has darkened a bit… you don’t need to this step for so long…
7: now take portions of the besan ladoo mixture in your palm and roll into medium or small sized ball.
8: make all the besan ladoos this way.
9: decorate the ladoos with cashew halves or raisins on the top.
10: serve besan ladoo warm or store in an air tight container.
besan ladoo recipe details are below:
- 2 cups besan/gram flour
- ⅔ cup oil or ghee
- ¾ cup fine sugar or powdered sugar
- 3-4 cardamon pods, powdered or crushed
- a pinch of nutmeg
- 2 tbsp dessicated coconut or coconut powder
- dry fruits – i added only cashew as this is what i had…
- add some chopped cashews for the ladoos and keep halved cashews for the garnish
- heat oil or ghee
- mix the gram flour, coconut, nutmeg powder, cardamom powder.
- add this dry mixture to the hot oil
- stir and mix.
- continue to stir for 5-6 minutes
- now add sugar and stir.
- again roast for 5-6 minutes.
- keep on continuing to stir so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- lastly add chopped cashews or dry fruits and stir for 4-8 minutes more.
- switch off the when the whole laddoo mixture looks like smooth crumbles and is dry as well with a golden yellow color.
- let the mixture become warm and then shape the mixture into balls.
- make medium or small sized laddoos.
- keep a halved cashew on each laddoo.
- serve warm or store in an airtight box.
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
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
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.
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…………..
i guess the recipe has not been made till now. hence no one has picked this up.
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.
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.
That looks brilliant, Dassana! I add kokum butter for laddoos ever since I found it at a mela here.
thanks harini. i am still searching for kokum butter. will make my life so easy if i find it.
Wonderful!
I love these. Beautiful photos! 
Love the dark hues on the ladoo!
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.
They almost look like chocolate laddus! Yummy
Hi,
usually i love
almost ur all recipes but sory 
to say ladoos r not looking good…..
thx
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.
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
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.
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.
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….
happy ganesh chaturthi to you and your family too anamika.
thanku for this recipee
love the soft laddoos. i bet they just melt in your mouth! happy ganesh chaturthi to you all!
hey richa, wish you too happy ganesh chaturthi.
Happy ganesh chathurti. I Am liking your version of the besan Laddu. I usually make it more dry!
happy ganesh chaturthi to you too kankana.
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
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.
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.
that why we prefer it be extra cooked & browned so that no rawness remains.