Besan Ladoo Recipe – chickpea flour sweet balls
Besan Ladoo is scrumptious sweet treat balls made of chickpea flour. This recipe will help you make this Mithai that is not too sweet so you won’t feel guilty or worried about having it.
Besan Ladoo
Besan Ladoo or Besan Ke Ladoo is sweet treat balls made of gram flour/ chickpea flour (besan) and some chopped nuts. Itโs one of the sweet Methai/ Mithai among the Indian subcontinent cuisines.
These sweet balls have a nutty taste and smell thanks to the roasted chickpea flour. Theyโre crumbly, and they just melt in the mouth. And the chopped nuts in them give extra texture with their crunchiness. Just irresistible.
Varieties of Mithai/ Methai
Generally, three types of Mithai/ Methai can be recognised by its look and shape. They are Halwa/ Halva – the sweet dessert with moist lump look like pudding, Barfi/ Burfi – the pressed sweet treats that cut in squares, rectangles or diamonds, and Ladoos – the sweet treat that is shaped into round balls.
And these three types of Mithai have more varieties according to their ingredients. For example, the sweets made of Suji/ Sooji – semolina flour – are called Suji/ Sooji Halwa, Suji/ Sooji Ladoo, and Suji/ Sooji Barfi. The Mithai made of Besan flour/ gram flour/ chickpea flour is called Besan Halwa/ Besan Halva, Besan Ladoo, and Besan Barfi/ Burfi. And so on and so forth.
Besan Ladoo that is not too sweet
Here, Iโm sharing the recipe for Besan Ladoo.
However, I must admit that many years ago, I could never eat any Mithai/ Methai. Because they are very very very sweet to my liking. Often, when any of my extended family or friends served Mithai, I would only have a small piece almost like a pinch, out of courtesy. It made me sad because I actually love the textures and ingredients of those sweet treats. But theyโre just too sweet.
So, thatโs how I ventured in trying so many recipes to recreate the Mithai/ Methai that donโt have so much sugar in them. That hopefully, the sweets wonโt cause too much of a problem for our general health. Letโs face it, too much sugar is not healthy, is it?
After so many trials and failures, Iโm content that now I have some recipes for Methai/ Mithai that do not taste oversweet. God willing, I will share the recipes one by one.
For now, Iโm sharing a Besan Ladoo recipe that is not too sweet.
Iโm so happy with this recipe because the Ladoos got approvals from my sisters in law who have been my tough critics for my Pakistani food recipes.
If youโre like me who loves Methai/ Mithai BUT do not want to indulge yourself with unnecessary sugar intake, please try this besan Ladoo recipe. And let me know how you like it.
And this mithai is a good sweet option for you to have for iftar in Ramadan as well.
Key ingredients
I think this Besan Ladoo can be one of our energy balls because they use health-friendly ingredients apart from the sugar of course. Therefore, I cut down the sugar so much that it only uses 37.5% of sugar compared to many similar recipes out there.
Did you know that chickpea flour has amazing benefits for our health? Check this article by Very Well Fit if you want to know.
Anyhow.
When I first made the Ladoos using the popular recipe I found on the internet, I was like wow. Itโs very-sweet that I had to put them in our food recycle bin. Because I didnโt want to give a sugar spike in our blood really. No kidding.
So, to make besan Ladoo that is not too sweet you need gram flour/ chickpea flour, desiccated coconut or coconut flour, salted butter, icing sugar/ powdered sugar and chopped nuts.
I use butter in this recipe instead of Ghee – clarified butter. Simply because I personally prefer the butter taste. And itโs the cooking fat that I always have in the fridge/ refrigerator. But you can always swap it with Ghee if thatโs what you like.
As for the desiccated coconut or coconut flour, I find it a good addition because it makes the texture and taste of Ladoo more scrumptious. And it can give an added health benefit to these sweet chickpea flour balls as you can see here.
How to make Besan Ladoo without Ghee
Firstly, you roast the besan flour in a cooking pan. Place the flour in the pan and heat the pan at moderate low heat. Keep stirring the flour until it releases a nutty aroma. It takes approximately 20 minutes for the gram flour to fully roast, looks light golden and smells divine.
Secondly, add in the butter. Keep mixing and stirring it. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes when the butter fully melted. Then take the pan off the heat. Leave your besan mixture to fully cool down.
Thirdly, when the gram flour is cooled and at room temperature, add in the desiccated coconut and the icing sugar. Mix it thoroughly. Then put the chopped nuts in the mixture, if using.
Let me pause here. If you have an allergy to nuts, you can omit the nuts to make a nut-free Besan Ladoo.
Lastly, take about one tablespoon of besan mixture and shape it into a round ball. Work through until all the dough is finished. You can sprinkle little chopped nuts on top of the balls and slightly press them to stick on the Ladoo.
Top tip to make yummy Besan Ladoo
- Sieve the flour and the icing sugar to give a smoother texture to your Ladoos.
- Roasting the flour is easy but can be testing. Because it can tire your arm. So be patient. Keep stirring the flour so that it will be evenly and nicely roasted.
- Make sure you leave the gram flour and butter mixture 100% cooled down to room temperature. Otherwise, the icing sugar will melt in the besan dough and make the Ladoo soft and sticky. You donโt want that.
- Traditionally, almonds and pistachios are the most used in the Ladoo. But you can use other types of nuts such as cashew nuts, pecan nuts, brazil nuts, etc. Try to roast them first before using. They will make your Ladoo tastier.
Related posts
Thank you for reading this post. I hope you now want to try this Besan Ladoo recipe. When you do, can you please leave your review in comments below (leave a reply)? I really appreciate it.
And please follow me on Facebook, Instagram and/or Pinterest to sneak a peek at whatโs cooking in my kitchen.
And before you go, donโt forget to check out my other sweet recipes that you may like.
- Gajar Ka Halwa – Pakistani sweet carrot pudding.
- Suji Halwa Puri – sweet semolina pudding with fried-flatbread.
- Kheer – Pakistani style rice pudding.
- Besan Barfi – spiced and nutty chickpea fudge.
- Rasmalai – sweet milk dumpling.
Thank you and all the best.
Besan Ladoo Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking pan
- Wooden spoon
- Sieve
Ingredients
- 2 cups Gram flour/ Chickpea flour/ Besan flour.
- ยฝ cup Desiccated coconut see the note.
- 1 cup Butter.
- ยพ cup Icing sugar.
- ยฝ cup Nuts see the note.
- ยฝ teaspoon Cardamom powder see the note.
Instructions
- Sieve the gram flour/ Besan flour into the cooking pan. And add the cardamom powder in. Put the pan on your cooker/ stove and turn the heat at medium-low heat. Roast the flour until it turns light golden brown and releases aroma.ย
- Make sure you keep stirring and turning the flour. So it wonโt get burned at the bottom of the pan. It takes approximately 20 minutes to roast the flour.ย
- Add in the butter and continue cooking until the butter melts. Keep mixing until you get a smooth and thick mixture. Continue cooking as you stir for about 2-3 minutes from the moment the butter fully melted. Then take the pan off the heat and leave it to completely cool down.
- When the besan flour mix is cooled down at room temperature, add in the desiccated coconut and icing sugar. You can sieve the icing sugar so that the texture will be smoother. And put the chopped nuts in. Work quickly to stir and mix the besan dough until thoroughly mixed.ย
- Take about a tablespoon of the dough and roll it in between your palms into a round shape. Sprinkle finely chopped nuts on the top of your besan Ladoo balls. Keep rolling and shaping until all the dough is finished.ย
- If possible, leave the Ladoos for at least half an hour to set before serving.
Notes
- You can omit desiccated coconut if you like and just add ยผ cup more besan flour.
- Almonds and pistachios are the most used for Besan Ladoos, but you can use whatever nuts you love. Try roasted pecans or roasted cashew nuts. Theyโre lovely in the Ladoos.
- If you donโt have cardamom powder but have whole green cardamom seeds, you can make your own powder. For this recipe, 3-4 cardamoms are enough. Take the seeds out, and grind them into powder. You can use a pestle and mortar or use an electric spice grinder.ย
- Make sure you keep stirring the gram flour/chickpea flour. Especially after about 10 minutes when the flour is getting hot. Because it burns quickly. Turn the heat down as you need.
- Leave the gram flour mixture to completely cool down before you add the icing sugar in. Otherwise, the dough will be wet and sticky. You want the mixture to be slightly moist and crumbly.ย
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.
What a lovely recipe! I’ve made other variations of besan ladoo before but I prefer your less sweet version. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re most welcome. I’m so glad you like it
I never would have thought to use chickpea flour like this, but it looks delicious.
Thanks. Yes, there are so many surprises that we can make out of simple things ๐
These look so good! I love these kinds of sweets but always thought they would be too complicated to make at home… apparently not! On my to do list now ๐
I thought so too. But it’s so easy. Let me know when you did try
What an awesome looking recipe! This is something i’ve never heard of, but am intrigued by new recipes. And I happen to have all the ingredients!
That’s cool. Let me know how you like it
I’ve never heard of these before but they look yummy. Love the green pistachio’s on top!
There’s something new that we learn, isn’t there? ๐