Besan Ladoo

Besan Ladoo or Besan Ke Ladoo is sweet treat balls made of gram flour/ chickpea flour (besan) and some chopped nuts. It’s 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. They’re 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, I’m 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 they’re just too sweet.

So, that’s how I ventured in trying so many recipes to recreate the Mithai/ Methai that don’t have so much sugar in them. That hopefully, the sweets won’t cause too much of a problem for our general health. Let’s face it, too much sugar is not healthy, is it?

After so many trials and failures, I’m 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, I’m sharing a Besan Ladoo recipe that is not too sweet.

I’m 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 you’re 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.

three besan ladoos - the sweet treat balls made of besan flour

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. It’s very-sweet that I had to put them in our food recycle bin. Because I didn’t 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 it’s the cooking fat that I always have in the fridge/ refrigerator. But you can always swap it with Ghee if that’s 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.

chickpea flour and butter mixture in a mixing bowl

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.

besan flour and butter mixture with desiccated coconut and icing sugar

besan flour mixture with desiccated coconut, icing sugar, and chopped nuts

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 don’t 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.

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 what’s cooking in my kitchen.

And before you go, don’t forget to check out my other sweet recipes that you may like.

Thank you and all the best.

Besan Ladoo - the sweet treat balls made of chickpea flours with chopped nuts as the garnish

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