Recipe for Besan Laddoos
Recipe for Besan Laddoos
‘Besan’ or 'Chane ka Atta' is the Local Indian word for Gram Flour or Chickpea Flour. 'Chana' is Chickpea/Gram and 'Atta' is Flour.Besan Laddoos are one of my Mom and Brother’s favourite Christmas sweets. The Hindu community also makes these laddoos during Diwali. Whenever Mum makes Besan Laddoos, my only duty would be to Shape the them because at home nobody could manage the perfect round shape, except me and my brother’s duty was only to Eat all the Laddoos, lucky bugger!Although it’s not Christmas or Diwali, I made this batch of laddoos to celebrate a Friend’s Birthday who I have utmost respect for, who has given me SO MUCH & MORE when it comes to FOOD …be it Knowledge, Guidance, Motivation, Tips,Corrections, Advice, I can go on and on… That friend is David D’souza, A Goan Food Blogger and Food Enthusiast whose Global Goan Food Page on Facebook called ‘Traditional Goan Foodies’ is trending with more than 170k members and counting, where all of us all over the World, share Goan Food Recipes, Forgotten Traditional Foods, Techniques, Knowledge, etc.. Besan Laddoos are one of David's favourites. So, instead of a cake, I decided to make Besan Laddoos to celebrate his Birthday!P.S. My Bitter Better, staring at the laddoos, asks me “Why are these called “Basin” laddoos when they are made of Chane ka atta?” OMG! I wanted to Hug him and Kiss him but then I said this guy will get too much footage…hahahaha… but I still did 😊 He’s so cute ya!!
Servings 25 laddoos
Ingredients
- 250 gms gram flour(Besan)
- 250 gms Powdered sugar or fine powdered Jaggery
- 1 Tbspn pure ghee
- 10 gms raisins(optional)
- 10 gms charoli seeds(optional)
- 1 Tspn Cardamom Powder
- 1/4 tspn Salt
- Few Pistachios for garnish(sliced thin)
- Around 100 gms(you may need more)Pure ghee for mixing and rolling the laddoos
Instructions
- In a wide skillet, heat 1 tbspn ghee and add the gram flour to it and dry roast/fry it for about 30-35 minutes on medium heat till the Gram Flour changes colour to light brown and Turn off the flame and let the gram flour cool at room temperatureNote: Do not leave the Besan unattended. You have to continuously Mix it And Press it down against the skillet so that the lumps, if any, break down. Yes! your patience will be tested here! and you will be very tempted to leave the gram flour to pan roast on it's own thinking it's taking too long to change colour. But the minute you do that, when you come back to it, it will be very dark in colour and that will give your laddoos a bitter taste. (lazy me tried and tested…hahahhaha)The colour of Raw gram flour is light yellow. For Besan laddoos, it is very important for the colour of the Gram flour to change to light brown or else the laddoos will taste raw and bitter.
- Once the roasted gram flour cools, add the sugar powder or jaggery powder, salt, cardamom powder, charoli and raisins(if using)Note: I know it's very exciting to make laddoos but please wait until the roasted flour comes down to room temperature. Mixing Sugar to hot flour will release steam and the laddoos could turn moist and sticky and may turn hard too. Also, if you add raisins while roasting the gram flour, they will turn hard once cool
- Mix all these ingredients well with the help of a spoon
- In another sauce pan or skillet, heat the remaining 100 gms ghee, and as the ghee is warm and in liquid form, pour little by little to the dry laddoo mixture, in small portionsIf you have a Microwave, you can heat the Ghee in the Micro(in a microwave proof bowl) as well, for 20 seconds each time.
- Lightly Grease a Tray with Oil or Ghee. We will place the shaped laddoos on this tray
- With your fingers, mix the ghee well into the dry Laddoo mixture, part by part and make around 25 equal portions(approx 20-25 gms each or the size of a small lemon) Note:- The ghee has to be hot (in liquid form) in order to mix with the dry mix. As you notice the ghee turning stiff/solid, you will have to heat the ghee again and follow this procedure until all the laddoos are madeWhen you start mixing the ghee with the dry mixture, you may feel the ghee is less and you may get tempted to add more ghee. Please do not add too much ghee in the beginning. Also, do not add the Ghee to the entire dry mixture to form a dough, because later, just in case you realise that there is too much ghee in the dough, you will have no dry mixture to mix it to make it firm. Always do it part by part especially if it's your first attempt.
- With your fist, Press/knead each portion well for at least 5-6 seconds so that it stays firm and doesn't crack while shaping the laddoosNote: If you put too much ghee, the Laddoos will not become firm. While shaping, they may not take it’s round shape and may remain extremely soft and shapeless. Also, they may turn flat like pedas if too much ghee is added. Therefore, add the ghee little by little and mix the dry mixture.
- Using both your palms, make balls out of each portion and roll it until its smooth with no cracks.
- Roll the laddoo like how you would roll a dice in circular motion, by cupping you palm. This is a tip on how the laddoo turns round and shinyNote: If its not taking a firm round shape, it means you have added too much ghee. In this case, don't be disappointed. You can add a little of the dry mixture and shape it again.
- Place all the ladoos on the greased tray, garnish each Laddoo with the sliced Pistachios and let them dry for a day or twoNote:- Once dry, Do Not 'Pull' the laddoos out of the tray. You need to slide them off the tray and take it out or else the bottom of the laddoos will get stuck on the tray and break
- Once dry and firm store it in an airtight containerShelf Life is about 1.5 – 2 months at room temperature (just ensure the gram flour is roasted/fried well) or else you can place it in the refrigerator