Besan Ladoo
Sep 08, 2022, Updated Aug 28, 2023
Besan Ladoo is a popular Indian sweet made with gram flour (besan), ghee and sugar. It is often made for special occasions and festivals like Diwali.
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Besan Ladoo is one of the most popular Indian sweets. Made with gram flour, sugar and ghee, this dessert requires only a handful of ingredients but tastes amazing! It is one ladoo which I always make for festivals like Diwali.
Festivals are incomplete without sweets and in India festivals are incomplete without ladoos. Ladoo, an Indian sweet can be made using various ingredients and is round in shape.
We make ladoos out of so many ingredients, there’s motichoor ladoo, atta ladoo (made with whole wheat flour), rava ladoo (made with semolina), coconut ladoo and so on. Out of all these amazing ladoos, besan ladoo is my absolute favorite.
Table of contents
What is Besan Ladoo
Besan Ladoo is a round dessert ball made with gram flour which is called besan in Hindi and hence the name. Flour is roasted with ghee (clarified butter) and then sugar is added and then it’s shaped into round balls.
Nuts and raisins can be added. Some people also add sooji (rava/semolina) to the besan for the crunch. However I personally prefer this ladoo plain, minus the sooji.
It is definitely my favorite ladoo and also one of my favorite sweets ever.
Back home during Diwali, I would always scan through the sweet boxes to see if any one of them had besan ladoo in them. My nani (maternal grandmother) used to make the besan ladoo. So I kind of grew up eating these homemade ladoos. I have so many memories associated with them. I don’t think my ladoos can ever match hers though as they were simply the best! 🙂
Ingredients
Besan (gram flour): there are 2 main types of besan available in the market- the fine besan which is what we regularly use in homes to make chilla, pakora etc. and the ladoo besan which is the coarse variety. Most sweet shops use the coarse variety, ladoo besan to make besan ladoo however you can use the regular besan as well and it will be just fine. Use whichever besan you want or have on hand.
Bura/Boora: it is a type of sugar that is made by boiling sugar with water and let it crystallize. The moisture from sugar gets evaporated and on top of that ghee is also often added to it which makes it more flavorful. It is for this reason that you should use bura to make these ladoos.
If you can’t find bura and have no time to make it at home, just take regular white sugar in a grinder and grind it to a finer consistency and use that.
Ghee: there’s so besan ladoo without ghee! For best results use homemade ghee or the best quality ghee that you can fine. My nani would always make these ladoos with homemade ghee.
Fine or Coarse? Which Besan to Use?
I make ladoos with both types of besan and you can use either depending on what you have on hands and also what you prefer. If you prefer sweet shop style besan ladoos with texture -> use coarse besan (ladoo besan)
If you prefer more home style ladoos and don’t care so much about texture -> use fine besan (the regular variety which you have at home to make kadhi, chilla etc.)
Step by Step Pictures- How to Make Besan Ladoo
Before you start, you can sift the besan if you like.
1- To a heavy bottom pan, add 1/4 cup ghee (55 grams) and let it melt on medium heat. Once the ghee melts, add 1 cup besan (110 grams) to the pan. Stir and set heat to low.
2- Mix the besan and the ghee together, at first it will form a clump.
3- Don’t worry and keep stirring, it will start to loosen up a bit around 7 to 8 minutes.
4- Then it will continue to become loose and light, keep stirring on low heat. Do not stop stirring else besan might burn.
5- Keep stirring continuously on low heat. Besan will continue to loosen up and after around 15 minutes (picture 5), it will turn into a smooth paste like consistency.
PS: do not worry if your besan never turns into this consistency, it can happen due to different types of besan available in the market, just keep going and roast the besan.
6- I roasted the besan for around 25 minutes on low heat until it had a nice golden-ish color. Your kitchen will also be filled with a aroma by then (for more ways to check doneness of the besan, please refer to notes below). This time may differ depending on several things like thickness of pan, intensity of heat etc.
7- Remove pan from heat. If you want, you can transfer the besan to another container so that it doesn’t cook further and doesn’t burn. I just kept stirring it after removing from the pan for around 5 minutes until it cooled down a bit. In total let the besan cool down for around 10 minutes, lukewarm is fine, but it should not be super hot before you add the sugar.
Then add 1/2 cup bura (75 grams) to it which in simple terms is a type of powdered sugar. Bura is not be be confused with confectioners sugar/icing sugar. If you don’t have bura, just pulse some granulated white sugar in a blender and use that.
8- Add 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder. You can also add chopped nuts and raisins if you like at this point.
9- Mix everything together until the sugar and cardamom is well combined with the besan. You will get a smooth besan dough.
10 & 11- Now, pinch a small bowl from the dough. Press and then roll between your palm to form a round shape
12- . Repeat with the remaining dough and make all besan ladoo similarly. You will get 7 to 8 ladoos out of the mixture. You can garnish them with nuts if you like.
Storing The Ladoo
You can store besan ladoo at room temperature in a clean air tight container for 2 weeks. If you wish to increase their shelf time, you can refrigerate them.
Expert Tips to Make Perfect Besan Ladoo
So, the ingredient list to make besan ladoo is pretty small but here are few tips that will help you make then perfectly.
Roast the besan properly: the most crucial thing to keep in mind while making besan ladoo is to make sure the besan is roasted well.
It will take time and you will need to have lot of patience. Do not rush this step! If you don’t roast the besan properly, the ladoos will taste bitter and raw.
And how would you know that besan is roasted? You will be able to tell from the aroma and also the color of the besan will change to a golden-ish hue.
Also, the besan turns into a smooth paste once it’s cooked (see pictures below in the recipe steps). But don’t over roast it either else you will burn it.
Keep the heat on low at all times: equally important is to keep the heat to low at all times. If the heat is high, the besan will turn brown and even burn while still being raw.
Keep stirring continuously: yes, this recipe is a good hand workout. You need to stir continuously as you roast, which will be around 20 to 25 minutes! But the end result will be worth it, trust me!
Let the roasted besan cool down before adding sugar: once the besan has roasted let it cool down for at least 10 minutes before adding the sugar.
If you add the sugar while besan is still warm, the sugar will melt and loosen up the mixture and you won’t be able to bind the ladoos.
Roasting time may differ depending on intensity of heat, thickness of pan: please keep in mind that roasting time needed for besan may differ. It takes me around 25 minutes of low heat to roast the besan, it might take you 15 or 50. It depends on several things including if you have gas, induction, coil. It also depends on intensity of heat (medium, low, low-medium) and the thickness of the pan you are using.
If you are not sure rely on aroma of the besan rather than the time, you should smell that nutty aroma.
Besan Ladoo Frequently Asked Questions
When making besan ladoos, they are some common problems that you may face or come across. I will try to address each one and offer their solutions here.
This is the biggest problem that people have when they make besan ladoo. After roasting for 20-25 minutes, when they bind the ladoo and bite into a piece, it tastes raw. And that’s definitely not a good feeling and all your hard work has gone into waste. Here are 5 ways in which you can determine that your besan is properly roasted!
1- The color of the besan will change and it will turn into this brownish-golden color.
2- Your kitchen will be filled with the nutty aroma of the roasted besan.
3- You will see ghee on top of the roasted besan.
4- Besan will feel lighter and fluffier as if it has been filled with air.
5- And the most important tip guys- just take some besan in a small bowl, let it cool down a bit. And then taste test it. The taste of raw besan is hard to miss. If it tastes raw that means you need to roast it more. Taste test is the most full-proof method to test for rawness of the besan.
There are many kinds of besan available in the market. Depending on the quality of the besan and how old the besan is, it is possible that the besan that you are using never reaches that paste-like consistency even after roasting for 25 minutes. Do not worry, keep roasting and do the taste test. If the besan has nutty aroma, doesn’t taste raw and has turned golden-brown in color it is done. Yours ladoos will be just fine even if the besan never turned into that paste like melty consistency.
Solution: First of all wait for 10 minutes for besan to cool down a little before adding the sugar. If you add sugar to very hot besan, the sugar might melt completely and then it will become difficult to shape them.
However, this usually happens when there’s too much ghee in the ladoos. With the ratio mentioned in this recipe, this should not be a problem. Let the mixture cool down, you can also place it in the refrigerator for 5 minutes and then bind the ladoos. When the mixture is warm, it might be a little difficult to shape. As ghee solidifies, it becomes easier to shape into ladoos.
Generally speaking, keeping the mixture in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes does the trick, however if you have by mistake added too much ghee you can do the following to increase the volume of the mixture and thus compensating for the extra ghee:
1- Add more roasted besan to the mixture.
2- Add some roasted sooji to the mixture.
3- Pulse some nuts like cashews and almonds and add that.
4- You can also add some almond flour to the mixture.
This is usually because of the variety of besan that you used and if that besan was not roasted properly. There are more chances of this happening with the regular fine variety of besan. If you use ladoo besan which is the coarse variety of besan to make your besan ladoos, this will not happen.
However, I almost always use the regular fine besan that I have at home to make ladoos and this never happens. But if this happens with a brand of besan you are using, now you know how to fix it.
If you prefer your ladoos with texture here are 2 things you need to do: 1) use ladoo besan, the coarse variety of besan to make your ladoos. If you just have fine besan, you can roast 1-2 tablespoons of sooji and add that to the besan and 2) use bura in ladoo and not confectioners sugar/icing sugar. Using icing sugar will not give your ladoos texture. If you can’t find bura in the market and don’t have time to make it at home, just pulse some granulated white sugar in your mixer and use that.
this happens when there’s excess ghee in the ladoos. Again, refer solutions for problem no.3. In this case you either keep them in fridge or if you want them to stay intact at room temperature- you would have to increase the volume of the mixture to make up for the excess ghee. So add things like roasted besan, nuts, almond flour etc. and then bind again. Then it will be stable at room temperature.
You can absolutely use confectioners sugar (also known as powdered sugar or icing sugar) here and I have made ladoos using that in the past.
But, now I almost always use bura because it gives the ladoos a nice texture when you bite into it. You don’t get the same texture with confectioners sugar/icing sugar as it has added cornstarch to it. The texture of bura is different and the taste is also superior which will make your ladoos tastier.
Making Besan Ladoo with Jaggery
I have made these ladoos with jaggery powder and it works fine. You would need to add a little more jaggery than the amount of sugar that is mentioned. Please note that I have only tried with readymade jaggery powder that’s sold in the market and not with a block of jaggery.
This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in November 2013.
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Besan Ladoo
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ghee 55 ml, not melted
- 1 cup besan gram flour, 110 grams (you can use either coarse or fine variety of besan)
- 1/2 cup bura/boora 75 grams, not to be confused with confectioner's/icing sugar OR pulse granulated white sugar and use that
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2 teaspoons chopped nuts like almonds, cashews optional
Instructions
- To a heavy bottom pan, add ghee and let it melt on medium heat. Once the ghee melts, add besan to the pan. Stir and set heat to low.
- Mix the besan and the ghee together, at first it will form a clump. Do not panic and keep stirring, it will start to loosen up a bit around 7 to 8 minutes.
- Then it will continue to become loose and light, keep stirring on low heat. Do not stop stirring else besan might burn. This definitely is a good hand workout
- Keep stirring continuously on low heat. Besan will continue to loosen up and after around 15 minutes, it will turn into a smooth paste like consistency.
- I roasted the besan for around 25 minutes on low heat until it had a nice golden-ish color. Your kitchen will also be filled with a aroma by then. You can also taste test the besan to check for doneness. This time may differ depending on several things like thickness of pan, intensity of heat etc.
- Remove pan from heat and stir it after removing from the pan for around 5 minutes until it cooled down a bit. In total let the besan cool down for around 10 minutes, you don't want it super hot before adding sugar.
- Then add bura. If you don't have bura, just pulse some granulated white sugar in a blender and use that. Also add cardamom powder and chopped nuts if using. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Now, pinch a small portion from the dough and press between your palms. Then roll between your palm to form a round shape. Make all ladoos similarly. Store them in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to the text in the post about common problems one might face during making besan ladoos and their solutions. That covers all the important tips that you need to keep in mind while making besan ladoos.
- Most important thing is to roast the besan properly. If not roasted properly, the ladoos will have a raw taste. All the pointers which you have to keep in mind when deciding if the ladoos are done or not are mentioned in detail in the blog post.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just made these ladoo’s, turned out great. Thanks for sharing this recipe?
you are welcome!
Manali thank you for the awesome recipe. Just made these with a slight variation and they turned out fab- subbed ghee with coconut oil, reduced the sugar amount a little.
Would you store them in the fridge or outside? How long can they last?
I usually store them at room temperature, good for couple of weeks!
Hi Manali
Thanks for sharing recipes. I tired this recipe today. Doubled it, so all ingredients were doubled as well. It seems the quantity of ghee isn’t enough as it’s more like besan is still very dry. There is no way I can form that into laddoos as it just crumbles. I’ve made besan laddoo before using different recipe and never had this problem. Thought I’ll try yours today. Is there any way to bring it together, maybe add some ghee?? Any suggestions welcome ?
Actually that’s enough ghee and I always make it this way and they come out great. Maybe it also depends on the quality of besan used. Yes add more warm melted ghee and bind ladoos if it seems dry.
Hiii dear,
Made this today for diwali.. came out awesome.. keep up the good work and share more and more recipes.
Love
Sayani
awesome! Happy Diwali!
In case ghee is liquid,how much to add??
reduce the amount by 1-2 tablespoons and see if it works
Mam how much suji is added
there’s no suji in this recipe
For crunchiness u mentioned at last few tbsp of suji,how much??
try 2 tablespoons
Hi Manali,
Thank you for the recipe, it was very easy to follow. I had one issue I need help with. My ladoo’s came out sticky and didn’t roll nicely. Any suggestions?
maybe you added the sugar when besan was still warm ? either way just pulse some nuts or if you have almond flour, you can use that and to the besan and then bind the ladoos. You can also always roast some more besan and add to the mixture.
First time making Ladoo ever so I thought this sounded like a nice easy start.
My presentation is going to take some getting use to but thank you sooooooooo much for your recipe tips, the stages photos were very helpful too.
We use to have sweets like this in work on Diwali and the taste came rushing back to me, it was perfect!
My little one is also a very big fan, thank you again for sharing!
Hi Manali
Thanks for the recipe.
Can you please let me know if we can use normal oil instead of ghee in the recipe
Thanks
Preeti don’t use oil, the taste of the ladoo depends so much on ghee so please use ghee
Thanks but mine turned out dark brown
you over cooked the besan
Hello Malini ,On occasion of Krishna Janmashtami I made laddoo it turned out excellent ? thanks for the recipe texture was perfect , especially my daughter enjoyed it.
glad to know! and it’s Manali 🙂
You are awesome. Never let us get stuck at any point because you had a description of all the problems that could possibly occur. Thank you so much. Loved it❤
you are welcome 🙂
Hi,
Made the ladoos they tasted great although when I was shaping them it still felt little gooey. It was not able to sustain the shape more like kept falling flat.
Any idea why ?
Thanks,
Mayanka
was it too hot when you made these? you could have kept the mixture in the fridge for a bit. Also you can add some ground nuts if this is happening, might help. Also, make sure you add sugar only besan is completely cooled.
Hi , I made besan today but it came out crumbling. How can I fix it now? I already added the 1 string sugar syrup.
But my besan ladoo recipe doesn’t call for sugar syrup? So I am not sure how to help you.
Hi just finished making these and so not tasted yet but wanted to ask if they need to be stored in the fridge or not. Thanks
You can keep it in fridge but then microwave a little before eating next time as ghee will solidify and become hard.
Thanks for such a detailed recipe. In case I want to double the recipe do I need to increase the roasting time? So instead of 25-30 mins should it be roasted for 50-60 mins. If adding sooji which is separately roasted is it to be added after switching off the besan?
i will roast sooji separately since it takes much less time to roast. I have not tried doubling the recipe but I assume roasting time will remain almost same.
Tastes lovely !!
awesome!
Can powdered jaggery be used instead of powdered sugar? Can’t wait to try them – look so good in the pics! Thanks for all your lovely recipes!
I haven’t tested this recipe with jaggery so it’s hard to say
Tasted yum but didnt get into the shape .. initially it was loose n later we could not do anything about it
you could have placed the mixture into fridge and then try after sometime.
Hello,
I tried your recipe today and laddu’s came out really well, tasted awesome. They were much better than the store brought ones. Thank you for the pictorial presentation. it made my life easy .
Mine came out a little runny and unable to get that dough texture to bind the laddu. How do I fix this ?
maybe you added sugar while besan was still warm. Try adding chopped nuts and make the dough stiffer and see.
Hello,
Tried the besan ladoo recipe …they were delicious. Very easy to make.
A question though …at what stage can I add soaji and should I roast soaji before adding ?
Thanks
I would probably roast some sooji separately, remove on a plate. Then roast besan and then mix the two.
Thanks for easy recipe with details and I loved it.
I was searching for instant pot recipes, so happy to have found your website! Thanks Manali for such detailed recipes. You made me feel so proud for a first successful try. I couldn’t get the liquid consistency as well, but just taking off the heat and mixing the besan well after 30mins worked out all good.
Hi Manali – can you use brown sugar instead of icing sugar?
you may!
Hi
Your recipe is great. I followed the steps but it sticks to the palate. Can I do something to fix it?
sticks to the plate as in? after the besan is roasted? grease the plate with some ghee and then add the roasted besan to it.
It sticks to the upper part of the mouth. But taste is good
Hi Manali I tried out your recipie today and it was simply perfect ❤️ Thank for an excellent recipie !
Hi!
Your detailed steps go a long way in ensuring that we do not go wrong. I’ve tried the recipe and the ladoos turned out well.
I plan to try out some of your other recipes too.
Thank you.
Hi, Ma’am
Your recipe is great I have tried making Besan me Ladoo by your recipe. All my family members liked it a lot. I made Besan ke ladooo two times one time by normal ghee that is available in the market.
. You recipes are superb , Thanks a lot
Hey, Manali They tasted really good.
Thanks for these proper instruction with pictures made it easier for me.
My first attempt was successful because of you. Cheers.
awesome! 🙂
How much ghee are you suppose to use? Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe, I can’t wait to try it.
Do you have a video version for this recipe as well?
Thank you!
it’s all mentioned in the recipe, please check the recipe card below where it says “1/4 cup ghee, clarified butter, 60 ml, not melted:. Don’t have a video yet, sorry about that.
Hi Manali! I’ve made besan laddoos for a long time, and recently wanted to make them again for my neighbors who had a baby. That’s how I found your recipe. But I had no idea my besan was supposed to liquify!? All the times I’ve made these laddoos, it’s never happened. So I tried it with yours, and roasted more than 30 mins, and it still stayed clumpy. Finally, I added more ghee, and then it turned into kind of a mass, like melting play-doh, but still not liquid. I kept it on low heat and followed all the directions. But it just didn’t happen. In the end, I still made them and brought them to my neighbors. The dad is Indian, and he loved them. I just want to know how to do liquid besan. Lol. Or maybe sometimes it’s ok if it roasts without becoming liquid? Thank you!!
Hi Taylor, yeah it doesn’t necessarily have to turn liquid, it will depend on the quality of besan. As long as you roasted the besan well, it’s all good!
Looks amazing and so well written out! Can’t wait to try making them!
I saw laddoos in a netflix kids program called mighty little bheem. Wanted to try to make them for my little one. Nd came across your recipe that looks amazing and is so well written out. My little one is allergic to dairy, is there an alternative to butter that I can use? Also, when looking for gram flour, I saw besan gram flour. Is this the right stuff to use? Or just normal gram flour? Thank you.
hmm maybe you can try vegan butter. and yes besan is right for this recipe
Have not tried but procedure looks easy
It came out so well ! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
glad to know!
Hi Manali ,you recipe is awesome. I just had a challenge and unable to figure out what wrong I did. My besan never turned a liquid as yours. Took me 45 mins may be I was on too low flame. They look bit dry …
One thing I want to mention was my besan was from may this year so not new pack of u think that’s the issue. Can you please share feedback ?
Which besan did you use? It could be the quality of besan and 45 minutes is a lot, besan roasts well at around 20-25 mins..did you use the same amount of ghee? Maybe your quality of besan needs more ghee, that’s all I can think of
Hey Manali, my first time making a sweet for Diwali. So I’ll thought I’ll start with this. Can I use the regular sugar we get in north America?
Thanks!
hey yes you can, just grind the sugar in a food processor and then use
Good recipe Manali and easy too but what exactly did you mean by one serving ? Is one serving one single laddoo or two laddoos ? Plz clarify as I am trying to gauge calories and sugar per laddoo . Thanks .
1 ladoo…do keep in mind though these are just approximate calculated automatically by a plugin
can i use chana flour for the ladoo
I haven’t tested this recipe with chana flour so you may use but I won’t be able to say that it would work 100%
Besan ka Ladoo is my favorite. Millions of times help mom in making them. Today I was making them after a while, so just was googling it and found your recipe. I have never made by measure. So I follow your measurements. They turned out very good
good to know 🙂
Hi Manali,
Just made these ladoos and they were delicious. Can I use ladu besan (coarse type) or does it have to be the superfine besan? Also any suggestion on which brand of chandi ka vark to use.
Thank you.
Priti
you can use ladu besan! and I got chandi ka vark from India, don’t exactly remember the brand
Thank you !
Most Indian desserts have such few ingredients but needs some special skill to make it perfect. These besan ladoos looks so good Manali.
Thank you Kankana!
Hey Manali,
I tried making besan ke ladoo. Some how they turned out to be raw and leaves an after taste on tongue. I read every where that nothing can be done after the sugar is added. Even though I account this as an experience however I still want to give an effort of making them better. So far I thought of baking them in the oven between 150 to 200 farenheit. Do you think there is any other way I can I can save them?
Hmm it’s tough to salvage it after you have added sugar. Try roasting in the oven but I am not sure it will work. Maybe you can try making cheela/pancake like thing with it now? A sweet cheela?
Hey manali the recipe is just awesome. I lov your recipes thanku so much for marvelous recipes , i am from pakistan but i use to cook things from your blog , they are amazing , keep up the good work , lots of love❤️❤️ And also please tell me the recipe of almond cake
Thank you Maya, so glad you enjoy the recipes 🙂 I will try to post a recipe for almond cake
Hi! This is my first time making these and I have a few questions:
By sugar, powdered do you mean white sugar or powdered sugar?
When making the balls at the end I had to put a lot more melted butter in it to make them stick, but they still don’t. They’re really crumbly and won’t seem to stick.
Maybe it’s becasue I used the wrong sugar?
When roasting the besan should I be stirring it? My butter turns chunky when roasting and I don’t know if it’s supposed to do that.
Thank you so much!
white sugar which is powdered…so you take regular granulated white sugar and then pulse in a food processor to powder it. This is different than powdered sugar which is used in frosting recipes etc. You should be stirring the besan at regular intervals. This is to make sure it roasts evenly. Grease your palms and press the mixture between your palm to bring it together. It will come together…
Mine didn’t turned out to make circle. As it was spreading. Rather than that taste was gud!
Sorry to hear that Aiman. Whenever you can’t bind ladoos, just trying adding more ghee. It will bind.
Hey Manali,
Tried ur besan ladoo recipe today!! They tasted awesome!! Thank you so much for such an easy recipe!
Thanks
Priyanka
Hi Manali,
Thankyou for all your wonderful recipes. I have already tagged alot of them in the “Try these soon” list!
I have a question regarding this recipe. Do I need to change anything to make besan barfi instead of ladoos?
Thankyou. Aastha
Hi Aastha, glad you like the recipes on my blog 🙂 Unfortunately you cannot make besan barfi using besan ladoo recipe. The barfi needs some sugar syrup so the recipe will be little different. I will post the recipe for besan barfi sometime soon 🙂
What could you substitute for the besan flour because I have run out and am really wanting to make these now.
Love the taste first time making then though.
can’t make besan ladoo without besan, I would suggest try some other ladoos like sooji ladoo or atta ladoo 🙂
Wow what a delicious besan ladoo. These are my favorite sweets. Your recipe is really good. Will try it soon 🙂
Mine too! Thanks Rachna!
Never heard of besan ladoo before. You definitely have got me curious to know what these taste like.. they do look delicious though!
Thanks Thalia, they are very delicious!