Besan Ladoo

Besan Ladoo is a very loved and famous sweet from India. Most of us have a fond memory of this sweet being made in our mom's kitchens where moms were busy rolling it out in their palms like an expert (which they are) over some gossip with other members of the house :) The aroma that lingered in the kitchen then is soo friggin nostalgic now that I cannot describe. These balls of goodness are nothing but a mixture of roasted gram flour, sugar, ghee, cardamom pwd and nuts. After mixing these together you create a ball of sweet!

My son actually got introduced to besan ladoos by a TV series called Little Krishna.  He got addicted and loved watching it when he was 4-5 yr old (after my India visit). There is this one scene in an episode where Krishna(as a kid) tells his friends that he loves ladoos, rasagullas and sandesh (something like that). Since then he loves these ladoos :)

Taking this opportunity to make besan ladoos again on the occasion of Janmashtami ( Lord Krishna's birthday). My kitchen smells so heavenly right now and nostalgia is hitting the roof! For the first timers, if you don't get it right don't lose heart, keep trying, because some things come to us by practice.

Ladoos can be enjoyed as a snack with your tea/coffee or as a dessert after meals. Children have the privilege to gobble it anytime they want :)

Let us take a look at this wonderful recipe quickly!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup besan (gram flour)
• 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
• 3/4 cup sugar (add 2 tsp more if you like sweet)
• 1 tsp cardamom powder 
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped nuts (cashews, pistachios, almonds)

Preparation:

• In a nonstick pan, add 2 tbsp ghee, 1 cup sifted gram flour and on a low heat, stir everything together. Keep stirring and adding 1 tbsp ghee after 5 minutes each till the half cup of ghee is used up. 
• Keep a close eye on the flour and ghee, we don't want to burn it. Keep stirring for about 30 minutes till the raw smell of besan goes away. 
• Switch off the gas, add the nuts(except 1 tsp) and cardamom powder. Keep it aside to cool down (for about 10-15 minutes)
• Add fine sugar into it and mix everything together with a spatula or use hands. 
• Grease your palms with little ghee. Take a little portion (2 tbsp) of the ladoo mixture in your palms and press it together to form a small ball. Keep rolling it into your palms till a firm round ball is made. 
• Makes around 14-15 ladoos. Sprinkle little nuts mixture on top of each ladoo to make it look more fancy :)
• Leave the ladoos on a plate to cool to room temperature before storing it in a container. The ladoos can be stored in an airtight container for 2 to 3 weeks.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Notes*: You can also add ghee and besan all at one time and stir the mixture till the raw smell goes away (I have found that this takes longer time). If the mixture is very gooey, keep it in the fridge for some time before you start rolling out ladoos.

Health Benefits: Well it is a dessert with sugar so health benefits are not so much other than it gives pleasure to your brain and well being :) If consumed in small portion should not do much harm. One can use sweeteners instead of sugar and make it a sugar-free dessert. Now the benefits of besan (gram flour) are indeed to take into consideration. It has a low glycemic index and has a soluble fiber in it , has low-calorie count, is gluten free, and a protein loaded flour. Nuts provide nutrients and good cholesterol oils. So yes, we all gotta live a little :) with small pleasures in life.