Indian festivals and celebrations are incomplete without Laddus! And no laddu is made without ghee!
Ghee is more than a kitchen ingredient in India, it is considered an auspicious item that is offered to the deities. No wonder all traditional festive sweets are made in pure desi ghee.
So let’s make Besan Laddus for our upcoming festivals.
BESAN LADDU
Besan is the Hindi word for gram flour. It is one of the most popular festive sweets in India. Although it requires a few ingredients, it does need a lot of patience and skill. It’s still undoubtedly worth a try!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Besan
- ½ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Desi Ghee
- 3 Cardamoms
- Crushed Cashews (optional)
Recipe:
- Take ½ cup sugar and a few cardamoms and use a blender to grind them into fine powder.
- Heat 1 ½ teaspoons of desi ghee in a pan.
- Add some cashews and fry them on a medium flame. Remove the cashews to a bowl. (Optional)
- Add besan to the same pan and lower the flame. Do not add extra ghee at this point, or the besan would be difficult to fry.
- Mix the desi ghee and besan. Turn to medium flame and stir the besan continuously so that it doesn’t burn.
- Make sure you break down any lumps in the mixture while stirring. After a while, the colour of the besan will change slightly and will have an enticing aroma.
- Now, turn the flame to low and add the rest of the ghee to the pan. Do not stop stirring! The besan will slowly absorb the ghee.
- Keep stirring till the besan becomes smooth and has no lumps. Your besan should turn golden yellow.
- Turn off the flame when the kitchen is filled with the aroma of the mixture. Now, allow the mixture to cool down completely.
- Add roasted cashews (optional) and powdered sugar and cardamom mixture. You can add sugar as per your taste. Knead it with your hands to mix it well.
- Apply a little ghee on your palms to mould the mixture into the shape of laddus.
Your Besan Laddus are ready!
Keep in Mind!
- Choose the best ingredients. A fine besan will make smooth laddus. Similarly, go for pure and desi cow ghee to enhance the flavour, aroma, and to add nutrition to your laddus.
- Roast the besan properly- do not rush it or it will taste raw. Do not overcook or it will burn.
- Keep the flame low (or medium at times) or the besan will turn brown, though it will be raw.
- Let the besan cool down completely before adding the sugar. If you don’t, then the sugar will melt and make the mixture loose and the laddus won’t bind together.
Looks tedious? Yes, it is a little bit. But all your efforts are worth it. The mouth-watering taste and nostalgic smell will leave you speechless.
So, why not try it today!