Besan Ladoo is a popular Indian sweet dish made using gluten-free gram flour, sugar and ghee. The besan is either dry roasted or roasted in ghee and mixed along with the rest of the ingredients. It has a long shelf life and is one of the most preferred sweets during festivals and family events in India.

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This is one of my favourite ladoos of all. I just love it but unfortunately do not make it quite often. So this Diwali I thought to start my Diwali snacks preparation using this delicious and yummy Besan Ladoos.

2 methods of making Besan Ladoo
This is my mom’s recipe which she is following for years. It is an easy peasy quick recipe with just 4 ingredients. The 5th Ingredient, cashews are added to increase the nutritional content. It is optional though. Just follow the steps and you should be able to nail it down.
Few Steps to consider for this Besan Ladoo:
Roasting of the gram flour
There are 2 methods of making besan ladoos the traditional way. Either you can dry roast the gram flour first and add ghee later or roast the gram flour along with the ghee.
Today I have roasted the gram flour along with the ghee. Making of these ladoos take time. One can however multitask to save time. However constant stirring of the flour is critical. The gram flour has to be roasted on slow. It is one of the most important steps. If you rush the gram flour will be raw and it will stick to the upper palate of the mouth. You would be able to taste the raw gram flour.
Use a heavy bottom pan and roast it on slow. Do not be tempted to increase the speed of your stove. You would burn the gram flour and that will not taste good.

Texture of Gram Flour and ghee required
Generally, these Ladoos are made with a bit coarser texture Gram flour. However, outside India, you might not be able to find it in some countries. As for me I just get the fine variety of gram flour. In that case, the ratio of ghee required is a bit less. At first, I added 1:3/4 cup but I could sense that the ghee is a bit more. I added some gram flour to this. So my advice would be to start with half a cup of ghee and add more only if required.
Sugar
Secondly, the sugar has to be added in crushed or powdered form. It should be added only when the mixture has almost cooled. If you add sugar to a hot or warm mixture it will melt and make it runny.
Consistency of mixture
Third, the mixture at times appears to be a bit soft or runny. Or you are not able to form the balls. Do not worry. In cold countries just leave it outside for some time (30-40 minutes). The besan will absorb the ghee. Or you can keep the mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes and then you should be able to form balls.

Excess Ghee
Fourth, at times there is an excess of ghee. Once you are done with the roasting, and if you see ghee floating on the top, just tilt the Kadai or the wok and remove the excess. Do not discard the ghee, it can be used for other purposes.
So sharing the recipe below. I am sharing this recipe with our Foodie Monday Bloghop group where this week the #218 theme, which is #DiwaliDhamaka@FMBH. Since Diwali is almost there we decided to make some yummy Diwali goodies and share the recipe amongst us and our readers.
Few more Ladoo recipes on my blog:
Pin it for Later –

So here comes the recipe for Besan Ladoo:

Besan Ladoo (Indian festive Sweet)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 270 grams – 1 Cup – Besan / Gram Flour
- 160 gms – 3/4 Cup Ghee (Clarified Butter)
- 1 teaspoon green Cardamom seeds (Elaichi)
- 250 gms – 1 Cup – Powdered Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Cashews chopped (Optional)
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom pan add in 1/2 Cup of the ghee. Remaining ghee should be added only if required.160 gms – 3/4 Cup Ghee
- Add in the Besan/Gram Flour and dry roast on slow until it releases a nice aroma.270 grams – 1 Cup – Besan / Gram Flour
- Add more ghee if you feel the besan is getting too dry and is yet not roasted.
- The roasting process takes time around 45 minutes to 1 hour. Be patient.
- Once fragrant and you see ghee starts releasing the edges you are done.
- Switch off and let this cool completely.
- Add the required sugar. If you have sugar granules, crush them in a blender to get a fine powder.250 gms – 1 Cup – Powdered Sugar
- Remove the seeds from cardamom and add it as is. The ladoo taste better with the seeds not crushed completely.1 teaspoon green Cardamom seeds
- If adding cashews add it now.2 tablespoon Cashews chopped
- Take a dollop of the mixtue and form round balls. Size can be as per your preference.
- Store it in an air tight container. They stay good for more than a month.
Notes
- 1 tsp = 5 ml, 1 Cup=235 ml
- I have detailed out on the steps one needs to follow above under the heading, Few Steps to consider for this Besan Ladoos. Do read them before starting to make this.
- More or less ghee might be required depending on the flour texture.
- One can add nuts and raisins of choice.


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Swati
Wednesday 15th of November 2023
All time favourite ladoo. Thanks for all the details to get perfect besan ladoos. Your besan ladoos look so inviting.
NARMADHA
Monday 11th of November 2019
Besan Ladoo looks so inviting and melt in mouth texture. I also make in the same way of roasting besan flour in ghee. Perfect treat for any festivals or occasions.
Renu Agrawal-Dongre
Tuesday 12th of November 2019
Thank You
sasmita
Sunday 10th of November 2019
Laddosss and that too besan ke laddoos are fav since childhood !! the well explained recipe here one should follow to make without any fail. Much pretty presentation too renu, love to pick from screen itself ;)
Renu Agrawal-Dongre
Monday 11th of November 2019
Thank You
Preethi Prasad
Sunday 3rd of November 2019
Besan Ladoo is so perfectly made Renu. One of my favourite sweet anytime.Very well explained.
Renu Agrawal-Dongre
Monday 4th of November 2019
Thank You
Kalyani
Wednesday 30th of October 2019
loved the detailed steps as well as cautionary tips that u provided here, Renu : would be so helpful for beginners / amateurs. this is one of the most demanded sweets at home, I make it similarly with smooth ground flour as sometimes we don't have access to the mota-besan here too ! pictures are so festive and lovely..
Renu Agrawal-Dongre
Wednesday 30th of October 2019
Thank You