Besan Ladoo !

Finally I managed some time to post this 200th recipe that was pending since a long time. I am so happy and excited as I write this to reach this milestone. And of course it calls for a sweet to celebrate this small success. And today being my only sibling's birthday, I want to dedicate this sweet post to him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO !

Besan Ladoo , the very easy ladoo as compared to the boondi ladoo. Though it takes a good amount of pure ghee there is no frying part involved. Just saute the gram flour in ghee well and add sugar and mix, roll into ladoos.. and tadah.. done !

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups Besan (Gram Flour)
• 1 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar (or lesser)
• 1/2 cup Pure Ghee (preferably Desi Ghee) (or more upto 3/4 th cup)
• 2 to 3 tbsp dry fruits (almonds, cashews and raisins)
• a pinch of cardamom powder

STEPS

• Heat a tbsp of ghee and fry the cashewnuts till golden brown. Take them out and keep aside.
• In the same pan add the remaining ghee and allow it to become hot. (But dont let it fume)

•  Add the besan to the hot ghee and start roasting it in medium flame.
• Initially it would look dry and crumbly, but dont bother and keep roasting.

•  The below pictures taken after 10 - 12 minutes from the time I started roasting. 
• You will start getting a nice aroma of roasted besan after 10 minutes and the flour will start releasing ghee slowly as it is getting cooked.
• You can see in second thumbnail that the flour has started to become like a dough.
• Add the chopped dry fruits (almonds and raisins) after 15 mins or so, and start roasting everything together.

•  After 20 minutes of roasting the besan looks like below with all ghee released out and an awesome aroma wafting your kitchen.

•  Transfer the roasted flour to a wide bowl.
• Sprinkle some cardamom powder and give a mix.

•  Add the powdered sugar and mix with a spatula as tjhe mixture would be very hot.
• Initially it would look crumbly but just keep mixing.

•  When you are able to bear the heat, take small portions of the flour and combine them together tightly with your hands, Then roll them in your palms to give a smooth finish.
• Top the ladoo balls with a roasted cashew and give a press so that it sticks to it.

NOTES

• I used only Besan flour, but sometimes 1 or 2 tbsp of sooji (rava) can be mixed with flour to give the ladoo a coarse texture.
• Increase/decrease amount of ghee and sugar as per your preference.
• Do roast the besan well till raw smell fades completely and color turns slightly brown. It should take around 20 - 25 minutes for 2 cups of Besan in medium flame.
• Finish rolling all ladoos when they are still warm. 

With Love,