Laddoo is a popular Indian sweet that comes in various flavors and varieties. The most common type is the Besan Laddoo, which is made from roasted chickpea flour. Here’s a basic recipe for making Besan Laddoo:
Ingredients:
– 1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
– 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
– 1/2 cup powdered sugar
– 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
– 2-3 tablespoons chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios)
– A pinch of saffron strands (optional)
– Ghee for greasing your hands
Instructions:
1. Heat a heavy-bottomed pan or kadai on low to medium heat. Add ghee to it and allow it to melt.
2. Once the ghee has melted, add besan to the pan. Stir continuously to roast the besan. Roast the besan on low to medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes or until it turns a golden brown color. Roasting the besan is the most crucial step, and you need to ensure it doesn’t burn, so keep stirring throughout the process.
3. When the besan is roasted and you can smell a nutty aroma, remove the pan from the heat. Let it cool down a bit, but it should still be warm.
4. Add the powdered sugar, cardamom powder, and chopped nuts to the roasted besan. You can also add saffron strands at this point if you’d like for extra flavor and color.
5. Mix everything together while it’s still warm. Make sure to combine all the ingredients thoroughly.
6. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, but it should still be warm enough to handle.
7. Grease your hands with a little ghee to prevent sticking, and start shaping the mixture into small round laddoos. You can make them as big or as small as you like.
8. Continue shaping laddoos until you’ve used up all the mixture.
9. Let the laddoos cool completely at room temperature. They will harden as they cool.
10. Once the laddoos are completely cool, store them in an airtight container. They will stay fresh for several days.
Enjoy your homemade Besan Laddoos! You can experiment with other types of laddoos as well, such as coconut laddoo, rava laddoo, or boondi laddoo, using similar techniques with different key ingredients.