Traditional Besan Ladoos Recipe

Learn how to make my perfect soft and rich besan ladoo every time using 3 main ingredients: besan (gram flour), ghee, and sugar. This besan ladoo recipe is one of most popular indian sweet served on festivals like Diwali, dusherra and ganesh puja. Made on the stovetop, this homemade besan ladoo is cozy and comforting.

I grew up eating homemade besan ladoos. Not just for festivals or special occasions, rather my grandmother made sure that we have besan ladoo stashed on the kitchen shelf throughout the year.

I can't even begin to describe how the house smelled whenever she made them. The aroma while besan roasts in ghee is very nutty, sweet & comforting and one of my loved memory of festival time in India.

Besan ladoo is one of the first indian sweet recipe that I make for Diwali each year, and it's a favorite with my kids. In fact, anything made it besan, be it besan halwa or besan ki barfi is a hit in our home.

Which Besan to Use? Laddu Besan Vs Regular Besan

Ladoo besan or mota besan is coarsely ground gram flour. I have tried several brands of ladoo flour in the past few years from indian stores and trust me they are not the same. Depending on the brand(I prefer Deep or Laxmi), the texture is medium coarse or too coarse. Personally I prefer using medium coarse besan.

Ladoo besan is used by halwai (sweet shops) in India. It gives your ladoo a grainy texture. Use it if that's the texture you are looking for in your ladoo.

Regular besan will give homemade taste and mouth feel in your ladoo. They will be softer, less chewy but as delicious. So choose the besan as per desired result. Both kinds of besan will work in this recipe.

Non Stop Stirring Is The Key!

Roasting besan takes patience and constant attention. Stir it continuously while it cooks, because if you stop even for a moment, the hot besan at the bottom can burn. Stirring ensures that it roasts evenly.

As you stir, you'll also get a sense of the mixture's texture - whether it's dry, clumpy, or light and fluffy. Use this to adjust the heat level as needed.

For reference, roasting 1 cup of besan usually takes 18-20 minutes. But don't rely strictly on the clock.The exact time will vary depending on the besan, your stove, and the pan you use. Pay attention to the color, aroma, and texture instead.

More Tips

1. Use fresh besan - Avoid using besan that has been lying around for over 2-3 months in your pantry. Once the bag is opened, it slowly starts losing its aroma and nutty flavor.
2. Watch the amount of ghee and add ghee slowly - Remember that you can add ghee at ANY stage. However, once the ghee in ladoo mixture gets extra, it is difficult to recover from. The ghee quantity is even more tricky if using fine besan. So start small, add the ghee quantity I mentioned in the recipe. And then adjust, if needed (I have mentioned at what stage to make adjustments in ghee quantity)..
3. Cook on low heat - For the perfect golden color, nutty flavor as well as to make sure that ladoos don't taste raw, go low and slow. You need patience for making them. If besan is not roasted properly, ladoos will stick to roof of your mouth and teeth.
4. Add sugar at the right stage - Mix in the sugar when the roasted besan mixture is luke warm to touch. If it's too hot, the sugar may melt and create a sticky mixture that we do not want. If we wait too long and the mixture gets too cold, you won't be able to incorporate sugar properly.
5. Feel The Ladoo Mixture with hands- You can trust your spatula only to an extent. After adding sugar, mix and feel the ladoo mixture with your hands. It will help you understand if the mixture has right amount of ghee and if you will be able to shape it.
6. Don't squish the ladoos while shaping - Avoid squeezing or squishing the besan mixture while shaping. That creates a dense ladoo that will stick to your teeth. If the proportions are right, you should be easily able to shape the ladoos with gentle hands.

How To Make Besan Ladoo (Stepwise Photos)

1. Measure out all the ingredients.
2. Add sugar and (if using) seeds of 1 cardamom powder to a dry grinder jar (I use my coffee grinder). Grind to a fine powder. Your boora is ready.
3. In a wide mouthed and heavy cooking pot, add the besan and ¼ cup ghee. 

Tip #1 - Use a wide pot or pan which makes it is easy to stir the besan.A wide pan helps in even roasting too.

4. Place the pot on low medium flame. Start roasting besan on a low flame, stirring continuously using a soft spatula or wooden spoon. As the besan mixture warms up, it will resemble coarse wet sand. This is because as soon as you combine together, besan absorbs the ghee and clumps together. At this stage you might feel that the ghee is less, however don't add any more. 

6. In about 10 -12 minutes, as you stir, you will notice that the besan mixture is much easier to stir and feels fluffy. This is when the besan starts toasting in ghee and releasing it at the same time. The mixture will resemble a batter and will be glistening & bubbly.

6. In about 15-16 minutes, besan will slowly start changing color and you will smell a very nice aroma. Keep a close eye since besan can burn easily at this stage. Continue to stir it. The slow roasting is extremely important to ensure that the raw taste of besan is gone and besan roasts evenly.
7. After about 18-20 minutes of slow roasting, you will see the besan mixture will be golden in color. Immediatley take off the stove. The cooking pot is still hot and besan will continue to roast for next 2-3 minutes. Make sure that you keep and eye and keep stirring. If you feel that besan is going to turn deep brown, transfer it to a plate. 

6. Mix in the raisins (or nuts if using) after 5 minutes of taking off the stove. The raisins will plump up in residual heat. Set aside to cool down for 15-20 minutes but don't let get cold.
7. Once the roasted besan is cooled (but not cold) and easy to handle, add in the sugar.
8. Combine so that everything is mixed together. At this stage if you feel that the mixture is dry, add 1-2 teaspoon of melted ghee and mix.

6. Take small portions of the ladoo mixture and roll into smooth round balls. You can moisten your palms with little melted ghee (if required) while making balls.
7. Store for up to a month in an air tight container at room temperature.

Troubleshooting

1. If besan mixture is dry after adding sugar and you are not able to shape the ladoos, it is very easy to fix this problem. Add melted ghee ½ tablespoon at a first and mix well. Feel the besan mixture with your hands. If needed, add more melted ghee. Add gradually and stop in between to feel the mixture until you can shape them.
2. If the besan mixture feels unmanageable due to extra ghee and you are not able to shape the ladoo mixture, refrigerate the mixture until the ghee soldifies (about 15-20 minutes). Then you can shape it into ladoos. In this case, you cannot store the ladoos at room temperature. Store them in the refrigerator and try to finish within 2 weeks.

Note - This post was originally published in May 2014. I updated in August 2025 to include stepwise pictures and descriptions.