Besan laddu are Indian sweets made with chickpea flour, dried fruits, and spices. You don’t need an oven to prepare them, as the mixture is entirely toasted in a pan before forming the besan laddu, and once ready, they are simply placed in the fridge. It seems that these delicious sweets were created in the distant 4th century for therapeutic purposes. In fact, they are rich in protein and have a low glycemic index thanks to the chickpea flour and dried fruits used for their preparation. Making them is really easy, although it takes a bit of patience to make the dough, which needs to be toasted in a pan, stirring continuously for about twenty minutes.
To make the besan laddu, I used organic chickpea flour from Molino Merano, which is the same one I also use to prepare chickpea farinata.
Besan laddu can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, in an airtight container.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: approx. 30 laddu
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups chickpea flour (Molino Merano)
- 1/2 cup clarified butter (melted)
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup almonds (Molino Merano)
- 1 teaspoon cardamom (powdered)
- as needed almonds (Molino Merano)
- as needed raisins
- as needed edible rose petals (optional)
Steps
To prepare besan laddu, place the flour in a wide-bottomed pan and toast over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, for 10-12 minutes. Be sure to keep stirring, as it tends to burn easily. When the flour is slightly golden and you smell the toasted flour aroma in the air, it is ready. At this point, add the melted clarified butter and continue to toast everything over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, for another 12-15 minutes.
Remove from heat, add the powdered sugar, and mix until fully incorporated.
Coarsely chop the raisins and almonds and add them to the flour and butter mix along with the powdered cardamom. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.
Set aside to cool for about 1 hour. If you prefer, you can also place the mixture in the fridge to speed up this process.
When the mixture has cooled down, use a teaspoon to take a bit of it, compact it between your hands, and form a ball about 1 inch in diameter. If the mixture is too dry and you have difficulty forming the balls, add a little more melted clarified butter and knead again.
Form about 30 laddu and place them on a plate or tray. Decorate with raisins, halved almonds, and rose petals as desired.
Serve your besan laddu or store them in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to serve.
If you leave them in the fridge for a longer time, I recommend taking them out 15 minutes before eating, so they are not too cold and hard.
