Laddu is sweet made and enjoyed in the whole of India. Laddu is a walnut sized & shaped sweet ball and it can be of made in many different ways with many different ingredients. It is mostly made at the times of festivals and also as an offering for Gods on religious festivals and functions.
Recently it was the birthday of Lord Ganesha and I made „Besan Laddus“ /Chickpea flour Laddus as an offering or a Prasad, which happens to be Ganeshas favourite sweet. The flour I used was from Natur Kraft Werke, its a Demeter product and let me tell you the taste of the Laddus was altogether a different level. R and the girls both loved them and they are not easy to please.
Besan Laddu is a delicious, healthy and easy to make Sweet as its made of lentil flour ie. Besan which is loaded with Protiens. You can serve it as a dessert or you can also serve them with Tee along with the Bombay mix. Laddu and Bombay mix is a great combination.
So here is what you will need for a dozen Laddus:
Ingredients:
– 1 and half cup besan/gramflour/chicpeaflour
– 1 Tabelspoon Semolina
– 1/2 to 3/4 cup ghee
– 3/4 cup powdered brown sugar or crystal sugar
– About 2-3 Tablespoons milk
– 1 Tablespoon of Pistachios chopped
Method:
1. Preheat the Oven at 180 degrees
2. Take a glass dish and sieve the besan into it, add the semolina and mix both of them well.
3. Now add half of the Ghee to the besan and rub the besan with your hands until the whole mixture resembles like breadcrumbs.
4. Roast this flour and ghee mixture in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, turning it once with a spoon.
5. By the time you should feel the roasted smell of the besan and it should turn very light brownish/pinkish.
6. Take the dish out and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
7. Now take the milk in your hands and sprinkle it over the mixture. Mix it well with a spoon and try and break if some balls are formed with the milk.
8. Mix it well, now it should have cooled down a bit more. Now add the powdered sugar and slowly add the ghee.
9. Bring the whole mixture together and try to make small walnut sized balls out of that. It should be manageable warm. If its not binding together then do add the rest of the ghee.
10. You should be able to make about 12-13 Laddus of the size of a Walnut. But you can entirely make the sizes of your choice.
11. Take half a tea spoon ghee in a small plate and in one plate take some chopped pistachios.
12. Dunk the top of one Laddu in the Ghee, then again in the Pistachios. This way you will have a beautiful topping and once they cool down, the Pistachios will set well.
13. Let them cool down and store them in an airtight container. They will stay good for a good one week and for 10 days in the fridge. They also make a great snack in winter.
Tip: the besan from the natur kraft werke is a bit coarse, so the baking time I took was about 25 minutes but if your besan is a bit too fine then it may take 20 minutes. The same goes for the Ghee as well. The course besan will take more ghee to form the Laddus and the thin ones a bit less. So use your feeling a bit and adjust it accordingly. Back home in India the besan is roasted on the pan but I find the roasted version much more easier for me. But you can also very well roast the Besan on the stove.