Besan Ladoo
Golden, crumbly chickpea flour fudge balls flavored with cardamom and roasted nuts. Ready in 20 minutes—a beloved Indian sweet that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Servings
- 12
- Calories
- 185
- Protein
- 4g
Ingredients
- ½ cup ghee
- 1.5 cups besan (chickpea flour)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup roasted unsalted cashews, chopped coarse
- 4 whole green cardamom pods
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- 1
Crack open each cardamom pod by pressing it firmly with the flat side of a knife until the green shell splits, releasing the black seeds inside.
- 2
Pick out the black seeds and discard the green shells, then crush the seeds with a spoon against the cutting board into fine powder.
- 3
Chop the roasted cashews into coarse pieces about the size of lentils—not powder, but smaller than whole nuts.
- 4
Pour the ghee into a medium skillet and set the heat to medium. Heat until the ghee melts completely and looks liquid and clear, about 30 seconds.
- 5
Add the besan in a thin stream while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps. Keep stirring until the mixture looks like wet sand.
- 6
Continue cooking and stirring constantly. After 3 minutes, the besan will smell nutty and warm. After 5 minutes total, it will turn light golden and smell deeply toasted.
- 7
Remove the skillet from heat and let the besan cool for 2 minutes—it will still be warm but cool enough to touch.
- 8
Stir in the powdered sugar, crushed cardamom, and salt with a wooden spoon until completely blended and no white streaks remain.
- 9
Add the chopped cashews and stir once more until the nuts are distributed evenly throughout.
- 10
Working quickly while the mixture is still warm, pinch about 1 tablespoon of the besan mixture and roll it between your palms into a compact ball about the size of a walnut.
- 11
Set each finished ball on a small plate as you go. You should be able to shape all the mixture into 12 balls in about 5 minutes.
Tools you’ll need
- medium skillet (10-inch)
- wooden spoon
- knife
- cutting board
- small plate
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