Besan Laddoo for the Diwali festival for my near and dear ones

Besan Laddu(Laadu) is a typical Maharashtrian sweet delicacy which brings water in the mouth the moment we hear its name. But along the year’s originality of the dish is lost in commercial viability. Earlier days Deepawali means preparing sweet dishes, buying new clothes and gifts. Decorating the house, drawing rangolis and it was truly a major festival in Hindu calendar. But nowadays everything is ready made and readily available. In such readymade world, local delicacies get lost. To revive the dish I am sharing the recipe of Besan Laddu I learned over the years from my mother and added little twist but retained its originality.

Here I am sharing my secret of making laddoo; crispy and soft

Ingredients :

2cups of Besan (Gram flour)
1 1/2 cup of Powdered sugar
1 cup of Ghee (Clarified butter)
1 tsp Elaichi (Cardamom) powder
1/2 tsp Jaayphal (Nutmeg) powder
Sliced Pista (Pistachio) for garnishing
1 tbsp milk

Method :

In a large bowl mix the besan and the milk and knead the mixture with your bare hands so well till you get dry crumbs of the mixture. Keep it aside for 15 min. till that time heat the ghee in a pan and add the mixture we prepared and roast the mixture on a very low flame for about 20 to 25 min until it changes the colour and the texture by spreading a nice aroma. Gram Flour should be roasted on a low flame until the ghee releases from the flour. If gram flour not roasted well then it will stick to the teeth.

Now cool the mixture and add Elaichi powder, Jaayphal powder, and powdered sugar and mix well.
Putting few ghee drops to your palm start making small or medium-sized laddoo.Store it in an air-tight container.

Important note from the chef:
• Any roasting process should be done on low flame.
• Ghee and sugar according to diet and taste.
• Nutmeg powder should be used in sweet recipes as it helps in digestion and gives nice aroma to the food.

Happy Deepawali once again