Besan ke Laddu Recipe

Name: Besan ke Laddu
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 2 cups Gram flour (besan), sifted; coarse laddu besan if you can find it; ⅔ cup Desi ghee; 1 cup Sugar, powdered; 6 pods Green cardamom (choti elaichi), seeds only, ground; 2 tbsp Almonds (badam), chopped; 2 tbsp Pistachios (pista), chopped; 1 tbsp Milk, sprinkled in for a grainy texture

بیسن کے لڈو بنانے کا طریقہ

Melt-in-the-mouth besan ke laddu: gram flour roasted slowly in desi ghee until nutty and golden, then mixed with powdered sugar, cardamom and nuts.

Prep

10 min

Cook

30 min

Marinate / soak

15 min

Serves

Difficulty

Medium

Spice

Mild

Besan ke laddu are the sweet handed out for good news in Pakistan: a pass, a wedding date, a new baby. They need only three main ingredients, but the result depends entirely on the roasting: gram flour must be cooked slowly in ghee until it darkens, smells nutty and turns loose and glossy. Rushed besan tastes raw and sits heavy; well-roasted besan crumbles and melts.

Ingredients

16 servings

For 16 servings

Cups & chamachGrams & ml

2 cups Gram flour (besan), sifted; coarse laddu besan if you can find it≈ 180 g
⅔ cup Desi ghee
1 cup Sugar, powdered≈ 200 g
6 pods Green cardamom (choti elaichi), seeds only, ground
2 tbsp Almonds (badam), chopped
2 tbsp Pistachios (pista), chopped
1 tbsp Milk, sprinkled in for a grainy texture (optional)

Method

Melt the ghee in a heavy karahi on low heat and add the besan. Stir to break up any lumps.
Roast on low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the base. The mixture is thick at first, then loosens and becomes runny as the besan cooks.
⏱ 20 min
Keep roasting until it is a deep golden-brown, smells strongly nutty and the ghee starts to separate. If you like a grainy laddu, sprinkle in the milk now; it will froth up, so keep stirring until it settles.
⏱ 8 min
Stir in the cardamom and nuts, take off the heat and tip into a wide plate. Leave until just warm enough to handle.
⏱ 15 min
Mix in the powdered sugar thoroughly with your hand.
Take a small handful and press it firmly into a round laddu, about the size of a walnut. If the mixture is too crumbly, add a teaspoon of melted ghee.
Set the laddus on a plate to firm up completely before storing.
⏱ 30 min

Tips for the best result

Do not walk away during roasting. Besan goes from golden to burnt quickly at the end.
Use powdered sugar, not granulated; granulated sugar does not bind and leaves crunchy bits.

Common mistakes

Adding sugar while the besan is hot. The sugar melts and the laddus go sticky and flat.
Roasting on medium-high heat to save time. The besan browns outside but tastes raw inside.

How to serve

Serve with tea, hand out as mithai on good news, or pack in a box as an Eid gift.

Storing and reheating

Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight tin at room temperature, longer in the fridge.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories: 185kcal
Protein: 3g
Fat: 10g
Carbs: 20g
Fibre: 1.5g
Sodium: 10mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 2

Whole dish ≈ Rs 28 · 36% of ingredients by weight priced

Prices in

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works