the traditional sweet Besan Laddu, which rules the hearts and homes of millions, gets a modern look. Besan laddu is a humble Indian dessert, ready in under 30 minutes.
Heat Ghee. Add the sifted besan. Keep the heat on medium and stir continuously.
After about 10-12 minutes, the besan would have been roasted. You can tell it by the nutty aroma and golden brown of it. If need be, add some additional ghee while stirring. I did add 1 tablespoon of ghee while stirring.
Another secret to this recipe is - to give it a bit grainier texture is to sprinkle a tablespoon of water and continuously stir it for another 1-2 minutes.
A key thing to remember in this recipe is not to undercook or overcook the besan. Either one won't taste good, and the overcooked one is the worst. So the key is to stir continuously. You will get a hang of it after making it a couple of times. But till then, you can use these timings I mentioned for the recipe.
Once the mixture is ready, turn off the heat and remove it on a big plate. Do not keep it in the vessel that you made it in, as due to the heat of the vessel, the besan will continue to cook even after turning off the heat.
Once the mixture cools down (not completely cool, but luke warm), add cardamom powder, ½ tablespoon of chopped pistachios, sugar/boora/tagar. Mix really well with both hands. If it looks too dry, you have the option to add bit more ghee.
At this point, you have three options: 1) you can spread it on a tray or plate which has raised edge, let it completely cool down and cut into pieces, 2) you can make it into round laddus. 3) you can make it into a crumble. Or you can do all three of it :) The crumble can also be used for plating desserts or plating the laddu itself. Whichever version you choose, garnish it with the remaining chopped nuts and dried edible flowers.
Enjoy!
Notes
1) Tagar or Boora (a special kind of sugar) is highly recommended for a certain texture typical of besan laddu, but I have made it innumerable times using normal powdered sugar, and that turned out good a well.
2) This is the first time I tried with Tagar and absolutely loved the texture and that little crunch of sugar in it. I actually didn't have that Tagar available, so made it at home. I have added the recipe at the bottom. I feel it's easier to just buy it from store if you have that option. It will save time.
3) These laddus can be stored for a long time. There is no need for refrigeration.