This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Besan Laddoo (Sweet Chickpea Flour Balls with Cashew and Raisins) Indian Sweet. Gluten Free, Soy Free and Vegan Recipe. Jump to Recipe
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi Everyone! This festival celebrates the birthday of Lord Ganesha, who is widely worshiped in India, as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune.
The celebration consists of installing a Ganesh Idol at home or community, conducting worship ceremonies, making sweet items to offer to god and everyone around and so on. After 10 days, the idol is immersed in a river/sea/water body. Read more about the festival here.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesh_Chaturthi
Depending on the region, different kinds of Indian sweets are made for this occasion. Modaks(Rice flour dumplings) are the most common in most parts of India, Different Laddoos(sweet flour balls), deep fried dough balls and more. Whether you believe in god or not, it is an occasion to meet and greet, exchange sweets, and celebrate life and good fortune.
Traditionally, the Ganesh icon was sculpted out of earth taken from nearby one’s home. After worshiping this earth icon, it was returned back to the Earth by immersing it in a nearby water body. Lets do the same and reduce the environmental impact of the toxic materials and colors used in the fancy modern idols!.
Besan Laddoo is tradionally made with chickpea flour(garbanzo bean flour), a good amount of ghee(clarified butter), sugar and some flavor like cardamom. My version.. ghee-free, has some quinoa in it and is very similar to the usual mom made ones!
Besan Laddoo (Sweet Chickpea Flour Balls With Cashews And Raisins) Indian Sweet, Vegan
Besan Laddoo (Sweet Chickpea Flour Balls with Cashew and Raisins) Indian Sweet. Gluten Free, Soy Free and Vegan Recipe.
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons gram/chickpea/garbanzo bean flour, (besan)
- 1 teaspoon semolina flour, (fine sooji, omit this for gluten free version)
- 2 teaspoons quinoa flour, (optional, can be substituted with semolina flour)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, (earth balance, soy free)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons raw sugar, (more for sweeter balls, I like mine mildy sweet)
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup, (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoons coarsely ground cardamom seeds, (elaichi)
- 2 tablespoons of chopped cashews, (small pieces. large pieces will make it difficult to form balls)
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- a tablespoon or 2 of water
Instructions
- Melt the vegan butter in a large pan on low heat.
- Cook the cashews and raisins in it for 2 minutes until golden and remove them leaving as much butter as possible in the pan. Alternatively, cook the cashews and raisins in about a teaspoon of butter separately.
- Add coconut oil and heat with butter.
- Add the besan (chickpea flour), semolina flour, quinoa flour and mix.
- Cook on medium heat and begin to roast the mixture, until it becomes light golden brown in color and gives out a sweet aroma. Stir the mixture continuously with a spatula to prevent burning. 7-10 minutes. The mixture should also start to form clumps.
- Cook the flour well, else it will taste raw, which is not fun.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool to a warm-hot temperature. (a minute)
- Meanwhile, Blend/grind the raw sugar into powder. or use powdered jaggery.
- Add in cardamom seeds, and sugar to the flour mixture and mix well.
- Add in the cashews and raisins and mix well with spoon or hand to make mixture more clumpy. (1 minute)
- To make the balls, take about 1.5-2 Tablespoons of warm flour mixture into your palm. Gently press the mixture between your palms to form a smooth, round ball. Of course if you are in a hurry, you can just eat the flour mix like a halwa :)(dense sweet dough dessert).
- If the mixture doesn't form balls easily, which might happen because I use butter as less as possible, add half a tablespoon of agave syrup and a few drops of warm water and mix. Keep adding drops of water and a few drops of agave till it becomes a big clump.
- All this should be done, while the mixture is still warm-hot to touch. (you can reheat the mixture in the pan to warm-hot if it has completely cooled down). Form balls and let cool completely before storing in airtight container for 1-2 weeks. Hope you all like these Indian Sweet Balls! Have an awesome day everyone!
Notes
- To increase the quantity, increase oil/wet ingredients to dry ingredients(besan flour) by 1:3 ratio and sugar to dry ingredients by 1:2 ratio, that is for every 1 Tbsp increase in dry ingredients, increase oil by 1/3 Tbps and sugar by a 1/2 Tbsp.
- Nutritional value is based on 1 serving
Nutrition
Calories: 109kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 27mg, Potassium: 87mg, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 135IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 0.5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
These balls are headed to Amee’s Fit and Fabulous Friday, Erin’s Friday Potluck and Hearth and Soul blog hop #63 And to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend!!!
Hi Richa,
I just tried these today and they are great! Very sweet and they reminded me more of anjeer ka halwa that I tried in India.
I did burn my flour mixture slightly though, so I will learn from my mistake and make them even better next time!
What an interesting post, and what a delicious sounding recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it with us at the Hearth and Soul hop!
These sweet bites look amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful, healthy recipe on Fit and Fabulous Fridays! LOVE!
Thank you Kalyani, Ranjini, Kankana, Ricki and Hannah!!
Yes chickpeas are quite versatile!:)Do let me know if you try these! Have an amazing weekend everyone!
I’m very curious, as I’ve never tasted anything quite like these! The use of chickpea flour is quite intriguing… There really is no end to that legume’s versatility. 🙂
What a lovely festival! These look wonderful. I hope they do bring lots of sweetness into your life! 🙂 Thanks for submitting this to WW this week. 🙂
Delcious and perfectly shaped. I could eat that non stop 🙂
http://www.sunshineandsmile.com
looks delicious and very tempting clicks ……….. happy to follow u ……..
Saw this (again) at Fit & Fab Fridays. We’re eternal fans of Indian sweets, and these look smackalicious! 🙂
Thank you Amy, Gopika, Soma, Anu, junia, Kiran and Genevieve!! Thank you all for the lovely comments!
Genevieve, updated the recipe:) thanks for pointing it out. Do let me know how they turn out! i’d love to hear about it.. happy cooking!