Besan Laddu : Festive Foods

Few of my friends ask me, why don't I publish during festivals? I always cook a lot during the festivals, but at the end of the day I get so tired that I never take any pictures! This week I had three occasions back to back. Swarna Gowri Pooja, Ganesh Chaturthi & the following day was my son's birthday. I have cooked so much over those three days that I feel I need rest for the next three weeks!!

For the Gowri pooja, I had cooked kadlekalu guggri/usli (Spiced Chickpeas) & besan laddu as neivedyam/prasad.

I follow my aunt's measurements for making the besan laddu. It turns perfect every-time.

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 30-40 mins

Makes around 20-22 laddus

Ingredients:

• Besan/Gram flour/Kadale hittu: 2 cups
• Sugar: 2 cups
• Ghee/Clarified Butter: 1/2 cup & a tablespoon

Method:

Sieve the gram flour & keep aside.

Take a wide & thick bottomed pan. Add the gram flour & roast until the flour is warm on a medium-low heat.
Add the ghee to the warm gram flour & gently mix until the ghee is well coated on the gram flour. It will form a mass now. 
Keep breaking it & roast it on low-medium heat for 25-30 minutes. The aroma of the flour roasted in ghee should fill your home. The flour will slightly change its color. 
Turn off the heat & let the flour cool completely. 
Powder the sugar & keep aside.
When cool, add the sugar & mix well. Take a tablespoon of mixture & press it firmly with your fist. Make medium lime sized balls with the mixture & store them in air tight container. (In case your mixture is breaking, refer the notes below). This stays good for up to 15 days without refrigeration. 

Notes:

• Sometimes the mixture might turn too powdery & becomes difficult to make balls out of it. In that case, add a couple of teaspoons of warm ghee & mix well. Then make laddus out of it. Some people add warm milk too. But with milk, the shelf life of the laddu reduces. 
• On the contrary, the mixture might become very soft making it difficult to make laddus. In such a case, refrigerate the mixture for 10 mins to make the mixture a bit hard. Make laddus out of it.
• Very soft mixture is an indication that more ghee was added. Reduce the ghee for the next batch! 
• Add dry fruits of your choice to make the laddus rich!