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B is for Besan ke Laddoo #BlogchatterA2Z

Do you remember the scene from Coolie in which Amitabh Bachchan tries to prepare French omelette using a recipe shared on the radio? There is much mashing up between the recipe and yogasans, courtesy the tied and hilariously vengeful Rathi Agnihotri. He ends up twisted into a knot, one egg hatched and the others lying untouched alongside. My debut besan ke laddoo making experience, though not as amusing as that, was just as adventurous on all counts. 😛

Besan ke laddoo are sweet balls made using three main ingredients; gram flour, ghee and sugar. Cardamom powder is also usually added to enhance their taste. Although they can be made anytime throughout the year they’re commonly associated with Diwali festivities. Indulgent and sinful, they can be made and stored in an airtight container easily for 10-15 days.

I’ve always tried to cut down on unnecessary calories in my diet even though the sumptuous Marwari cuisine makes it increasingly difficult. After I realised that I couldn’t make a career being an incorrigible gourmand I learned to successfully experiment with healthier options. My Mom though never believed in compromising on taste and texture to healthify any dish. Our back and forth arguments over it were gold for onlookers, read Dad and my brother.

Incidentally, A had a hankering for besan ke laddoo on our first Diwali after marriage. Keen to please my new husband, I rolled up my sleeves and entered the kitchen with gusto. The only catch was, I didn’t know how to make them! After all, they’re high in calories. Why bother, I had assumed. My SOS call to Mom was shocking for her (“Laddoo and you?” She had said) to say the least. However, she patiently explained the recipe to me and asked me to promptly call her when need be.

Excitedly, I took besan and ghee in a pan and started roasting them together on low flame. The mixture remained dry and hardly gave out the famous aroma even after few minutes though. Some of the besan had stubbornly lodged itself on the sides of the pan and turned a shade of brown. The colour was perfect but this wasn’t the laddoo mixture I knew of! I called Mom.

Me: *urgently* Mamma… 🙁

Mom: *calmly* I know, just tell me how much ghee you added.

Me: *offended* Why are you asking this? Listen to me first.

Mom: *now having fun* Darling, I know you. You added half the quantity of ghee than I asked you to, didn’t you? 😀

Me: *speechless* Umm…err… :-/

Mom: *sweetly* A wants to have besan ke laddoo which need both ghee and sugar in copious quantities. Please follow the recipe and make them properly. By the way, eating one won’t hurt you either. You like them too, don’t you? 🙂

I followed her directions to the T after that. Needless to say, her recipe was superb! I earned some brownie (oh, another sweet dish 😉 ) points from A and he lauded my effort generously. Surprisingly, I took one and loved it. Fruit of my labour, after all. 😛 Sometimes we have to give in to temptation and enjoy some guilt-free nirvana moments too, don’t we?

This post is written for #BlogchatterA2Z and #AtoZChallenge for April 2019

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42 thoughts on “B is for Besan ke Laddoo #BlogchatterA2Z

  1. I have a sweet tooth and those in your post images made me drool. And as you are probably aware from my posts I have diabetes and cannot afford to indulge my palette. I am sitting in office right now and your narrative made me want to make a quick dash to the nearby eatery and try out a laddoo or two. But then it wouldn’t be homemade and I would have to pay the price later. So I desisted. Enjoyed reading this.

    1. Quite an impressive self-control you have for loving but also avoiding sweets. May be I’ll make some and give you when we meet, Jai. Be assured I’ll keep then healthy and tasty for you. 🙂

  2. Besan ka laddoo is one of my favourite dishes. I like it, like your recipe, without babool gum.

    You’ve a way of story telling. Great narration, Varsha 🙂

  3. Post marraige on my first Diwali me and my fil decided to make this fab dish as a surprise for the family. It looked delicious only the ghee content went up and besan was not completely roasted. So it was redone again. But it tasted the best ?

    1. Ah, now that’s one fun tale and makes me feel good that I’m not the only one. 😉 How sweet is it that your fil joined you in making them!

  4. How precious these memories are, they always bring a smile on our face?. I love both making and eating these ladoos, to lessen the calorie consumption I make them small in size ?

    1. I love besan ke laddoo too Dips, but you know how particular I’ve become about my diet. 🙁
      After writing this post I’m really tempted to make a batch, if only a small one. 😉

  5. Loved the narration. It is so innocent and heartfelt. It felt like I was visualizing the entire scene. I love Besan ke laddoo but my 3.5 yr is obsessed with the laddoos. I showed him the pics. Now he’s told me to make laddoos like Varsha aunty. He’s already your fan.

    1. Aww, tell the little Prince that I’m his fan too! Will surely treat him with them if we meet but till then please do the needful for my cutest fan. Eeesh, feels strange saying it really. 😛 Thanks for reading, Sonia. 🙂

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