I have adapted this recipe from Chef Chinu Vaze's 'Besan Che Laddoo'.

To enhance the nutty flavour of the laddoos, I have made a few additions to the recipe and it turned out utterly moist and delicious. The flavor of roasted gram flour when blended along with til seeds and dry fruits came out really well.

INGREDIENTS

500gms Besan (gram flour)

50 gms semolina (suji / rava)

220gms Desi ghee (clarified butter)

225gms Jaggery powder

5-6 cardamoms, roasted and powdered

40gms Til seeds (sesame seeds)

40gms Flaxseeds

50gms Almonds

50gms Walnuts

50gms Cashews

1/2 - 3/4 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp powdered nutmeg

METHOD

In a pan, lightly roast the dry fruits on low flame until fragrant. Lightly roast til seeds and flaxseeds separately on low flame. Once the dry fruits and seeds are rested well, grind the dry fruits and seeds finely.

In a heavy bottom pan, add besan and ghee. We will add 1 tbsp ghee at a time. Roasting besan will take approximately 40-45 minutes and keep stirring continuously as besan has the tendency to burn if left unattended. Add more ghee if besan looks too dry.

When besan is almost 85-90% done, add suji, mix well and roast further. This gives a crunchy texture to the laddoos. The color should look like mustard towards brown and start to smell nutty. At this point, turn off the flame and transfer the roasted besan into another pan and leave it to cool down.

While besan is still warm, add dry fruit and seeds powder, black pepper, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder and jaggery powder. Mix all the ingredients evenly and shape into laddoos.

NOTES

Feel free to use nuts and seeds of choice.

You can omit flaxseeds if it doesn't befit you.

Once the besan is roasted well, transfer the mixture to another pan since the pan is still hot and besan will continue to cook.