Ladoo is a ball-shaped sweet you can find at any Indian festivity – from Diwali to Holi. The versatile mithai is made of any type of flour and ghee. Its fun shape and delicious taste makes the laddoo a South Asian favorite.
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Culture
Ladoos are popular sweets during an Indian celebration, such as a wedding or a family get-together. Holidays such as Diwali also feature laddoos as a sweet given to guests or relatives.
Ladoos also have a religious use – they are often laid at the altar of Hindu gods at temples or offered as prasad (blessed food) at holy ceremonies, like pujas.
Boondi laddoos at a religious puja.
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Ingredients
The basic ingredient in a laddoo is the flour. Gram flour, besan (chickpea) flour, and rava (wheat) flour can all be used to make a laddoo. Sweetened boondi (fried chickpea flour) can even be used to make the sugary, orange boondi laddoo.
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The flour is mixed with hot ghee (melted butter) and rolled into a sphere. Nuts, such as pistachios or almonds, are often used as decor when placed on top of a rolled laddoo.
Variations
Ladoos are named based on the type of flour used to make them. Rava laddoos are made from rava (wheat) flour, while besan and boondi laddoos are made from chickpea flour and fried, sweet chickpea flour respectively.
They are also flexible in terms of how they’re decorated. Anything from nuts to dried fruit can be mixed in or used as a topping.
Montichoor boondi laddoos, made with dried fruit.
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Check out the rest of the Indian mithais and become a dessert expert.