Boondi Ladoo is a traditional sweet made for Diwali and other festivals or special occasions. Step by step pictures post.
I have helped my mom making Boondi ladoo from my childhood. I love making this and enjoyed the process every time. Especially shaping part is so much fun. I used to feel so proud shaping the ladoos myself as well as helping my mom. My mom wrote and kept in the recipe notebook and passed it to me. After trying sweet boondi successfully, I wanted to make this ladoo too.
Did not want to rush it last year, so thought of making this year. Happy that it came out great too. I have a helping video too for shaping the ladoo, to show how I shape it. I use only one hand to shape ladoo as I learnt that way. So the size of the ladoo also relative to that. How about the taste? It taste so divinely! With cloves, rose water and edible camphor as main flavouring ingredients, it comes out amazingly flavorful just like we eat in marriages.
Boondi ladoo not binding
If the boondi is fried for long time, turns crisp and is not soft, it will be difficult to shape the ladoo.
Even if the syrup consistency has not reached the required thickness, it wont hold shape.
If the boondi gets too cold, the sugar blooms and makes it difficult to shape.
Boondi is too much and less sugar syrup. To trouble shoot this, again make syrup and add to the boondi, warm the mixture slightly and try again.
Boondi Ladoo
Boondi Ladoo is a traditional sweet made for Diwali and other festivals or special occasions. Step by step pictures post.
Servings 30
Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)
- Boondi ladle
Ingredients
- 1 & ½ cup Besan/ Kadalai maavu / bengal gram dal flour
- 1 pinch Sodium bi carbonate
- 2 & ½ cup Sugar
- 5 Cardamom
- 5 Cloves
- 1 small pinch Edible camphor optional
- 3 drops Rose essence or use 2 tsp pure rose water/ panneer
- 1 pinch Nutmeg powder optional
- 1 pinch Salt
- Yellow food colour – A small pinch optional
- 10 Cashew nuts
- 15 Raisin – 15
- 15 Sugar candy (diamond kalkandu) kalkandu
Instructions
- Sieve besan, add cooking soda (sodium bi carbonate), salt, food colour and mix with water in a bowl. The consistency should not be too thick or too thin. Just right enough to get through the holes of the ladle easily.
- Heat oil and use a big slotted spoon to make boondis as shown below. You will be needing two big ladles with holes as seen in the picture below(slotted) . One for making boondi and one for draining from oil. Use another deep ladle to spoon the batter.
- Pour one ladle of batter over the ladle with hole holding it just above the oil and spread it. Make sure to hold the ladle high enough. If its too close, tails will be forming in the boondi.
- Wipe the ladle with the karandi as seen below everytime. Fry with constant turning to ensure even cooking and drain once the bubbles ceases, no need to wait until it gets very crispy. Just make sure its cooked.
- Drain in paper towel. Repeat to finish the batter.
- Then start with the sugar syrup now. In a heavy bottomed vessel, boil sugar with water enough to immerse it. Boil until 2 string consistency. If you swipe the back of ladle and check between ur thumb and forefinger, there will be two strings forming in-between the fingers. Or you can keep a small bowl of water and pour a little syrup in it, it will not dissolve and you can move the syrup and gather it. Switch off the stove. This is tricky, but after one string consistency reaches, this stage comes quickly. Make sure to keep the flame in medium or low to not pass this stage.
- You can add a tsp of lemon juice to prevent crystallization. Add the cardamom powder and remove from the flame. Add essence if adding to it. You can add food colour in syrup too.
- Add boondi to this. Fry broken cashews, followed by raisins, cloves and add it to the boondi. Do not over mix as it might crystallize.
- Add edible camphor as shown very less, powdered between your fingers, add nutmeg if desired. Add kalkandu. Mix well.
- When the boondi is warm enough to handle, make laddoos. Do not let the mixture cool down. Please refer the video below to see how I shape the ladoos.
- I use gloves, but its optional, you can use your bare hands. No need to grease your hands. Just squeeze and press to roll the ladoos, the syrup will ooze out while you roll and it helps in holding the ladoos as it cools down, the syrup solidifies and holds the boondis together to ladooooo 🙂
Video
Notes
- Hold the ladle up from oil well, otherwise you will get tails in the boondi.
- Adding colours is optional, you can make it plain.
- Cloves, edible camphor and essence is optional. Smells great even simply with cardamom too. But I like it with all these 🙂
- If the batter is too thick, you will get boondis with tail. So add more water and try.
- If the batter is too watery then the boondis may fall flat. So add more gram flour and try.
- Start making ladoos as soon as its warm enough to handle.
- Do not add cashews, rasins or kalkandu more as it would be difficult while shaping ladoos.
- Also be careful while adding edible camphor. If you add more, it would be over powering.
- Reasons for sugar crystallizing and not able to make ladoo :
a)Sugar syrup not made in medium flame.b)Boondi is too much for the sugar syrup.c)Letting boondi cooldown too much.d)Boondi fried until crispy and not soft.
Boondi ladoo Method
- Sieve besan, add cooking soda (sodium bi carbonate), salt, food colour and mix with water in a bowl. The consistency should not be too thick or too thin. Just right enough to get through the holes of the ladle easily.
- Heat oil and use a big slotted spoon to make boondis as shown below. You will be needing two big ladles with holes as seen in the picture below(slotted) . One for making boondi and one for draining from oil. Use another deep ladle to spoon the batter. Pour one ladle of batter over the ladle with hole holding it just above the oil and spread it. Make sure to hold the ladle high enough. If its too close, tails will be forming in the boondi.
- Wipe the ladle with the karandi as seen below everytime. Fry with constant turning to ensure even cooking and drain once the bubbles ceases, no need to wait until it gets very crispy. Just make sure its cooked. Drain in paper towel. Repeat to finish the batter.
Making sugar syrup:
- Then start with the sugar syrup now. In a heavy bottomed vessel, boil sugar with water enough to immerse it. Boil until 2 string consistency.
- If you swipe the back of ladle and check between ur thumb and forefinger, there will be two strings forming in-between the fingers.
- Or you can keep a small bowl of water and pour a little syrup in it, it will not dissolve and you can move the syrup and gather it. Switch off the stove.
- This is tricky, but after one string consistency reaches,this stage comes quickly. Make sure to keep the flame in medium or low to not pass this stage.
- You can add a tsp of lemon juice to prevent crystallization. Add the cardamom powder and remove from the flame. Add essence if adding to it. You can add food colour in syrup too.
- Add boondi to this. Fry broken cashews, followed by raisins, cloves and add it to the boondi. Do not over mix as it might crystallize.
- Add edible camphor as shown very less, powdered between ur fingers, add nutmeg if desired. Add kalkandu. Mix well.
- When the boondi is warm enough to handle, make laddoos. Do not let the mixture cool down. Please refer the video below to see how I shape the ladoos. I use gloves, but its optional, you can use your bare hands. No need to grease your hands. Just squeeze and press to roll the ladoos, the syrup will ooze out while you roll and it helps in holding the ladoos as it cools down, the syrup solidifies and holds the boondis together to ladooooo 🙂
Ladoos stays good for a week in shelf. The flavour gets more better from the next day 😉
kalakitenga ! esp the one u show the ladoo 🙂 too good ! could see how proud u are !
Just waiting for this recipe to try for diwali… Looks diff for 1st timers.. Will def give a try…
Laddos are my all time fav. Love the addition of kalkandu. Reminds me of Kalyana Ladoo. Nice video and pretty clicks
WOW LADDO, amazing Raks…. Vattamana Thattu Thattu Neraya Laddoo
wow! perfect shape.. so tempting.. Love it
Perfectly made laddoos…looks very tempting!
thanking you, was waiting for this recipe on your site, definitely going to try it this Diwali
Madam madam made it just now n I gotttttt ittttttt.im so happy n jumping dhinka chika dhinka chika.ur super hit mam so r ur receipessssss.ur blog superhit n im biggest fan of it.never even dreamt dat I can make boondi ladoooooo.ah! Top of da world
Thanks a lot. As promised you have posted the recipe. The ladoos look yummy, I am going to try out the recipe over the weekend. Thanks a ton!
I am equally excited as well vinita. Thanks so much for ur feedback:)
perfect ladoo Rak..I loved it very much,I will try tis one for Diwali..one doubt madam,adding cloves in powder form or fully?
perfect ladoo Rak..I loved it very much,I will try tis one for Diwali..one doubt madam,adding cloves in powder form or fully?
Hello Rak,
Can you please tell me how much sugar and water proposition needed for making that sugar syrup?
Pefectly done Ladoos..looks really tempting Raji..:)
Super Tempting Perfect Laddu! liked your video too!
Picture perfect and delicious laddus!!! very helpful step wise pics and a great video!!
drooling raji
Hi Raks,
My friend ramya used to as me for recipes and appreciated me on seeing my blog . I told her I m not even a drop a drop in this big ocean what would you say if you see raks kitchen and sharmis passion etc . Now a days she says for perfect measurements in veg recipes she refers raks kitchen and for non veg sharmis passion .
I tried your easy tomato chutney many times and visit your web daily . Hats off to your work . Your post on traditional recipes is a easy ref for all of us who stay away from home and wish to learn it . One tough question ! How do you remain slim even after eating all the delicacies prepared by you ?
Thank u so much….Rak…!!! I tried this.. few hours before. It came out really..really..good..once again thanks a lot…
they look so festive and delicious!
I am a fan of Ladoo.Ladoo looks perfect and very tempting raji.This ladoo reminds me of my mom.Love to have some.
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Looks just perfect ..love the pics …wish I was staying near you 😉
So authentic raks.. I remember having laddu with kalkandu 🙂 Looks perfect … you really are pro in authentic recipes … beautiful clicks too 🙂
Thank you very much for taking time to write your instant feedback 🙂
Whole cloves fried in ghee along with cashews
Priya, water proportion is not that important, it only determines the time taken to get your consistency Anyways, 1 & 1/2 cup for your reference. More water – long time it will take to get consistency, less water – you will get your consistency sooner. But too little will anyways not advice able.
Absolutely agree with you vinita… Raks Rocks!! amazing blog she has and a superb collection of recipes.. step by step pics really help newbies like us… Love u Raji!! was waiting for ur boondi laddu recipe…. will definitely try it out on Diwali..
Super raks Amazing clicks and way of presentation is also good. Lovely sweet for diwali
U TOO….Raks….!
Perfectly done ! I have never tried making it your looks so good and very tempting !!
very tempting ladoos. I loved your poondi raji, looks very perfect. Lovely clicks as usual & very nice video as well. thanks for sharing.
Even i love with edible camphor,cloves and nutmeg, adding kalakand is my favourite too.
I made it the same way as u said, but boondhi did not absorb the syrup properly so was not able to make shapes and also sugar syrup got crystallized during first batch. Any suggestions?
Perfect ladoos Rak's. I'm a biggest fan of ur blog. I like all ur recepies.
I think u fried the boondis crips. This should not be crisp so act quickly and once it's cooked remove from oil. And reg crystallization as I mentioned in the post do all the boondis first and lastly prepare sugar syrup and add boondis bully then mix. If you prepare and keep the sugar syrup and keep mixing the boondis it will get crystallized soon. Stirring, I mean after removing from fire, makes sugar syrup crystallize.
Still if it's not crystallized too much you can heat it up little bit and act quickly to make laddoos. May be u passed the required stage also….
i have question raks, can we add lemon juice so that the syrup does not crytalsize?
Yes you can add.
thank u
raks,i made laddu & it came out good.I am very happy.Thank you for sharing ur tips.Even very small tips were useful!Do you know how many days these laddus will stay good?Do inhave to refrigerate it?
Looks great, love the base and clicks too!
Hi Raks, Thank you for posting this recipe. I tried it yesterday at home. It came out really good. I am really happy. Thank you so much :):)
Thanks for posting sweet yummy recipe nice pictures
Yesterday tried it and it failed due to syrup crystalized.
Tried again today correcting yesterday mistakes and came out well.Very happy,finally I could able to do ladoo..most of credit goes to you and your simple recipe. Even guy like me could do these home made sweets.thanks again..keep up the good work 🙂
Hi Raji
My boondhi was hard but normal round shape. Was it because of overcooking and the besan flour was not fresh one. Please share your thoughts on this.
It could be over cooking only Sowndarya
Want to try this . 1 cup of besan will be around 125 g and sugar will be around 200g . am I correct?
or can we use a normal cup to measure both besan flour and sugar.
You can use normal cup to measure both. My one cup is 240ml
If me takin 21/2 cup sugar how much water should I take for sugar syrup ?
1 & 1/2 cups water should be fine.
Hi Raks,
Tried these for this diwali… Turned out great.. perfect recipe.. Thank you so much
Hi
Is cooking soda a must ? Can we get perfect laddu without it ?
Is cooking soda must ? Can we get perfect laddu without this ?
I have not tried 🙂 Why dont you try a small batch, if it doesnt puffs, add soda later and make.
Hi Raks
My boondhi got stuck to the bottom of the pan?Why is it so?
Oil not hot enough.
Thank you for the recipe, tips and video. The ladoos came out well. Family enjoyed it. I have been following your recipes for a long time. It turns out well every single time. Fool proof recipes.
Thank you so much for taking time to write your feedback 🙂 So happy to know! Happy Diwali to you all
Hi Raji,
I made this today . Only half measurement of yours as this is the first time I’m making. It came out so well. I’ll post the pic to your messenger.
Thank you
Happy Diwali to everyone !
Wow, thank you so much! Wishing you happy Diwali as well.