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    Home » Recipes » Sweets

    Boondi ladoo, Diwali sweets recipes

    October 24, 2013 by Raks Anand 61 Comments / Jump to Recipe

    Boondi Ladoo is a traditional sweet made for Diwali and other festivals or special occasions. Step by step pictures post.

    boondi-ladoo-recipe
    Boondi ladoo

    Boondi ladoo is a classic Diwali sweet as well as perfect for special occasions and celebrations, apt for gifting!

    You may also like to check my post on how to make perfect motichoor laddu.

    Jump to:
    • Top tip
    • My notes
    • Shelf life
    • Related posts
    • Recipe card
    • How to make boondi ladoo
    • Making sugar syrup

    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.

    boondi-ladoo

    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.

    Top tip

    • Sieve besan for best results.
    • Adding yellow food color gives bright ladoo, if not it will be pale. I too did not add so it is pale in color. In the video I tried a pinch of turmeric.
    • 2 string consistency is bit tricky. To keep it simple, after one string consistency, continue for 30 seconds to 1 minute in medium flame.
    • Do not boil more than that as the syrup will get thicker and gets difficult for boondi to get soak and absorb syrup.
    • My ladoo has more sugar ratio and gives dry ladoo. Since the syrup is thicker, this is the measurement my mom makes. She says she even adds double the sugar as besan.
    • If you taste as soon as you make ladoo, it may be too sweet. It tastes balanced next day, trust me!
    • Still if you feel sugar is more you can reduce by ¼ cup in this recipe (so use 2 & ¼ cup sugar)
    • If the batter is too thick, you will get boondis with tail. So add more water and try. (add little by little, say a tbsp)
    • When the batter is too watery then the boondis may fall flat. So add more gram flour and try.
    • If oil is not hot, the boondis form clusters.

    My notes

    Nutmeg and edible camphor is optional. But gives best flavors.

    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 cold, the sugar blooms and makes it difficult to shape.

    If Boondi is too much and less sugar syrup, sugar crystalizes fast and makes it difficult to shape.. To trouble shoot this, again make syrup and add to the boondi, warm the mixture slightly and try again.

    Shelf life

    Boondi ladoo stays good for 10 days in room temperature. If you want to store longer, keep refrigerated.

    Related posts

    Check out more besan recipes

    • Besan murukku recipe, kadalai maavu murukku
    • Besan ladoo recipe (Besan laddu) | Diwali sweets
    • Besan coconut burfi recipe
    • Bournvita burfi recipe, Bournvita besan burfi

    Recipe card

    Boondi ladoo recipe
    Print Pin
    4.75 from 4 votes

    Boondi ladoo recipe

    Boondi Ladoo is a traditional sweet made for Diwali and other festivals or special occasions. Step by step pictures post.
    Course Sweets
    Cuisine Indian
    Prep Time 25 minutes
    Cook Time 25 minutes
    Servings 30

    Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)

    • Boondi ladle
    Cup measurements

    Ingredients

    • 1 & ½ cup Gram flour Besan / Kadalai maavu
    • 1 pinch Cooking soda
    • 2 & ½ cup Sugar You can reduce upto 2 & ¼ cups for this recipe
    • 5 Cardamom
    • 5 Cloves
    • 1 small pinch Edible camphor optional
    • 3 drops Rose essence or use 1 teaspoon pure rose water/ panneer
    • 1 pinch Nutmeg powder optional
    • 1 pinch Salt
    • 1 Pinch Yellow food colour optional
    • 10 Cashew nuts
    • 15 Raisin
    • 15 Sugar candy kalkandu
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Sieve besan firstly. 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 ladle with holes to make boondi 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. In addition, 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 every time.
    • 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 1 string consistency. If you swipe the back of ladle and check between ur thumb and forefinger, there will be a string forming in-between the fingers.
    • After that, continue heating in medium flame for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Switch off the stove. This is tricky, but after one string consistency reaches, this stage comes quickly where two string forms. Make sure to keep the flame in medium or low to not pass this stage.
    • Remove from the flame.
    • Add fried boondi to this and mix well. Keep aside.
    • Mean while, fry broken cashews, followed by raisins, cloves and add it to the boondi.
    • In goes edible camphor, cardmaom, nutmeg if adding, sugar candy (kalkandu) and 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. If you want you can grease with ghee.
    • Shape to ladoos, firmly make balls and smoothen the surface as you shape.
    • As it cools, sugar will bloom and ladoo will become dry.
    • The ladoo becomes best tasting and flavorful form next day (well balanced taste).

    Video

    Notes

    • Hold the ladle up from oil well, otherwise you will get tails in the boondi.
    • 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.
    YoutubeDo you like short videos? Subscribe now!
    InstagramMention @rakskitchen or tag #rakskitchen if you have tried this recipe.

    How to make boondi ladoo

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Wipe the ladle both sides as seen below every time. 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

    1. In a heavy bottomed vessel, boil sugar with water enough to immerse it.
    2. Boil until 1 string consistency. If you swipe the back of ladle and check between ur thumb and forefinger, there will be a string forming in-between the fingers.
    3. After that, continue heating in medium flame for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Switch off the stove. This is tricky, but after one string consistency reaches, this stage comes quickly where two string forms. Make sure to keep the flame in medium or low to not pass this stage.
    4. Remove from the flame.
    5. 2-boondi-laddu
    6. Add boondi to this. Fry broken cashews, followed by raisins, cloves and add it to the boondi. Add cardamom, nutmeg... Do not over mix as it might crystallize.
      boondhi-laddu
    7. Add edible camphor as shown very less, powdered between your fingers. In goes kalkandu. Mix well. 4-boondhi-ladoo
    8. 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.
      Old Video on how to shape the ladoo : https://youtu.be/V0-JblWpO9s
    9. 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 in shape. As it cools down, the syrup solidifies becomes dry.
      5-boondhi-ladoo-recipe

    Ladoos stays good for a week in shelf. The flavour gets more better from the next day 😉

    boondi-laddu-recipe

    More Sweets

    • Mysore pak recipe | Traditional Mysore pak, Diwali sweets
    • Gulab jamun recipe ( Gulab jamun with khoya / Kova)
    • Nei urundai recipe, Pasi paruppu laddu,Easy Diwali sweets
    • Easy thin semiya kesari recipe, fine vermicelli kesari

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. AparnaRajeshkumar

      October 24, 2013 at 7:18 am

      kalakitenga ! esp the one u show the ladoo 🙂 too good ! could see how proud u are !

      Reply
    2. Kavitha

      October 24, 2013 at 7:24 am

      Just waiting for this recipe to try for diwali... Looks diff for 1st timers.. Will def give a try...

      Reply
    3. jeyashri suresh

      October 24, 2013 at 7:26 am

      Laddos are my all time fav. Love the addition of kalkandu. Reminds me of Kalyana Ladoo. Nice video and pretty clicks

      Reply
    4. Priya shakthi

      October 24, 2013 at 7:37 am

      WOW LADDO, amazing Raks.... Vattamana Thattu Thattu Neraya Laddoo

      Reply
    5. Veena Theagarajan

      October 24, 2013 at 7:47 am

      wow! perfect shape.. so tempting.. Love it

      Reply
    6. Kaveri Venkatesh

      October 24, 2013 at 7:57 am

      Perfectly made laddoos...looks very tempting!

      Reply
    7. Amruta

      October 24, 2013 at 8:02 am

      thanking you, was waiting for this recipe on your site, definitely going to try it this Diwali

      Reply
    8. vinita

      October 24, 2013 at 8:32 am

      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

      Reply
    9. Priya

      October 24, 2013 at 9:07 am

      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!

      Reply
    10. Raks anand

      October 24, 2013 at 9:36 am

      I am equally excited as well vinita. Thanks so much for ur feedback:)

      Reply
    11. jayasree raj

      October 24, 2013 at 10:15 am

      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?

      Reply
    12. jayasree raj

      October 24, 2013 at 10:17 am

      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?

      Reply
    13. Priya

      October 24, 2013 at 12:27 pm

      Hello Rak,

      Can you please tell me how much sugar and water proposition needed for making that sugar syrup?

      Reply
    14. prathibha Garre

      October 24, 2013 at 12:35 pm

      Pefectly done Ladoos..looks really tempting Raji..:)

      Reply
    15. Lavi Raj

      October 24, 2013 at 2:30 pm

      Super Tempting Perfect Laddu! liked your video too!

      Reply
    16. Nivedhanams Sowmya

      October 24, 2013 at 3:30 pm

      Picture perfect and delicious laddus!!! very helpful step wise pics and a great video!!

      Reply
    17. Shama Nagarajan

      October 24, 2013 at 4:19 pm

      drooling raji

      Reply
    18. indianspicemagic

      October 24, 2013 at 8:04 pm

      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 .

      Reply
    19. indianspicemagic

      October 24, 2013 at 8:24 pm

      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 ?

      Reply
    20. Shreni sudeep

      October 24, 2013 at 10:13 pm

      Thank u so much....Rak...!!! I tried this.. few hours before. It came out really..really..good..once again thanks a lot...

      Reply
    21. R

      October 24, 2013 at 11:17 pm

      they look so festive and delicious!

      Reply
    22. Sathya Priya

      October 24, 2013 at 11:30 pm

      I am a fan of Ladoo.Ladoo looks perfect and very tempting raji.This ladoo reminds me of my mom.Love to have some.

      [email protected]

      Reply
    23. Priti S

      October 25, 2013 at 3:00 am

      Looks just perfect ..love the pics ...wish I was staying near you 😉

      Reply
    24. Sowmya Dinavahi

      October 25, 2013 at 3:38 am

      So authentic raks.. I remember having laddu with kalkandu 🙂 Looks perfect ... you really are pro in authentic recipes ... beautiful clicks too 🙂

      Reply
    25. Raks anand

      October 25, 2013 at 6:53 am

      Thank you very much for taking time to write your instant feedback 🙂

      Reply
    26. Raks anand

      October 25, 2013 at 6:54 am

      Whole cloves fried in ghee along with cashews

      Reply
    27. Raks anand

      October 25, 2013 at 6:57 am

      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.

      Reply
    28. Bindu

      October 25, 2013 at 7:30 am

      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..

      Reply
    29. Shobana Vijay

      October 25, 2013 at 11:18 am

      Super raks Amazing clicks and way of presentation is also good. Lovely sweet for diwali

      Reply
    30. Shreni sudeep

      October 25, 2013 at 1:10 pm

      U TOO....Raks....!

      Reply
    31. Shabitha Karthikeyan

      October 25, 2013 at 4:29 pm

      Perfectly done ! I have never tried making it your looks so good and very tempting !!

      Reply
    32. Subha kumar

      October 25, 2013 at 7:19 pm

      very tempting ladoos. I loved your poondi raji, looks very perfect. Lovely clicks as usual & very nice video as well. thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    33. Priya Suresh

      October 25, 2013 at 10:58 pm

      Even i love with edible camphor,cloves and nutmeg, adding kalakand is my favourite too.

      Reply
    34. Pavithra Lakshminarasimhan

      October 28, 2013 at 9:03 am

      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?

      Reply
    35. suganya ram

      October 29, 2013 at 7:16 am

      Perfect ladoos Rak's. I'm a biggest fan of ur blog. I like all ur recepies.

      Reply
    36. Raks anand

      October 30, 2013 at 12:52 am

      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.

      Reply
    37. Raks anand

      October 30, 2013 at 12:54 am

      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....

      Reply
    38. aish

      October 31, 2013 at 2:57 am

      i have question raks, can we add lemon juice so that the syrup does not crytalsize?

      Reply
    39. Raks anand

      October 31, 2013 at 3:04 am

      Yes you can add.

      Reply
    40. aish

      October 31, 2013 at 8:05 am

      thank u

      Reply
    41. aish

      November 02, 2013 at 7:52 am

      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?

      Reply
    42. SHARMILEE J

      November 07, 2013 at 1:04 am

      Looks great, love the base and clicks too!

      Reply
    43. shamili kannan

      November 18, 2013 at 3:11 pm

      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 :):)

      Reply
    44. Pravina Parikh

      March 26, 2014 at 3:55 am

      Thanks for posting sweet yummy recipe nice pictures

      Reply
    45. Thilak saravanan

      October 29, 2014 at 10:27 am

      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 🙂

      Reply
    46. Sowndarya Lakshmi

      May 25, 2015 at 2:16 am

      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.

      Reply
    47. Raks anand

      May 25, 2015 at 2:17 am

      It could be over cooking only Sowndarya

      Reply
    48. Abitha

      November 05, 2015 at 11:28 am

      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.

      Reply
    49. Raks anand

      November 05, 2015 at 11:35 am

      You can use normal cup to measure both. My one cup is 240ml

      Reply
    50. varsha s

      October 01, 2016 at 7:19 pm

      If me takin 21/2 cup sugar how much water should I take for sugar syrup ?

      Reply
    51. Raks anand

      October 01, 2016 at 7:26 pm

      1 & 1/2 cups water should be fine.

      Reply
    52. Hemakarthik

      November 06, 2016 at 12:21 am

      Hi Raks,
      Tried these for this diwali... Turned out great.. perfect recipe.. Thank you so much

      Reply
    53. Chakra Yogacenter

      July 18, 2017 at 9:41 am

      Hi
      Is cooking soda a must ? Can we get perfect laddu without it ?

      Reply
    54. Chakra Yogacenter

      July 18, 2017 at 9:41 am

      Is cooking soda must ? Can we get perfect laddu without this ?

      Reply
    55. Raks anand

      July 18, 2017 at 9:48 am

      I have not tried 🙂 Why dont you try a small batch, if it doesnt puffs, add soda later and make.

      Reply
    56. Meena Sak

      October 19, 2017 at 10:17 am

      Hi Raks
      My boondhi got stuck to the bottom of the pan?Why is it so?

      Reply
    57. Raks anand

      October 19, 2017 at 11:04 am

      Oil not hot enough.

      Reply
    58. Meena

      November 08, 2020 at 6:00 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Raks Anand

        November 08, 2020 at 7:33 pm

        Thank you so much for taking time to write your feedback 🙂 So happy to know! Happy Diwali to you all

        Reply
    59. Nanthi

      November 13, 2020 at 2:02 pm

      5 stars
      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 !

      Reply
      • Raks Anand

        November 13, 2020 at 3:14 pm

        Wow, thank you so much! Wishing you happy Diwali as well.

        Reply

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    Raks anand

    Hi, I'm Rajeswari Vijayanand! I am the person behind Rakskitchen, sharing recipes with pictures & videos.

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    Raks anand

    Hi, I'm Rajeswari Vijayanand! I am the person behind Rakskitchen, sharing recipes with pictures & videos.

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