Sugarless Besan Ladoo : A Healthy Chickpea Gluten Free Recipe

besan ladoo

Is chickpea gluten free?

This is one of the most common question asked by few besan lovers.

I have always been fond of besan (gram flour) ladoos. But hubby doesn't find them interesting enough to relish them. Yes, I am not joking. He loves boondi ladoos. So I have never tried making besan ladoos before.

This Diwali, I wanted to give my favorite ladoos a try. But yes, the health freak in me questioned whether I was really prepared to give in my health goals to relish my favorite besan ladoos. Then the thought of giving a twist to these ladoos struck my imagination.

The rest is history - the besan ladoos use just 1 tbsp of ghee (clarified butter) with no SUGAR. Yes, I have given myself the freedom to substitute sugar with dates in this recipe as well. Dates lend subtle sweetness to the recipe! So you can enjoy the delicacy guilt free!

To my surprise, when I offered hubby to taste them, he said "these are really good."

Need I ask for more?

But I must tell you no sugar does not make it a diabetic friendly recipe.
There are many things that decide whether a recipe is diabetes friendly. Since this recipe uses natural sugar in the form of dates, this does not qualify for diabetes recipes.

But yes, for once in a while indulgence, this sugarless besan ladoo recipe is healthy and worth considering - a better, healthier alternative to sugar ladoos for diabetics or non-diabetics.

Yes, dates do contain dietary fiber,which gives it hands up in comparison to refined sugar, which does not have fiber. They also provide potassium, copper, magnesium, manganese, and vitamin B-6.

If you are fond of besan, you may want to try healthy chickpea gluten free cookies.

Let's go to the healthy recipe now:

healthy ladoo

Besan Ladoo Ingredients
1 cup mota besan (thick gram flour)
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) - you may add more for quicker roasting of besan
10-15 dates (khajur)
10-15 almonds
1 tsp flax seeds powder (alsi)
1 cup water (for boiling dates)

besan ladoo

Besan Ladoo Process

1. Take a pan. 
2. Add dates and almonds.
3. Keep them for boiling for 5-8 minutes. We want to make dates soft so that it is easy to grind.
4. Switch off the flame. Remove dates and almonds from water.
5. De-seed dates and uncover almonds (remove the almond skin).
6. Keep these aside.
7. Take a pan.
8. Add ghee.
9. Next, add besan.
10. Start roasting on a low flame.
11. Keep stirring so that besan doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
12. Add flax powder when besan is almost roasted. 
13. Sprinkle just a few drops of water once besan is roasted.
14. Add dates and almonds. Mix well and grind.
15. You may grind dates and almond separately and then mix with roasted besan.
16. Mix very well - just as you knead dough.
17. Make ladoo shapes and enjoy this healthy besan ladoo recipe.

Of course, nothing can beat the taste of authentic recipes, but this one certainly offers bliss to someone watching their sugar intake.

Here's some feedback on the no sugar chickpea flour recipes vegan by Sangeeta Chandra, an awesome baker herself:

You may also want to check authentic besan burfi recipe. Check it here
Check baked besan burfi recipe here.