Besan Ladoo — Gram Flour Round Sweet (बेसन लड्डू)

Pan-North Indian; associated with festive occasions (Diwali, prasad offerings at temples)

Besan ladoo is among the oldest sweets in the Indian mithai tradition — a sphere of roasted gram flour (besan), ghee, and powdered sugar, held together by the fat content and pressed into balls by hand. The technique is almost entirely about the roasting of besan in ghee: the raw, grassy, legume flavour must be fully cooked out, and the flour must reach a stage described by halwais as 'sugandhit' — fragrant. This takes 15–20 minutes of continuous stirring on medium-low heat. The colour should be a deep golden tan. Too pale and the ladoo tastes of raw flour; too dark and it becomes bitter. The mix is formed into balls while still warm — once cold, the ghee sets and the mixture crumbles rather than binding.

Eaten as prasad (temple offering), festival sweet, and travel food — the dry format makes them shelf-stable for up to a week.