The Jain Ahimsa Initiative

Fudgy Besan Ladoo

Ladoo made using coconut sugar and vegan butter. It feels soft like fudge.

Recipe by Hina Dudhia

Fudgy Besan Ladoo
Prep
10 min
Cook
30 min
Cuisine
Indian
Contains
nuts

Ingredients

  • 250 g besan/gram flour
  • 230 g coconut sugar
  • 175 g Naturli vegan butter, melted (or any other vegan butter) (refer to recipe on page...)
  • 100 ml water
  • ½ tsp cardamom powder
  • Almonds and pistachios sliced thinly as needed

Method

  1. Sieve the besan flour to remove any lumps.
  2. Place a heavy bottom pan on medium heat and add the flour. Keep stirring to prevent it from burning. Roast until the color goes a little darker. You will smell the aroma. This will take about 15 minutes. (I listened to Lata Mangeshkar to make time fly by!)
  3. Remove the roasted flour into a large bowl.
  4. Add the water to the same pan and once it comes to a boil add the coconut sugar. Keep stirring until the sugar has melted and it becomes a thick syrup.
  5. Once it has reached one thread consistency (chashni), quickly add the cooled besan flour, melted butter, and the cardamom powder.
  6. Mix it quickly trying to remove any lumps and till the ingredients have combined well.
  7. Grease a 6-inch diameter stainless steel plate.
  8. Spread the mixture into this plate. Pat it down.
  9. Sprinkle the chopped/sliced nuts and pat down again.
  10. Let it cool and then slice into bite-size squares using a sharp knife. You can cut into approximately 20 bite-size pieces.

Notes

I used Naturli butter (UK) as it doesn't contain palm oil but any vegan butter will do. I made it with coconut sugar as it's supposed to be healthier and gives a deep chocolatey feel.

Personal note/story: I try to cut sugar intake from my ingredients where I can. Knowing that this recipe is still not healthy but it is still good as a treat. The first time I made this was during the pandemic and lockdown. My entire family loved it then and they still enjoy it today.

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