Boondi ladoo - Golden, sweet and totally irresistible bites beautifully enhanced with the aromatic flavor of cardamom. Adorned with speckles of raisins, these traditional sweet balls are fun and easy to make. Without a doubt, these are the ultimate masterpieces for any sweet occasion.
I’m super excited about today’s recipe for two reasons. One, this is one of my most favorite traditional Indian sweets. Second, these sweet boondis (the small yellow pearls) are going to be the part of an amazing recipe coming up on the blog very soon. Stay tuned.
Although I don’t have many Indian sweet recipes on the blog, I’m a real fan of all things sweet. Usually, I do not make any sweets at home. You know, creating the traditional masterpieces is such a time consuming process. So, whenever I miss my favorites, I just grab a box of sweets from the local Indian sweet shop.
However, one fine morning, when kids were on holidays, I decided to try the homemade version of the traditional boondi ladoo. Yes, yet another chapter of my culinary adventure. And surprisingly, I created the perfect ladoos out of sweet boondis soaked in divine sugar syrup. Believe me, these are the best ladoos I’ve ever eaten.
Oh gosh, I just can’t wait to tell you all about creating the perfect ladoos. Best of all, I’ve some serious tips just for you to help you create the perfect sweet each and every time.
Like many Indian sweets, this boondi ladoo recipe also starts with the simple sugar syrup. Boil sugar and water in a saucepan. Once sugar dissolves, turn down the heat to low and simmer until the syrup reaches one thread consistency. Make sure you keep this syrup hot to soak the boondis.
Now, to the boondis. Usually, I make sugar syrup and boondis at the same time. While sugar syrup is simmering to reach the right consistency, I heat oil for deep frying in another pan and start to prepare the batter. The batter is a simple smooth mixture of besan (chickpea flour) and water.
Use a ladle or small pan with lots of holes to pour batter into the hot oil. The size of the boondis will differ depending on the size of the holes. You can add a little saffron to the batter to add a deep yellow color to the boondis. I don’t usually use artificial colors in these ladoos.
The fried boondis go straight into the hot sugar syrup. Make boondi ladoo out of the soaked boondis. Even though this recipe only makes 15 ladoos, you can easily double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd.
Lastly, here are a few tips to make perfect ladoos:
- Make sure sugar syrup is hot enough to soak boondis
- If sugar syrup cools down, heat it over low flame
- When frying boondis, make sure they do not get too crispy. If the boondis are too crisp, add a few tablespoons of hot water to soften them
More Indian sweets:
- Bread Gulab Jamun
- 2 Ingredient Rava Gulab Jamun
- Boondi Ladoo
- Mysore Pak (Chickpea Fudge)
- Beetroot Halwa
- Coconut Ladoo
- Layered Coconut Burfi
- Chocolate Stuffed Coconut Ladoo
- Rabri Ice Cream
- Coconut Burfi Ice Cream
- Beetroot Halwa Trifle
Boondi Ladoo | Video
Ingredients
Sugar syrup:
- 1 and ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup water
Boondi ladoo:
- 1 cup besan gram or chickpea flour
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom cardamom powder
- 1 tablespoon raisins or chopped almonds or cashew nuts
- Oil to deep fry
Instructions
Sugar syrup:
- Place sugar and water in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for few minutes or until the syrup reaches one thread consistency. (Apply a little sugar syrup to your thumb and index finger. Be careful as sugar syrup will be very hot. Pull apart your fingers gently to form a single thread that doesn't break). Once the syrup reaches the required consistency, remove from heat. But make sure you keep it hot.
Make boondi ladoo:
- Place flour in a bowl. Add water little by little to make smooth lump-free batter. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat oil for deep frying in a large frypan. Hold a perforated pan or ladle over the oil. Pour a spoonful of batter in the ladle. Using a spoon, gently press down to allow droplets of batter fall into the hot oil. Fry boondis until they are golden. Do not overfry. Remove with a slotted spoon.
- Add fried boondis straight to the hot sugar syrup. Continue with the rest of the batter, and add fried boondis to the hot sugar syrup. Allow to soak for about 10-15 minutes.
- When the boondis are soft, and the sugar syrup has cooled down slightly, stir in ground cardamom and raisins. You can also add the nuts if you are using. Apply a little oil on the palm of your hands, and make 15 small round balls. The ladoos will harden when they are cooled completely.
Video
Nutrition
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