Butterscotch Besan Laddoo

Diwali without the aroma of ghee roasted besan does not get accounted for at our home. This year wont be different was my promise, but keeping in the view of new normal world, I gathered some courage to walk the unknown path. 

My family is up for the food experiments, so that was taken care of, in terms of them agreeing for a change , but time is not my best friend off late, so essentially I had one chance of making the sweets and savories at home. 

The basic besan laddoo recipe can be found here

Butterscotch flavored besan laddoo, was an idea I had been toying for a while. Over the years, my mother has experimented with the recipes of besan laddoo to make it more flavorful, crunchier , non sticky and melt in the mouth. 

That is the definition of best besan laddoo - additionally cannot be greasy to touch or powder like to eat. 




Ingredients

3 cups coarsely ground besan (coarser than rava)
1 cup cow's ghee
1 1.2  cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butterscotch granules 
1/4 cup butterscotch praline / buuterscotch granules 

1/4 cup dry fruits - kaju, badam, pista and raisins

For butterscotch praline

2 tbsp cream
2 tbsp ghee/ butter
2 tbsp brown sugar

Method

1) To make the butterscotch praline, heat a nonstick pan, add sugar. Do not stir/ mix until the sugar starts melting.

2) Toss around the sugar until it is fully melted and changes a shade darker, add butter and stir quickly. Take the pan off the flame, (Stay at a distance from the pan, as it may start bubbling). Add cream and let it cook for another 20-30 sec. Let it cool down. 

3) When the praline cools down, crush it - using a mixie, or crush it using a rolling pin. Set aside (You can use store bought butterscotch granules, 

4)  Roast the besan on very low flame , using ghee ,as required - 20-25 min - This is the most laborious and time consuming step but important to be done patiently . My tip* here is to avoid adding ghee - it takes a while longer, but the besan gets cooked from within before changing color from outside. Gradually add ghee to aid your roasting

5) I prefer the besan laddoo to be of golden amber color. Roast it one shade darker* , this will ensure that your end result , when sugar is mixed , looks the color you wanted to see.

6) Once the besan is roasted, let it cool down completely. Add the sugar, praline, butterscotch, mixed dried fruits.

7) Keep a couple of tbsp melted ghee handy, 

8) Using the base of your hands, to lightly knead through the mixture. This warms up the mixture an aides in the binding process. 

9) Once you get the best shape to your laddoos*...use one hand to toss it in your palm, this gives the laddoo a good glow as the ghee settles on the edges. Lightly place it in the container to set and hold its shape.


Your laddoos are ready


Golden tips

1) If the mixture is too mushy, let it sit in a cool dry place. Add dried cashew/almond powder. Worse case, add dry roasted besan flour with no ghee (microwave for 10 min in spurts of 1 min each-stirring after each round in microwave)

2) If the mixture is very dry, then add a few drops of melted hot ghee , upto 2 tbsp max

3) If the laddo is not holding its shape, let them sit in the refrigerator before shaping them. Post that consume them within a week or 2 , also preferably store them in the refrigerator

4) Avoid using Buffalo milk's ghee, as it sometimes tends to make the laddoos lose their shape. 

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