Besan Ladoo for Diwali

Sweets are shared and given as gifts at Diwali, the festival of lights. Besan Ladoo are a classic: roasted gram flour, ghee and sugar are all it takes. In 2026, Diwali falls on Sunday, 8 November.

Ingredients (about 15 ladoo)

• 200 g gram flour (besan)
• 100 g ghee
• 120 g icing sugar
• optional: a pinch of ground cardamom, 2 tbsp grated coconut

How to make them

1. Melt the ghee in a heavy pan over low heat and add the gram flour.
2. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is golden and smells nutty. Keep the heat low, otherwise the flour turns bitter.
3. Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes until it is just lukewarm.
4. Stir in the icing sugar and, if you like, the cardamom and coconut.
5. Shape into balls the size of a walnut. If the mixture is too crumbly, add a teaspoon of melted ghee.

Contains milk (ghee). Keep the ladoo in a tin at room temperature.

Even quicker: mango lassi

Blend 250 g Kesar mango pulp with 250 g plain yoghurt and 100 ml cold milk. Contains milk.

Where to get the ingredients

Gram flour, ghee, grated coconut and mango pulp are in our Diwali selection from Mehtab Indian Store in Hamburg-St. Georg. You can get icing sugar and yoghurt at any supermarket.