Motichoor Ladoo
Apr 23, 2020
Motichoor Ladoo has tiny boondi made from besan (gram flour) that are fried in ghee and then mixed with a sugar syrup. This popular Indian sweet is a dessert for special occasions!
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Motichoor Ladoo is a popular Indian sweet, made with besan (gram flour).
It’s one of my favorite sweets which I make for special occasions and is mouthwatering good!
I have mentioned this often that as a kid I was a very non-picky eater (and I am still the same!). I used to eat all veggies but the only thing I was picky was sweets.
I only liked 3 Indian sweets as a kid – rasmalai, besan ladoo and motichoor ladoo. These three were my absolute favorite and I didn’t care much for others.
It’s a different story now though. I guess being married to someone who has a massive sweet tooth does change a lot of things!
So, even though I like all sorts of sweets now, the motichoor ladoo remains my absolute favorite!
What is Motichoor Ladoo
Ladoos refers to anything round and sweet and we make a lot of ladoos. I already have several recipes on my blog and there are so many more.
Basically grains, lentils, dried fruits, nuts etc. everything can be converted into a ladoo.
Motichoor ladoo are made with gram flour or besan as we call it.
Tiny drops of chickpea flour (boondi) are deep fried and then mixed with a sugar syrup and then shaped into round balls.
It’s not difficult but like with every Indian sweet, you need some practice and patience to get it right.
How to Make Perfect Motichoor Ladoo
One of the most important things that you would need to make the perfect looking motichoor ladoo at home is a “motichoor ladoo jhara“.
It’s kind of a ladle (usually made with iron or other metal) with very fine holes. You need the one with tiniest holes for this recipe.
They come in different “hole numbers” like you need number 0 for motichoor ladoo. The bigger the hole number, the bigger are the holes and the bigger your boondi will be.
You can make the recipe using a ladle with bigger holes too but then that would not be motichoor ladoo, it would be boondi ladoo. You need very tiny boondi for this ladoo and for that you need this jhara.
And where do you find this jhara? I got mine from India from a store selling kitchen appliances. I just asked for the one with the smallest hole.
Second, if possible have two people make the ladoo. Let one person pour the batter and the other one tap the jhara with force so that the tiny balls fall rapidly into hot oil.
The person holding the jhara has to start tapping on the ladle as soon as the other person pours the batter.
You can do this alone but having two will make it much easier.
Make a thin flowing batter for these ladoos. It should fall on it’s own as you tap on the jhara.
Do not over-cook the boondis. Since these are very tiny boondi, they need to be fried for like 30 to 40 seconds only. You don’t want them to change color.
Don’t look for any consistency in sugar syrup. Just let the sugar dissolve and mixture come to a boil. Then turn off heat, add the fried boondi and cook on lowest heat until the sugar syrup reduced a bit.
Hold the jhara 3 to 4 inches above oil as you pour the batter. If you hold it very high, the resulting boondi might be flat.
Clean the jhara (ladle) with a wet cloth, wipe it completely clean between frying each batch. If you don’t do that, the boondis might clump together in hot oil.
Fry the boondi in ghee. The ghee in these ladoos is what gives them their amazing taste. So fry in ghee, and if you don’t want to do 100% ghee, you can use half oil and half ghee.
The traditional motichoor ladoo in India are often orange colored and hence I have added some food color here.
If you don’t want to add the color, simply skip.
Flavoring the Ladoo
These ladoos can be flavored with saffron, cardamom, rose water, kewra water etc.
If you ask me, the main flavor comes from the besan and ghee. So frying in ghee is must.
I have added some kewra water and cardamom powder in the sugar syrup. You can add rose water if you don’t have kewra water.
Melon seeds are also often added to these ladoo, however since I didn’t have them I skipped on those.
I hope you guys give these motichoor ladoos a try, they are not difficult trust me. You just need the right ladle to make the tiny boondis and of course some patience! 🙂
Method
1- To a large bowl add besan and food color (I used orange food color).
2- Then add little ghee and mix.
3- Start adding water.
4- Add around 1/2 cup (120 ml) to first form a thick batter without lumps. Then add 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water and mix well. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes.
5- Then add remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water and mix. So the total that I used in this batter was 120 ml + 45 ml +45 ml = 210 ml.
6- Batter should be very thin and flowing consistency with no lumps.
7- Heat ghee in a kadai on medium-high heat.
Hold the jhara 3-4 inches above the oil. I use a canister and then place the jhara on top to give it support (see picture).
It also helps to have the support when you shake the jhara vigorously after pouring the batter. The handle of the jhara should be placed on the canister.
8- Fill a ladle with the batter, my ladle was big so I have filled it only half here.
9 & 10- Once ghee is hot, start pouring the batter through the jhara. Ask someone to help you.
11- They should pour the batter on jhara and you should move it up and down quickly (with the handle of the jhara placed on canister) to drop all batter in hot ghee in the kadai. Please see pictures for reference.
12- Let the tiny boondis cook in hot ghee for 30 to 40 seconds only, color should not change.
13- Remove fried boondi in a large sieve. Repeat until all tiny boondis are fried and batter is over. Remember to completely wipe clean the jhara with a wet cloth between frying each batch else the boondis can clump up. Set aside.
14- To make the syrup, to a large kadai, add sugar and water. Add cardamom powder, kewra water (or rose water).
15- Also add lemon juice and food color, if using.
16- Let the sugar dissolve and mixture come to a boil.
17- As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add the fried boondi to the pan. Stir and then turn on the heat again with heat set to lowest setting.
18- Cook on lowest heat for around 3 minutes, stirring continuously. You don’t want to dry the boondi but the excess sugar syrup should become less. It takes around 2 to 3 minutes.
Don’t overcook it else the boondi will dry out and won’t be soft from inside.
19- Remove on a plate and let cool completely. You can add melon seeds now. I didn’t have any.
20- Once the mixture has cooled down, take a small portion of the boondi mixture and roll between your palms to make motichoor ladoo. Repeat with the remaining boondi.
You would get around 12 to 15 ladoos from this.
Enjoy these Motichoor Ladoo as a special treat!
If you’ve tried this Motichoor Ladoo Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in October 2015.
Motichoor Ladoo
Ingredients
- 1 cup besan 110 grams, gram flour
- orange food color
- 1/2 teaspoon ghee melted
- 1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons water divided, 120 ml + 90 ml
- ghee or oil, for frying, around 2 cups
- melon seeds optional, to add to the ladoo while binding
Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup granulated white sugar 200 grams
- 1/2 cup water 120 ml
- 1.5 teaspoons kewra water or rose water
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- orange food color
Instructions
- Please note that before you start it's important to have the right equipment to make the perfect motichoor ladoo. A motichoor ladoo jhara with the smallest opening (number 0 or 1) is what you need. If you use a ladle with bigger holes or any other ladle, then the boondis will be large in size and it won't be motichoor ladoo. It would simply be boondi ladoo. You need very tiny boondis for this ladoo and for that you need that jhara.
Fry the boondi
- To a large bowl add besan and food color (I used orange food color). Then add little ghee and mix.
- Start adding water. Add around 1/2 cup (120 ml) to first form a thick batter without lumps. Then add 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water and mix well. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes.
- Then add remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water and mix. So the total that I used in this batter was 120 ml + 45 ml +45 ml = 210 ml.Batter should be very thin and flowing consistency without any lumps.
- Heat ghee in a kadai on medium-high heat.
- Hold the jhara 3-4 inches above the oil. I use a canister and then place the jhara on top to give it support (see pictures above).It also helps to have the support when you shake the jhara vigorously after pouring the batter. The handle of the jhara should be placed on the canister.
- Fill a ladle with the batter, my ladle was big so I have filled it only half here.
- Once ghee is hot, start pouring the batter through the jhara. Ask someone to help you.
- They should pour the batter on jhara and you should move it up and down quickly (with the handle of the jhara placed on canister) to drop all batter in hot ghee in the kadai. Please see pictures above for reference.
- Let the tiny boondis cook in hot ghee for 30 to 40 seconds only, color should not change.
- Remove fried boondi in a large sieve. Repeat until all tiny boondis are fried and batter is over. Remember to completely wipe clean the jhara with a wet cloth between frying each batch else the boondis can clump up. Set aside.
Make the sugar syrup
- To make the syrup, to a large kadai, add sugar and water. Add cardamom powder, kewra water (or rose water).Also add lemon juice and food color, if using.
- Let the sugar dissolve and mixture come to a boil.
- As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add the fried boondi to the pan. Stir and then turn on the heat again with heat set to lowest setting.
- Cook on lowest heat for around 3 minutes, stirring continuously. You don't want to dry the boondi but the excess sugar syrup should become less. It takes around 2 to 3 minutes.Don't overcook it else the boondi will dry out and won't be soft from inside.
Shape the ladoo
- Remove on a plate and let cool completely. You can add melon seeds now. I didn't have any.
- Once the mixture has cooled down, take a small portion of the boondi mixture and roll between your palms to make motichoor ladoo. Repeat with the remaining boondi.
- You would get around 12 to 15 ladoos from this.Enjoy these Motichoor Ladoo as a special treat!
Notes
- Please note that before you start it's important to have the right equipment to make the perfect motichoor ladoo. A motichoor ladoo jhara with the smallest opening (number 0 or 1) is what you need. If you use a ladle with bigger holes or any other ladle, then the boondis will be large in size and it won't be motichoor ladoo. It would simply be boondi ladoo. You need very tiny boondis for this ladoo and for that you need that jhara.
- Using food color is optional. Yellow or orange food color are traditionally used in these ladoos however you may skip it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi manali, planning to try your recipe this year. Which brand food color did you use? Is gel food color we get here for baking ok to use here for this recipe?
I can’t remember the brand now but yes any food safe is okay to use
Hi I made ladoos two times with besan flour and both times they had the taste of pakoras so am I suppose to use laddoo besan flour? I’m seeing when I search that one packet says besan and then there’s also ladoo besan
no you are supposed to use the regular besan. Ladoo besan is just a coarse variety of besan which is good for making besan ladoo if you prefer texture in your ladoo. For motichoor ladoo regular besan is fine. I am not sure how they taste like pakoras :/ Probably add more cardamom powder and kewra or rose water.
I bought boondi jara 0 size but holes are too small batter is not falling, am I doing something wrong.
Hi Roshna, making motichoor ladoo at home definitely needs patience and some practice. Hard to get it right first time. Looks like your batter isn’t runny enough. Please refer to the step pictures here: https://www.cookwithmanali.com/motichoor-ladoo/
Hi..I just want to know, jhara of size 1 or 0 which one is ok to make boondis and is it ok to use fortune/Samrat fine besan to make boondis
0 is good! Sorry I have no idea about these brands, I live in US and use deep/laxmi brands. use any besan, should be fine
How long can I store thiswithout refrigeration
3 days
Hello Manali,
Your Motichoor laddoos look mouth watering. Thanks for the recipe with exact proportions.
Lot of recipes show that their jhara has funnel kind of hole, however the jhara I got has just holes and no funnel at the back.Your jhara in the picture looks like mine. Can you please let me know if your jhara has funnel type structure at the back or not. Also, did you use laddoo besan ( coarse ) variety or the regular fine besan in the recipe. Thank you so much for your help and posting such amazing recipes.
Regards,
Shilpi
I used regular besan and no my jhara doesn’t have a funnel, it’s flat
Hello Manali,
My daughter loves boondi Ladoo and whenever we used to go to temple we used to buy ladoo for her. During the lockdown she started asking me for laddoo and I had no other choice than to make it. I tried couple of times before but I was having immense problem with the water proportion. I really got lucky and found your website and now my laddoos come out perfect every time. Thank you for giving the exact proportion of water. I really want to thank you from my heart for this recipe. And also a special thanks from my little daughter.
Regards,
Shilpi
so glad to know Shilpi! 🙂
this looks delicious! I dont have a jhara.. would this work the same if a sieve is used or a frying ladle ?
Hi, as I have mentioned in this post if you use a frying ladle the boondi will be quite big and it won’t be motichoor ladoo then, just boondi ladoo. So if you want to make that, sure go ahead. Also, I have tried once with sieve, it doesn’t work for me.
Hi Minali, I made the besan from your recipe which turned out lot better than my other recipes. I need more practice. Now I would like to make normal boondi laddoos. Do I need to change anything other than the big hole jharni? Also I like to put specks of green and dark orange color in mine. Do I prepare separate chasni with different colours (very small amount) and then mix it with the main boondi? Thank you!
I suggest you check out this recipe of making boondi https://www.cookwithmanali.com/sweet-boondi/ and then use the same sugar syrup in motichoor ladoo to make the ladoo. And yes you will need to add color- add color to the batter, divide it in 3 parts and add colors to them.
I have tried many times to make motichoor ladoo but unfortunately never managed. Today I followed your recipe and believe me it turned out brilliant.. everyone at home just loved them….step by step instructions are just so good and result is satisfying…thank you so much Manali jee
you are welcome! 🙂
Manali,
I don’t miss eating out ever since I discovered your website!
I wanted to particularly point out the way you explain and guide your readers through the recipes. Big thanks for sharing the tips and tricks that you learnt after all your hard work at getting the dishes perfected. You then makes it easy for folks like us to follow.
I tried Paneer butter masala, Achari aloo recipe over this week by looking at your instructions and it came out very well! There were no left overs 🙂 Since you have both numbered pictures on and the texts to go along with it, it became very easy to gather ingredients and start cooking while referring to the recipe.
My wife loves sweet, so I am planning to make this Motichoor Laddu for her birthday.
By the way, the tips on the height to hold the jhara goes on to tell how much you care about helping us getting this right. Kudos for specifically writing down these important nuances.
I’ve bookmarked this page for life!
Stay healthy and happy!
Thank you Sonu for the kind words, I am so glad to know that my recipes are helpful! appreciate the support! 🙂
Haha my favs were and still the same.. besan ladoo motichoor ladoo rasgulla more than rasmalai and jilebi!!!! Thks to u i am gonna try mak them all! Love u for this! And love gagan for introducing me to u!
I think you will like ladoos, they are delicious!
Thank you Harriet!
It sure is!
You have hit two of my favorite things with one post – diwali and motichoor laddoo! This year I am inviting all of my friends over and if I am brave I might attempt your delightful recipe!
Thank you Bach, I hope you do try these! 🙂
You definitely need to! Thank you Joscelyn!
Thank you Kelly!
Thank you Ashley, yes orange makes it perfect for fall too!
Thank you Jen! Yes can’t wait!!
Thanks Dannii! I am sure you will love them!
Yes I am going November end, can’t wait!! 🙂 Thank you Mira! and yay for you travelling too! Hurray!
Thank you Ami!
Thanks Mariah!
Thanks Anu!
Thank you!
It breaks my heart that you can’t be home for Diwali. Perhaps one of these years you will make it back so that you can enjoy the festivities and all those yummy sweets in the country that you love. Speaking of yummy sweets. . .this Ladoo is quite possibly one of the beautiful sweets I have ever seen. While beautiful on its own, that edible silver lead really adds something special.
I really hope so too! Thank you so much Lynn for your sweet words! 🙂 I love the touch of silver too!
Mouth watering ladoos dear, Wish I could grab some right now 🙂 Perfect for Diwali
Thanks dear, sending some your way!
Wow! These look so unique and interesting- i would love to try them! I love trying recipes form different cultures and i love how it has chickpeas, cardamon and nutmeg in it! Thank you for sharing this Indian sweet recipe!
I am sure you will like it! 🙂
Thank you Annie! 🙂 Yes it definitely helps!
You need to eat a ladoo!
haha it’s not that much of a work 🙂 Thanks Shweta!
Indian festivals are incomplete without sweet especially ladoo…perfectly made
I agree! Thanks Amrita!
These look amazing, Manali! What a great treat! 🙂
Thank you Sina!