Who does not love a delicious plate of laddoos? Be it Motichoor or besan, laddoo is an Indian favourite sweet. While you eat a handful and enjoy, have you wondered where laddoos come from? Today, let us take you through the journey of laddoos from 2600 BCE to 2025.
The birth of Laddoos
Archaeological excavations in the Indus Valley Civilization, around 2600 BCE, reveal that people consumed "food balls" made from legumes and cereals like barley, wheat, chickpea, and mung bean. These early food balls highlight the long history of shaped edible items in the Indian subcontinent.
The concept of laddoo, a sweet ball-shaped delicacy, appears in ancient texts as well. The 3rd-4th century Sanskrit medical text Sushruta Samhita describes ladduka, which are small balls made of jaggery, peanuts, and sesame seeds coated with honey. These were not just food but served medicinal purposes, used as antiseptics, and for delivering medication.
The earliest documented mention of laddoo as a sweet date to the 11th century in the Western Indian cookbook Lokopakara. This text provides a recipe for laddus made with rice vermicelli (shavige), ghee, and sugar syrup, shaped into balls and fried in ghee.
Did you know that laddoos were that old of a concept?
The ‘biggest laddu’ in the world
An over 8,000-kilogram 'laddu' prepared by a local shop during the Ganesh festival in 2015 has set a Guinness Record as the largest sweetmeat of its kind for the fifth consecutive year.
The Guinness World Records Certificate reads, "The largest individual 'laddu' weighs 8,369 kg (18,450 lb 7.78 oz) and was made by Sri Bhakta Anjaneya Sweets (India) owned by S Venkateswara Rao (India) in Tapeswaram, Andhra Pradesh, India, on 15th September 2015."
Every region has its unique laddoo
Every Indian region boasts its own unique laddoo, Rajasthan uses wheat flour for atte ke laddoo, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar’s besan ka laddoo are relished during festivities and weddings. Similarly, Maharashtra has sesame seeds (til ke laddoo), Kerala makes rice flour laddoos, in West Bengal coconut laddoos are popular as narkel nadu and Andhra Pradesh’s rice flakes laddoos are loved across the country.
These variations often include homemade or naturally available ingredients like grated coconut, roasted chickpeas, nuts, and raisins, adding rich flavour and health benefits along with texture to the beloved traditional sweet. So, whether you are from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, or Delhi, we bet you have a favourite laddoo!
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