If you are a food enthusiast new to Indian foods, I am sure you are curious to know more about gond.

What is Gond?

Gond is a kind of plant derived edible gum that has been enjoyed in traditional Indian foods as it is believed to have medicinal values. Gond is the Hindi term for “Edible Gum”, a plant gum that is derived from the sap of various trees. The 2 most common edible gums used in Asian foods are Acacia gum (gum Arabic) & Tragacanth gum. It is believed that both these have different properties & nutrients so they work differently in recipes and even on the body after consumption. The first type of gum widely used in India is the Acacia gum also known as gum Arabic which is the dried sap of the acacia tree. Kikar is the Hindi name for this tree and is also widely known as Babul tree in India. Gond that is used in the preparation of Gond ke Laddu is the dried sap of babul/kikar tree. It is also used to make gond panjiri. It is believed that Acacia gum keeps the body warm so it is widely used during winters & is avoided during summers as it is heaty in nature. The second type of edible gum is Tragacanth gum. It is known as “Gond katira” or “Badam pisin” in Indian language. It is basically tasteless & swells up when added to water and turns soft like jelly. Gond katira is used commercially to thicken, stabilize & emulsify foods. It is also added to beverages like Jigarthanda, Falooda and even to shakes, smoothies & sherbets. Tragacanth gum is extremely cooling in nature & is considered to be beneficial to use during summers.

About Gond Ke Laddu

Gond ke Laddu translates to edible gum sweet balls. There are numerous ways to make these ladoos. Gond ladoo are basically the North Indian version and are mostly made with wheat flour, gond, sugar, dried ginger, nuts and ghee. Another variation is the Antina unde from Karnataka cuisine and it does not use any flour instead a large amount of dried coconut (copra) is used. A variation known as Dink Ladoo is made in Maharashtrian Cuisine and it has powdered dried dates (kharik/ Kajoor powder) added to it. Gond ladoo are most often given to women recovering from childbirth. However gond ke ladoo are good for people of all age groups including kids and toddlers. Gond laddu are rich in iron, protein and calcium. Regular consumption of gond ke laddu for several weeks is said to rejuvenate the entire body by strengthening the bones, improving immunity and digestion. Wheat flour (atta), gond and nuts are ingredients with body warming properties. So these can relieve from joint pains due to arthritis & also prevent seasonal cold not only in kids but also in grownups. There are many variations you can make to these ladoos by adding poppy seeds (khus khus), dates, dried dates, sesame, makhana etc. In this post I have used only the ingredients that are basic and can be eaten by women after childbirth. A lot of people also add ingredients like dried ground ginger (saunt) and fennel seeds. More Ladoo recipesBadam ladooRagi ladooCoconut ladooRava ladduDry fruits ladoo

How to Make Gond ke Laddu (Stepwise Photos)

Fry Nuts

  1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Avoid using a non-stick pan for this purpose as the nuts and gond easily scratch up the pan.
  2. Add ¼ cup chopped almonds and cashews to the hot ghee. Fry them until lightly golden. Alternately you may pulse the nuts in a grinder first before frying or fry the whole nuts, cool and coarsely crush in blender. All these methods work, do which ever is easier for you.
  3. Once the nuts turn light golden, add 2 tablespoons dried coconut (optional) and fry lightly. You can add more or skip this. Dried coconut is a rich source of calcium. Do not use fresh coconut as it reduces the shelf life.
  4. Saute just for a minute until aromatic.
  5. Remove all these to a plate. If you are using khus khus add them now and fry until they turn golden & crunchy.

Fry Gond

  1. Add gond to a plate and clean up if it is not clean. You may find tiny pieces of the bark or stones stuck to the gond, just discard them.
  2. Pour ¼ cup ghee to a pan for frying the gond. It will puff well if a good amount of ghee is used and fried well on a medium high flame. Unpuffed gond can cause stomach problems and sticks up to the tooth while eating.
  3. When the ghee turns hot, check if it is hot enough by adding 1 small piece of gond. It has to puff well. Then add the 1/3 cup (65 grams) gond to it. Gond must be fully immersed in ghee else they will not puff. Frying in very hot ghee can make it bitter.
  4. Keep stirring and fry until all of it has puffed well. All of the ghee will be absorbed by the gond.
  5. Remove it to a plate. Gond will absorb all of the ghee. Crush it well with the base of a cup or just pulse it in a mixer grinder or use a rolling pin. I prefer crushing in the grinder.

Fry Atta

  1. If you think your gond is not very clean, then clean up the pan with a tissue. You may find some unclean particles like tiny pieces of bark in the pan. Pour 3 tbps more ghee and heat up. Add 1¼ cup atta /wheat flour.
  2. Saute on a medium to low flame until it turns deep golden and aromatic. The atta should not have any raw taste in it. Taste test and make sure it is not raw and does not taste bitter.
  3. Turn off the stove. You can add crushed gond or pulse it in a mixer. I went ahead pulsing it with some nuts as my kids don’t like the crushed one.

Make Gond ke Laddu

  1. Remove the pan from the stove. Add the fried nuts, ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder and crushed gond. Mix everything well.
  2. Add ¾ to 1 cup powdered jaggery or powdered sugar. If using grated jaggery, make sure you grate it fine. Start with ¾ cup.
  3. Mix well with your hand or a spatula to incorporate the ghee in the gond with the rest of the mixture. Taste test and add more jaggery powder or cardamom for flavor.
  4. Make sure your mixture is slightly hot at this stage. Take small portions of this mixture to your hand and roll to balls, pressing down the mixture in your fist. If required pour some hot ghee if you have a trouble binding them. I did not use any extra. Store Gond ke Laddu in a air tight jar and use up in a month. It is normal for them to become slightly hard during winters / colder temperatures as ghee solidifies. I simply steam them in cooker or a steamer. Place the ladoos in a small container and close with a lid so the water does not seep into the bowl. Place this bowl on a rack/ trivet in the cooker or steamer. Steam until the ladoos become warm.

Health Benefits of Gond

Pro Tips on using Gond

Pro Tips on Gond Ke Laddu

These gond ladoo can also be made during festivals and are great to enjoy as a snack anytime. Related Recipes

Recipe Card

Gond ke Laddu Recipe was first published in October 2018. Updated & Republished in December 2022.