Recipe - Besan Burfi (Besan Ladoo)

Sweet dish made out of chick pea flour, clarified butter and sugar.

Summary:

Besan/Chickpea flour is low in saturated fat and low in cholesterol. Besan has a good source of dietary fiber. Besan also helps reduce mucus. In North India, Sheera is prepared out of besan roasted in ghee and is cooked with hot water. Sugar and nuts are added flavor and taste. Besan burfi is almost the same but is in the burfi form.

Besan burfi is a very popular mithai in north India just like mysore paak in south India. The only difference is the appearance and texture, though both of them have the same ingredients. This is one of the first Indian sweets I learned this from my friend Parul, 10 years ago. I follow the recipe to the "T". Those who are calorie and weight conscious, this is not for them :-). But this has its own benefits. It is very good during winter months. This recipe was request by my friend, Radha who is from Suriname (fourth generation Indian). Radha this is for you... and those who would like to try it out...

Ingredients:

• Besan (chickpea flour/gram flour) - 2 cups
• Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 cups
• Sugar - 3/4 (if you like it very sweet can add 1 cup)
• Cardimom - 1 teaspoon
• Almonds or pistachios - 1/2 cup (optional)

Process:

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add besan/chickpea flour to the melted butter

Fry it till golden brown.

Add crushed almonds/pistachios to the golden brown besan/chickpea flour. Let the flour come down to lukewarm temperature (not too cold). Add sugar to the mixture, mix well. Adding sugar to the mixture at the right temperature yields best results.

Grease an 8x8 plate with ghee/butter and pour or spread the mixture on the plate. The mixture may not spread, you can level it using a spoon or a spatula.

Decorate it with crushed almonds or pistachios.


Let it cool and cut the burfi in desired shapes.

I prefer to cut the burfi in diamond shape instead of a square.

You can make ladoo/sweet balls out of the same mixture with one teaspoon/tablespoon (to get the desired size) of mixture.


Preparation time - 30 minutes
Servings - 20- 24 pieces (depending on the size of the burfi)
Recipe help by Parul.

Tips:

• You can use unsalted butter in place of ghee.
• The burfi's texture will be granular. If sugar is added to the flour when it is hot, sugar melts and the burfi tastes like flour and will stick to the teeth while eating.