Besan Barfi – Fudge-Like Indian Sweet

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Besan barfi or besan ki barfi is a popular Indian sweet. It is prepared from a browned chickpea flour roux that is mixed with a sugar syrup. Besan barfi is like fudge without chocolate, and is smooth textured. It is simple to make and is a delicious snack.

INGREDIENTS AND PREPARATION

The ingredients in besan barfi are chickpea flour (besan), ghee, water, sugar, and some food colouring (optional). It is simple to make, and similar to making a gravy. To start, the ghee and chickpea flour are cooked until golden brown and fragrant. Separately, a sugar syrup is cooked until thread consistency. Before mixing, both mixtures are cooled slightly to prevent the roux from seizing. Lastly, they are mixed, poured into a baking dish, and allowed to set. Here are few things to keep in mind: make sure to keep stirring the roux to prevent burning, cook the sugar to a thread consistency (cool it on a spoon for a few seconds then pour off of the spoon, if it pours in a single thread it is done), and add red-orange food colouring to the sugar syrup (this is optional, but it will give your barfi the traditional golden colour).

(This recipe can be halved for a 8×8 square dish size).

Melt the ghee in a large pot.

Mix in the chickpea flour until smooth, and cook over medium-heat, stirring constantly until golden brown and fragrant (about 15-20 minutes).

In a separate pot, boil the water, sugar, and food colouring until the sugar reaches a thread consistency.

Once the roux, and sugar syrup are cooked, cool for about 8-10 minutes before mixing. Pour the sugar syrup into the roux, and stir quickly until combined. *The mixture will start to set on the bottom quickly.

Pour the mixture into a greased 9×13 baking pan. Let it set for at least 4-6 hours before cutting.

Cut into 54 squares, and transfer to a container or plate. (Use a bench scraper for easy removal).

Enjoy!