Besan Burfi

The month of October brings with it all the Indian Festivals, Dusshera, Karwachauth, Diwali, Bhai Douj and somewhat cooler temperatures in Austin. So lets kick start this season with a great Mithai (sweets) recipe.

Mithai (Sweets) is the traditional dessert or choice of sweets in countries like India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. Sweets are homemade or purchased, then shared. Many social gatherings, wedding ceremonies and religious festivals often include a social celebration of food, and the flavors of sweets are an essential element of such a celebration.

Besan, also known as garbanzo bean flour, or gram flour, is a pulse flour made from ground chickpeas known in a number of Asian countries as gram. It is a staple ingredient in Indian, Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi cuisines. Gram flour can be made from either raw or roasted chickpeas.

RECIPE: Besan Burfi

Ingredients

1 Cup Besan
1 stick Butter
pinch of saffron
1 can sweetened condensed milk
slivered almonds for decoration

Method

1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the besan.
2. On medium to low heat, brown the besan. be very careful not to burn it and continuously move it around so as to brown it evenly. This might take 10-15 minutes to get it right. add a pinch of saffron to it.
3. Once browned nicely, you will be able to breathe in the nutty, toasted aroma of the besan flour. Now add the condensed milk and stir it vigorously to break up the knots so you are left with a thick but smooth batter like mix.
4. Pout it onto a parchment lines baking sheet. Decorate with almonds or any nuts of choice and let it cool and set for a few hours. You can refrigerate it to haten the cooling process. Cut into desired shape and serve it on a decorative platter.