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Food Cooking and Cuisines

Amritsar barfi or besan barfi

A melt-in-your-mouth sweet from Punjab, this nutty sweet is made from gram flour



PREP TIME 10 m
COOK TIME 30m
SERVES 20-24 pieces
Ingredients

    ½ cup (125gm) ghee

    2 cups (200-210gm) besan or chickpea flour

    1 cup honey (if you prefer it sweeter, add more)

    Water, as required

    6 green cardamoms or 1 teaspoon cardamom powder

    5 almonds - sliced or chopped

    5 pistachio – sliced or chopped

    5 cashew – sliced or chopped

    Coconut flakes and rose petals, to serve

Ingredient Substitution Guide

METHOD

1. Whisk some ghee with the besan. This mixes and breaks down the lumps that are formed by mixing dry-wet ingredients. Also, your besan is then nicely incorporated with ghee.

2. Now heat a pan/kadai, add the besan-ghee mix and start roasting over low-medium flame.

3. Keep whisking the roasted besan till it gives out a nutty flavour and also becomes richer in colour (slightly dark orange-brown).

4. Meanwhile, in another pot heat together honey and water to make an alternative of a sugar syrup.

5. Now add the roasted besan to the honeyed syrup, along with cardamom powder, almond, pistachio and cashew, and turn the heat to medium.

6. Keep whisking this mixture unless the texture begins to harden a little.

7. Turn off the heat and transfer the mix to a greased pan.

8. Add chopped almonds on top and leave to set outside, or keep in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

9. Once set, slice the besan barfi and sprinkle coconut flakes and rose petals.

10. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container.

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