Erivum Puliyum: Besan Burfi | No Milk Powder, No Mawa Barfi ~ Diwali 2022

Wishing all my friends a Happy and Prosperous Deepavali :)

How are your last minute preparations going on?

Though we don't celebrate Diwali, I love this festival very much because of the positive vibes. The lighting, decluttering and paintings done at home, everything everywhere looks neat and tidy, a lot of variety sweets at Halwai shops and the fire crackers all create a great mood.

I personally don't like the fire crackers, thinking of the impact this causes on our air. It would have been nice, if the crackers are lit at one place for a community or for a housing society which will lessen the quantity of crackers burnt compared to what each individual homes burn every year. This is just an opinion of how we can help the environment and no hard feelings against Diwali. Anyway, that's each person's decision to help the air for the upcoming generations.

Let's get back to today's recipe - another simple one, but a little tricky. I have been struggling to get a perfect besan barfi for the past 4-5 trials. But am happy that I learnt finally and this is so simple to make as it hardly takes any time. Roasting the besan and getting the sugar syrup to one string consistency is IMPORTANT, no shortcuts. I really loved the beautiful colour of the barfi because of the pinch of yellow colour added, which was lacking in my previous trials. This really gives the exact colour like halwai shops. Do read below and start off making the recipe. Enjoy !!

There are many lesson learnt during this experimentation which are shared below-

1. Use a non-stick pan and a spatula for easy mixing.

2. Use melted ghee for correct measurements. The bowl in which you measure the besan can be used to measure the other ingredients, that means the besan: sugar : ghee ratio will be 1:1:1/2.

3. Roast the besan excellent for the correct texture and taste. Roast on low flame without changing colour for about 6-7 minutes for 1 cup besan with ghee. This is important else the besan will have raw taste. The besan may not cook properly. Sprinkle few drops of water on the surface to check, if it sizzles then besan is well roasted.

4. Get the sugar syrup to one string consistency and mix this well with besan mixture.

5. Check if the besan, sugar mixture together is leaving the sides of the pan like a mass. Cook till you achieve this stage because the barfi may turn chewy otherwise.

Preparation time ~ 20 minutes

Cooking time ~ 20 minutes

Author ~ Julie

Serves ~ 9-10 pieces barfi

Ingredients

besan/ kadalamavu 1 cup (120 gms)

melted ghee / neyyu 1/2 cup

granulated white sugar 1 cup (200 gms)

water 1/2 cup

cardamom powder 1/2 tsp

yellow food colour, a pinch

Watch on YouTube -

Method

Sift the besan without any lumps. Keep aside, this helps to yield a smooth burfi.
Heat a pan on low heat and add the sifted besan.To this, add the melted ghee.
Then, mix the besan with ghee. Initially the ghee and besan mixture will tun lumpy but as besan gets roasted, the ghee will float on top. It may take 6-7 minutes on low flame to reach that stage. (Sprinkle few drops of water on the surface of besan, if it sizzles then the besan is well roasted) Switch off flame and move from heat or keep mixing few more minutes, else the besan may change colour due to residual heat. Add the pinch of food colour and give a quick stir. The colour may not show up now in the besan, but as you add the sugar syrup, the colour becomes prominent.
Heat another pan and add the sugar. To this, add 1/2 cup water and bring this to a boil. Let the syrup get to a one string consistency. Add cardamom powder, mix well. Check the sugar syrup by pressing the syrup between your thumb and index finger, this should form one string. Switch off flame and add the sugar syrup to the warm besan mix little by little and combine well.
If the besan mix becomes a little watery, then place on low heat and continue to cook till the mix starts to leave the sides of the pan.
Line a tray with parchment paper and apply oil/ ghee on the sides. Transfer the burfi mix to the pan and tap the tray a few times to release any trapped air bubbles.
Garnish with sliced pistachios. Leave to cool in tray for 15- 30 minutes at room temperature.
Then pull out the barfi mix with the parchment paper. Cut in desired shapes and enjoy !!