Besan burfi is a perfect springtime treat.
Now this is a South Asian sweet treat
that's served at celebrations.
It really reminds me of a toasted maple fudge.
That's my Canadian description of it
but it really comes down to some wonderful ingredients
including a full cup of ghee, which is clarified butter.
Now I'm gonna melt this in my pan over low heat to start.
The reason I'm using it in this recipe
is to toast my chickpea flour, which is called besan.
Now you can buy ghee already prepared,
it usually comes in a jar often in the refrigerator section
of your grocery store,
but to make your own,
all you have to do is slowly melt butter but you let it sit
and you'll notice that there's a white liquid
that forms at the bottom.
So what you want to do is pull that away.
So you pour off or ladle out the clarified butter
without stirring in that white liquid, chill it,
and you've made your own ghee.
So now, as this has started melting,
let's talk about the chickpea flour.
You want two and a third cups of chickpea flour,
that's 270 grams.
Now besan is a particular type of chickpea flour
and it's made from brown chickpeas
which will ultimately result
in probably the silkiest besan burfi you've ever had.
But I only have access to the white chickpea flour,
so I've made it work.
So I hope that's okay.
When it comes to treats like besan burfi,
they're very personal
and every family has their version that they love,
so I totally respect if you have certain ingredients
or techniques you love to use when you're making this treat.
And if this is the first time making it,
well just jump right in.
I hope you start with this recipe.
That was a lot of talking without cooking.
Let's get cooking
'cause I have lots of time here.
Toasting your flour in all this ghee
takes about half an hour.
When I learned how to make this recipe
I was surprised to find how this technique
of toasting the flour, the chickpea flour in the butter,
is just like making a roux in French cooking.
The roux of course is used to thicken sauces.
This combination is actually at the heart of the recipe.
It may not look like much now
but just give it a few minutes.
But I do stay with this.
I learned this in cooking school
when it comes to cooking a roux,
that butter flour combo,
you don't walk away from your roux,
the same goes for the ghee and besan,
don't walk away from it.
Just keep stirring it, keep an eye on it.
All right, about 10 to 15 minutes in,
you'll see that instead of big chunks,
now all of a sudden this besan
is starting to get a little more crumbly.
The aroma is changing,
it is reminding me a bit of toasted almonds
and the color shouldn't be changing too much at this point.
Just a hint of browning at the bottom.
If you start seeing it really brown,
well then turn your heat down a little bit.
It's amazing how different this looks
after the half an hour.
That ghee is so hot right now and the chickpea flour,
see how it's taken on that peanut butter color?
Oh, and it smells amazing.
The key flavor builder in the besan burfi
is ground cardamom.
So I'm going to sprinkle in two teaspoons right now
and I want the heat of this ghee and besan mixture
to toast up the cardamom
so it just wakes up the aroma.
And then I'm just going to keep the heat on this.
It is on low at this point
and I have half a cup of coconut milk ready here.
It is often for special celebrations.
Welcome to add a little saffron
to kind of brighten the yellow color of your besan burfi.
And you want to always, when you're using saffron,
prime it in a liquid for a little bit.
So I'm just adding it to my coconut milk
and giving it a second.
It may not change right away,
it'll change color once it hits this besan
toasted in the ghee.
Now you may see this seize up a little bit as you add it,
it's okay, it's part of the recipe,
it will all smooth out.
So now it's time to add the sweetness
and it really is super simple.
Half a cup of water with two cups of sugar that you bring up
but you have to cook it to a very specific temperature.
I put my water in my pot first.
That way, when I heat up my sugar,
it melts quickly from the bottom
because of course the heat source is coming from the bottom.
So just like making caramel,
you want to boil your sugar on high heat without stirring
and I'm cooking it to 242 Fahrenheit,
and that is thread stage.
All right, there we go.
I'll take this off the heat
and very carefully,
you're gonna pour this hot sugar into the mixture.
Start mixing it at first,
but you'll see the whole mixture really does smooth out.
You can really tell why a treat like this
is perfect for an occasion
because it takes a little time,
a little care, a little love,
but that sweet treat at the end of a meal
it's just so welcomed.
Now this is ready to pour into your prepared dish.
Carefully lift it out and pour it in.
So you do want to work with it while it's hot.
Now, before I let this set,
this is a great opportunity to decorate it.
I'll add some chopped toasted cashews
and some toasted flaked coconut.
So I'll cool this to room temperature
and then chill it for a few hours
before I cut it into those little sweet treat bites.
And here we go once it's had a chance to chill.
All you have to do is cut it into pieces.
Now, remember, this is a sweet, sweet treat.
So you want to cut your besan burfi
into little bite-size pieces.
Corner pieces for me.
(moans)
Oh as the ghee melts,
the toastiness of the chickpea flour comes through.
When it does, it reminds me of toasted nuts,
and then the cardamom wakes up.
This is so sophisticated and elegant.
All of that in this tiny little bundle of besan burfi.
How perfect for spring!