What is Besan Burfi?
Besan burfi is a sweet and dense dessert made using besan, sugar, water, cardamom, and ghee. I think this might be the easiest dessert recipe on my blog? And that’s crazy because I’m sharing a burfi recipe. Burfi is something I used to dismiss as being too complicated to make myself. Much easier to ask a family member to make it for me (lol). But having an instant pot makes making besan burfi so simple!
What is Besan?
Besan, also known as gram flour or chickpea flour, is made from small brown chickpeas (not garbanzo beans). If you remove the brown skin from brown chickpeas, you’re left with yellow chana dal – grind that, and you’ve got besan. Thankfully it’s easy to find besan at your local Indian grocery store or online. If you’ve never tried besan before, it has a pleasant, nutty, and somewhat earthy flavor. If you’ve never had besan burfi before, you should know that it’s dense, unlike Kaju Katli, which is more delicate. Why use besan to make burfi? Because it’s delicious! Besan is an Indian pantry staple. It’s more economical than using nuts or nut flour, making besan burfi an inexpensive dessert.
How to Make Besan Burfi:
This type of fudge is traditionally made on the stovetop by boiling sugar to the right temperature/consistency while simultaneously cooking besan in bubbling hot ghee. Once both are ready – you’re supposed to combine them into one pot. I find it difficult to use two stovetop burners at the same time without burning myself (#clumsy), so I’ve managed to come up with an easier and safer, and more reliable method. We’re going to make our sugar syrup (also known as chashni) in the instant pot and then mix in the rest of the ingredients. This method is similar to my Kaju/Badam Katli (cashew/almond fudge) recipe – only much easier because there’s no need to roll out any dough. The first step: roast the besan. Set the besan aside for now. It’s time to make sugar syrup! Then we stir roasted besan, ghee, and cardamom together and pour it all into a glass dish. Top with crushed nuts (if you want), then slice and serve. It sets within minutes! It really is as easy as it sounds.
Why Roast Besan?
Why do we have to roast besan before making burfi? Because raw chana dal flour is bitter. Roasting besan gets rid of bitterness and is what gives the flour its nutty, toasty flavor. Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut to roasting the flour. It takes 20 minutes of occasional stirring. I won’t lie, those 20 minutes can feel like an eternity… unless you’re listening to music! Play your favorite tunes, and after 5-6 songs, the besan will be ready 🙂
What do I do if I see the Burn sign?!
Ignore it. It’ll go away on its own after a few minutes. I’ve made sugar syrup in the instant pot many times, and every now and then, the IP will go rogue and give me a “burn” sign – it has always gone away on its own after several minutes – be patient. Here’s what to expect if the burn sign comes up: after a few minutes, the burn sign will disappear, and the pressure cooker will continue to count down. As long as the valve is closed and the silicone ring is on properly, it’ll be fine. The sugar won’t burn. The temperature of the syrup will still be within the correct range to make this fudge. Besan burfi lasts a while. You can store this burfi on the counter for a week, in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or in the freezer for months. Enjoy!
More Burfi Recipes to Try:
My two little “helpers” say hello 🙂 Hope you enjoy the burfi! Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!
