Oct 10, 2019, Updated Oct 22, 2022 This homemade recipe for besan burfi will give you melt in mouth burfi every time!
Sweets made with besan (gram flour) are some of my favorite sweets. Like besan ladoo and this besan burfi! They both have essentially the same ingredients- besan, ghee and sugar but the way you make and shape them is what makes then different. In India, burfi is the term used for a sweet fudge and it can be made with anything from lentils to nuts, fruits and in this case from besan. The ingredient list for making besan burfi is small (ghee, sugar and cardamom) but as it is most Indian sweets, it takes some skills to get it right. No, I am not trying to scare you guys. You can definitely make the perfect besan burfi even in first attempt but if it doesn’t turn out perfect, don’t be disheartened. Indian sweets always need some practice. It has taken me many years of practice to get them right.
Tips to Make Perfect Besan Burfi
Here are few things to keep in mind to make the best besan burfi! Roasting the besan properly: the most important step in making besan burfi is to roast the besan properly. If your besan is not roasted properly, the burfi will have the raw taste (kaccha taste as we call in Hindi) and trust me it doesn’t taste good. I have done that before and I was so disappointed because if your burfi tastes of raw besan after so much of hand workout, it definitely doesn’t feel good! So roast the besan properly. Stir continuously because you want to make sure the besan is roasted uniformly and you also want to make sure it doesn’t get burnt. The besan should be golden-ish yellow in color and not dark brown. If it turns dark brown, you have gone bit too far. I roast for around 25 to 30 minutes on the lowest heat with constant stirring. Yes it requires patience so make sure you have plenty of it before you start.
Sift the besan before adding it to ghee: this gives the burfi a nice, smooth texture. So do the additional step of sifting the besan. Getting the sugar syrup consistency right: this can really make or break your burfi. If the syrup is over-cooked the burfi will be hard and turn out like a rock. If the syrup is under-cooked, the burfi will not set. You have to cook the syrup until it reaches a one string consistency. And how do you know if it has reached that consistency? Two things: What if my burfi doesn’t set? This means your under-cooked the sugar syrup. I will put back the mixture on heat and cook for few minutes until it leaves the sides of the pan and try to set it again. Why is my burfi hard and not melt-in-mouth? You over-cooked the sugar syrup. You have to only cook it until it reaches one string consistency here. That results in best melt-in-mouth texture in my opinion. As you can see, my burfis were quite big. If you want to make thinner and smaller burfis, spread the mixture in a large pan. I have use 9 x 9 inch pan here so for thinner burfis, maybe use 9 x 13 inch pan. Hope you guys give this melt-in-mouth Besan Burfi a try this festive season!
Method
Line a 9 x 9 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. You can even use a bigger pan (like 10 x 13 inch) to make thinner burfis. 1- Melt ghee in a pan on medium heat. 2- Add the sifted besan into the pan and stir. Lower the heat to “low”. 3- Start stirring, the besan will clump up at first. Don’t worry and keep stirring. 4- After around 15 minutes, the besan will start to loosen up.
5- After stirring for around 20 minutes, it will become smooth. 6- Around 25 minutes, it will become like a smooth paste. Add cardamom powder at this point. Please not that depending on the quality of besan being used it might never become a smooth paste. But once besan is roasted, it become fluffier (like air has been fillied into it), and you can always taste a little bit of mixture. You would know if besan is raw. So don’t worry if you never get a super smooth besan even after stirring for 25 minutes. 7- And cook for 5 more minutes. 8- So I cooked the besan for total of 30 minutes on low heat. Remove pan from heat and set aside. Let it cool down while you make the sugar syrup. Besan should cool down before sugar syrup is added to it.
9- To a pan, add sugar and water on medium heat. 10- Let the sugar dissolve, will take around 4 to 5 minutes. 11- Then lower the heat and let syrup simmer for 5 to 6 minutes until it reaches one string consistency. 12- It takes me 6 minutes always after the sugar dissolves to reach the 1 string consistency on low heat. Put a drop of sugar syrup between your thumb and index finger and pull them apart, you should see a single thread formation. This is the right consistency. If you have a kitchen thermometer this becomes much easier, it should measure 110 C (230 F) when done. Turn off the heat as soon as the syrup reaches that stage. Do not over cook the sugar syrup.
13- Now add the sugar syrup to the cooked besan (which has cooled down at this point). 14- Stir until all the sugar syrup is well combined with the besan. 15- Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 9 inch pan lined with parchment paper. Tap the pan to get rid of excess air. Sprinkle pistachios on top. 16- Let the burfi set for 2-3 hours and then cut into pieces. I trim the edges and then cut them into squares.
Store besan burfi at room temperature for 10 days!
If you’ve tried this Besan Burfi Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen! This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in March 2017.
title: “Besan Burfi " ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-19” author: “Edwin Schroeder”
Oct 10, 2019, Updated Oct 22, 2022 This homemade recipe for besan burfi will give you melt in mouth burfi every time!
Sweets made with besan (gram flour) are some of my favorite sweets. Like besan ladoo and this besan burfi! They both have essentially the same ingredients- besan, ghee and sugar but the way you make and shape them is what makes then different. In India, burfi is the term used for a sweet fudge and it can be made with anything from lentils to nuts, fruits and in this case from besan. The ingredient list for making besan burfi is small (ghee, sugar and cardamom) but as it is most Indian sweets, it takes some skills to get it right. No, I am not trying to scare you guys. You can definitely make the perfect besan burfi even in first attempt but if it doesn’t turn out perfect, don’t be disheartened. Indian sweets always need some practice. It has taken me many years of practice to get them right.
Tips to Make Perfect Besan Burfi
Here are few things to keep in mind to make the best besan burfi! Roasting the besan properly: the most important step in making besan burfi is to roast the besan properly. If your besan is not roasted properly, the burfi will have the raw taste (kaccha taste as we call in Hindi) and trust me it doesn’t taste good. I have done that before and I was so disappointed because if your burfi tastes of raw besan after so much of hand workout, it definitely doesn’t feel good! So roast the besan properly. Stir continuously because you want to make sure the besan is roasted uniformly and you also want to make sure it doesn’t get burnt. The besan should be golden-ish yellow in color and not dark brown. If it turns dark brown, you have gone bit too far. I roast for around 25 to 30 minutes on the lowest heat with constant stirring. Yes it requires patience so make sure you have plenty of it before you start.
Sift the besan before adding it to ghee: this gives the burfi a nice, smooth texture. So do the additional step of sifting the besan. Getting the sugar syrup consistency right: this can really make or break your burfi. If the syrup is over-cooked the burfi will be hard and turn out like a rock. If the syrup is under-cooked, the burfi will not set. You have to cook the syrup until it reaches a one string consistency. And how do you know if it has reached that consistency? Two things: What if my burfi doesn’t set? This means your under-cooked the sugar syrup. I will put back the mixture on heat and cook for few minutes until it leaves the sides of the pan and try to set it again. Why is my burfi hard and not melt-in-mouth? You over-cooked the sugar syrup. You have to only cook it until it reaches one string consistency here. That results in best melt-in-mouth texture in my opinion. As you can see, my burfis were quite big. If you want to make thinner and smaller burfis, spread the mixture in a large pan. I have use 9 x 9 inch pan here so for thinner burfis, maybe use 9 x 13 inch pan. Hope you guys give this melt-in-mouth Besan Burfi a try this festive season!
Method
Line a 9 x 9 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. You can even use a bigger pan (like 10 x 13 inch) to make thinner burfis. 1- Melt ghee in a pan on medium heat. 2- Add the sifted besan into the pan and stir. Lower the heat to “low”. 3- Start stirring, the besan will clump up at first. Don’t worry and keep stirring. 4- After around 15 minutes, the besan will start to loosen up.
5- After stirring for around 20 minutes, it will become smooth. 6- Around 25 minutes, it will become like a smooth paste. Add cardamom powder at this point. Please not that depending on the quality of besan being used it might never become a smooth paste. But once besan is roasted, it become fluffier (like air has been fillied into it), and you can always taste a little bit of mixture. You would know if besan is raw. So don’t worry if you never get a super smooth besan even after stirring for 25 minutes. 7- And cook for 5 more minutes. 8- So I cooked the besan for total of 30 minutes on low heat. Remove pan from heat and set aside. Let it cool down while you make the sugar syrup. Besan should cool down before sugar syrup is added to it.
9- To a pan, add sugar and water on medium heat. 10- Let the sugar dissolve, will take around 4 to 5 minutes. 11- Then lower the heat and let syrup simmer for 5 to 6 minutes until it reaches one string consistency. 12- It takes me 6 minutes always after the sugar dissolves to reach the 1 string consistency on low heat. Put a drop of sugar syrup between your thumb and index finger and pull them apart, you should see a single thread formation. This is the right consistency. If you have a kitchen thermometer this becomes much easier, it should measure 110 C (230 F) when done. Turn off the heat as soon as the syrup reaches that stage. Do not over cook the sugar syrup.
13- Now add the sugar syrup to the cooked besan (which has cooled down at this point). 14- Stir until all the sugar syrup is well combined with the besan. 15- Transfer the mixture to a 9 x 9 inch pan lined with parchment paper. Tap the pan to get rid of excess air. Sprinkle pistachios on top. 16- Let the burfi set for 2-3 hours and then cut into pieces. I trim the edges and then cut them into squares.
Store besan burfi at room temperature for 10 days!
If you’ve tried this Besan Burfi Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen! This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in March 2017.
