My mother-in-law lovingly roasts chickpea flour to golden perfection and then softly folds in the golden clarified butter and sugar with chopped almonds and shapes them in round balls of golden perfection, called Besan (chickpea flour) ladoos. A lovely dessert that is the hallmark of North India. The fragrance of roasting this chickpea flour is something that still reminds my children of her and they are excited about savoring her golden balls of perfection. Northern India makes its sweets with grains, rather than milk based desserts which tend to be a speciality of Eastern India.
The entire process of cooling and shaping these ladoos takes her a good hour, and her recipe is very generous in its indulgent use of ghee or clarified butter. This time of the year as we celebrate Diwali, it is time for an annual ode to sugar. I have modified her recipe leaving the essential elements intact by shaping them into flat squares or diamonds. You get almost all the indulgence, with somewhat less work. Essentially, I have reduced the clarified butter from her original recipe and cut out the time intensive process of shaping the dessert into balls. I also make these in extra batches for gift giving and the flatter shape travels better since it can be fitted comfortably into a box.
After all, what’s in a shape? This recipe will still bring to your table the touch of nostalgia, the spirit of celebration and some of the brightness of the festival of lights. If you live in the New York area like me, chances are that you might have been impacted by the super-storm Sandy. 
If like me you were without light for over a week you will be welcoming light into your home festive or otherwise with enthusiasm and happiness. here is however something that will brighten your late fall day with or without the Diwali lamps. This year, I have learnt even more to appreciate the simpler joys of life and am grateful that we did not have any damage to our house. The storm also taught us first hand about the voice and fury of nature.
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Besan Barfi – Chickpea Flour Fudge Diamonds
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
Besan Barfi is a traditional North Indian dessert made with roasted chickpea flour, cardamom, and ghee, shaped into delightful fudge diamonds perfect for festive occasions.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) coarsely ground chickpea flour (sold as ladoo besan in Indian stores)
- 6 pods of green cardamom, peeled and ground
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) clarified butter (ghee)
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed skillet, dry roast the chickpea flour over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly to ensure even roasting and to prevent burning. The flour should become fragrant and slightly darker in color.
- Once roasted, remove the skillet from heat and let the flour cool slightly.
- Add the ground cardamom to the roasted flour and mix well.
- In a separate pan, melt the clarified butter over low heat.
- Pour the melted butter into the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
- Add the powdered sugar to the mixture and mix thoroughly until the sugar is fully incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to a greased or parchment-lined square or rectangular dish. Press down evenly to flatten the mixture.
- Allow the mixture to cool completely and set, then cut into squares or diamonds.
Notes
- Store the Besan Barfi in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- For a more indulgent version, increase the amount of ghee.
- These make excellent gifts and travel well due to their flat shape.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 5
- Fat: 9
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 20
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know when the chickpea flour is roasted enough?
The instructions say to dry-roast the flour in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. You’ll know it’s ready when it becomes fragrant and turns slightly darker in color — the aroma is distinctive and the article notes it’s a scent that is strongly nostalgic. Do not walk away; constant stirring is essential to prevent burning.
Why does this recipe use less ghee than a traditional ladoo recipe?
The article explains that the author deliberately reduced the clarified butter from her mother-in-law’s original recipe, which she describes as “very generous in its indulgent use of ghee.” This version uses ¾ cup ghee for 1¼ cups chickpea flour. The notes add that you can increase the ghee for a more indulgent result.
Why are these cut into flat diamonds instead of the traditional round ladoo shape?
The article explains this was a deliberate choice to save time — shaping ladoos into balls is a time-intensive process. The flat diamond shape also travels better, fitting comfortably into a box for gift-giving, which is especially relevant during Diwali when these are commonly made.
Made besan barfi for my folks during Diwali. They loved the nutty flavor from the roasted chickpea flour! A new family favorite.
Delicious
This tasted so nice but something about the consistency didn’t work for us. It was crumbly, I kept adding butter and cooking longer but nothing. But sugar, butter and cardamom ??
Rebecca, mine did this too. Turned out the sugar syrup wasn’t hot enough when I folded the besan in. A candy thermometer and soft-ball stage (around 235F) fixed it for me on the next attempt. Adding more butter and longer cooking didn’t help me when the real issue was the syrup.
Looks good. I looked for this after having some in an Indian restaurant recently.
I’d just like to comment that having the recipe in the print box makes it difficult to read on my laptop screen.
How muh is 1 1/4 cups in grams ?
Namaste. I only have the fine besan flour. Can I still make this recipe?
I think it means 1 & 1/4 cups?
Looks scrumptious, but how much is 11/4 of chickpea flour? Love laddoo tho :)
I love any an all desserts that involve cardamom – if I already have ground cardamom on hand do you know about how much would be equal to 6 pods? Yum!