Besan ki barfi / Indian fudge - with a twist

I have grown up watching my nani making huge amounts of sweets and savory snacks (enough to feed an army). So did my mother though to a lesser extent, but by the time I grew up this trend had dwindled a lot. Old timers still lament about those good old days when everything was made at home and now they have to make do with packaged and processed stuff with all kinds’ of  chemical additives and preservatives.

For most of us who have grown up gorging on our desi mithai there is nothing to beat it. Making mithai at home might seem tedious but it is totally worth the effort, it tastes way too better not to have a go at making it yourself. As for me, I am into this new phase where homemade is the new mantra and I am  very bemused at how ultimately, we take comfort in  and go back to doing things that we grew up with.

This besan barfi is also known as the seven cup barfi, a popular Indian sweet. I have modified it a bit and gone easy on the ghee and sugar in keeping with today's times and here I am sharing my own version of it. I have added some whole wheat flour which gives it a better texture and adds a nice nutty flavor to it. The barfi turns out soft and fudge like and keeps well. It is very easy to make, doesn't take too much time, and tastes absolutely delicious. So here you go -

Besan ki barfi

Besan Ki Barfi

3/4 cup besan (chick pea flour)

1/4 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

1/2 cup desi ghee (clarified butter)

1 cup dessicated coconut

1 cup sugar (powdered)

1/2 teaspoon elaichi (green cardamom) powder

1 cup milk 

20 almonds thinly sliced

Grease a square pan or tray with ghee. Take a thick bottomed heavy kadai (wok) and pour in the ghee, besan and atta and roast the two on low heat. This roasting helps in removing the raw taste of the flour. Add in the dessicated coconut and half of the finely sliced almonds. Stir constantly till the mixture turns nice brown. This would take around 15 minutes.

Now add the powdered sugar and the milk and stir continuously to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom. Continue to cook till it starts thickening and begins to leave the sides of the pan and comes together, then switch off the burner.

Pour the hot mixture  into the greased pan and level it out with a spatula, then sprinkle the remaining sliced almonds on top.

Let it cool down then cut into diamond or square pieces and enjoy.

Indian fudge

Sooji Ka Halwa - Semolina Pudding

The much awaited and longed for monsoons have not yet set in, in Delhi but there are occasional days when it becomes cloudy and there is a promise of rain - the perfect weather for something piping hot like sooji ka halwa. Like most of my cooking this was also something that I picked up after marriage. My mother used to make it often so I knew the basics it’s just that I had never tried my hand at it.

The manner of cooking the halwa was very different at my husband's place for one it was  way richer with oodles of ghee added to it and also the sooji retained its creamy off whitish color (while  my mother's  used to be darker - light brownish in color). I enjoy both of them but then I of course have a sweet tooth. Whenever we sisters got together at my mother's place I was assigned the task of making the halwa for breakfast. Now, though I have cut down on the ghee in deference to our expanding waists, but yes it sure does taste mighty better with a more liberal addition of ghee. While it may sound simple and commonplace but making the perfect 'sooji ka halwa' is a little trickier then most of us think.

Here's my recipe for a yummy 'Sooji Ka Halwa'

Ingredients

1/2 cup sooji / semolina

1/3 cup ghee/clarified butter

1/3 cup sugar(or according to taste)

10-15 raisins

1cup water

5-10 almond cut into fine slices

Add sooji to the pan along with the ghee and stir it continuously on very low heat for 3-4 minutes. The low heat ensures that the sooji gets roasted evenly. In a separate pan warm the water. Once the sooji has got roasted add the raisins to it and stir for a couple of minutes. Then add the hot water to it and stir it till all the water gets absorbed. Now add the sugar and mix well till the halwa begins to come together. Keep stirring for a few more minutes till the ghee starts to leave. Remove the pan from the burner and decorate the halwa with the slivered almonds. Serve hot.