Besan Barfi (Chickpea Fudge) is a traditional sweet from Northern India and Pakistan made with chickpea flour (gram flour), condensed milk and sugar.

Every time I go into my local health store I can’t resist buying a block of “chickpea fudge” from a jar. My boys got hooked too, so it was time to attempt my own, adapting the ingredients to eliminate the condensed milk and refined sugar.

And don’t be fooled by the Indian spice, cardamom. My 6 year old won’t go near anything that resembles curry or spices, but surprisingly he loves these! The flavour is so subtle and adds something so delicately fragrant to the fudge.

Method

Melt ghee or butter in a saucepan on medium heat.

Add chickpea flour and stir continuously until golden brown (about 10 minutes). Don’t allow it to become too dark.

Remove from heat and stir in the honey, spices and nuts.

Cool until it can be handled (about 15 minutes).

Roll into balls or press mixture into a dish (I use a silicone loaf pan) and cut into squares.

Set aside for an hour, or place in the fridge until hard before serving.

Best to store them in the fridge.

Notes

You can add 2 teaspoons of Tahini to the mixture.

If you shape the fudge into balls, you can roll them in toasted sesame seeds before they harden.