Besan Halwa Recipe
Learn how to make besan halwa that’s rich, smooth, and never lumpy. One pan, 6 ingredients, and a foolproof roasting trick that fixes the #1 mistake everyone makes.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- ½ cup ghee
- ¾ cup chickpea flour (besan, gram flour)
- 1 cup water at room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk (full-fat milk) at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- almond and pistachio slivers for garnishing
Instructions
- Heat ghee in a heavy-bottom pan at medium heat.
- Once the ghee is melted, add chickpea flour and roast until it turns deep golden brown and smells nutty, not raw (10-12 mins), stirring continuously to avoid the flour from burning at the bottom of the pan.
- Once the chickpea flour is well browned, add water and milk to the pan, while whisking the besan mixture constantly. The halwa will splutter aggressively for about 30 seconds; keep stirring through it. Within a minute, the milk will absorb, and the mixture will thicken into a smooth, lump-free batter.
- Now add sugar and cardamom powder to the pan and mix well. The sugar will melt and briefly loosen the halwa.
- Cook for 5-6 minutes, until the ghee starts to separate from the sides of the pan and the halwa begins to leave the edges.
- Garnish the ready halwa with slivered almonds and pistachios, and serve hot.
The color of the final halwa will depend on how well you roast the flour. You want the flour to be deep golden brown, but not burnt. It goes from perfectly browned to burnt in a few seconds. So monitor it closely while roasting.
The halwa thickens slightly as it cools, so don’t worry if it looks a touch loose right off the stove.
Video
Notes
To make besan ka halwa recipe even more indulgent and give it a royal touch, soak 15-20 saffron strands in 1 tablespoon milk for 30 minutes. Now add this milk while making the recipe.
You can replace water with milk for a richer halwa.
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 59IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 1mg
