Salted chocolate besan ladoos
Besan burfi is a labour of love that’s worth every slowstirred minute. It’s made using gram flour that’s cooked long and slow in melted ghee until it becomes golden and nutty. The end result is a crumbly, biscuity Indian fudge that can be shaped into perfect cubes or rounded ladoos. This salted chocolate version makes for a decadently moreish finish to any Diwali feast.
1 HOUR 30 MINUTES + CHILLING MAKES 15-18 | A LITTLE EFFORT
ghee 160g
gram flour 275g, sifted
cocoa powder 165g
sea salt flakes 1½ tsp, plus extra to serve
coarse semolina 25g
green cardamom 10 pods, seeds crushed to a powder
toasted flaked almonds 50g, roughly chopped
icing sugar 175g
dark chocolate 100g
edible gold leaf 4-5 sheets, to decorate (optional)
1 Melt the ghee in a large pan, then add the gram flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes, stirring continuously. The mixture will go through a few stages: first, it will feel like a hard clump (keep mixing, pressing into the bottom of the pan, then folding over so it doesn’t burn on the bottom); after 15 minutes, it will start to soften; and after 20 minutes the ghee will start separating, giving you a velvety, thick, custard-like mixture. Keep cooking and stirring for a further 10 minutes. Eventually, it will darken in colour, turn a little grainy and smell nutty. This will take 30-35 minutes.
2 Very carefully scrape the hot, grainy mixture into a large bowl, then stir through the cocoa, salt, semolina, cardamom and almonds. Cool for 25 minutes, then mix in the sugar, ensuring it’s fully incorporated.
3 Use your hands to squeeze together golf-ball-sized pieces of the mixture, then arrange on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and chill for 30 minutes.
4 Remove from the fridge and reshape any that have softened back into balls.
Tip the dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt in short bursts in the microwave or over a pan of gently simmering water. Dip the bottoms of the ladoos into the melted chocolate, then return to the lined baking sheet and chill for another
30 minutes until set. Garnish with gold leaf, if using, and a sprinkle of sea salt flakes.
PER SERVING (18) 262 kcals | fat 15.2G saturates 7.8G | carbs 22.7G sugars 12.1G | fibre 3.5G protein 6.8G | salt 0.4G