Gram flour sweets

These Indian snacks are a doddle to make. Sometimes your sweet tooth needs to be satisfied ASAP – and if you want to eat something homemade, you’re hardly going to wait for an entire cake to bake.

That’s where Chetna Makan’s recipe for gram flour sweets comes in: sugary, buttery, spiced with cardamom and spiked with almonds, it will satisfy all your cravings – and be ready to eat within half an hour.

Ingredients: (Serves 8-10)

100g ghee, plus extra for greasing 170g gram flour (besan/chickpea flour) 60g icing sugar

20g ground almonds 1/4tspn ground cardamom 10g toasted flaked almonds

Method:

1. Heat the ghee in a pan.

Once it has melted, add the gram flour and cook over a low heat for eight minutes, stirring often, until it starts to change colour and smell toasted. The mixture will start off clumpy but will gradually bubble and become smooth and creamy.

2. Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool for five minutes.

3. Meanwhile, grease a 20cm square cake tin and line with non-stick baking paper.

4. Mix the icing sugar, ground almonds and cardamom together in a bowl, then add the toasted gram flour mixture and stir to combine.

5. Transfer the mixture to the lined tin, then spread it out and level the surface with a spatula. Sprinkle the toasted flaked almonds on top and let it cool in the refrigerator for five to 10 minutes until firm.

6. Cut it into small squares and serve. These sweets will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Let them sit at room temperature for an hour before serving.