Instant Pot Besan Burfi (Chickpea Fudge)

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Get ready to amaze your family, friends, everyone you know (including yourself!) with some homemade besan burfi using this surprisingly simple recipe. This is the easiest and fastest way to make besan burfi – this chickpea fudge sets in minutes!

instant pot besan burfi

What is Besan Burfi?

Besan burfi is a sweet and dense dessert made using besan, sugar, water, cardamom, and ghee.

I think this might be the easiest dessert recipe on my blog? And that’s crazy because I’m sharing a burfi recipe. Burfi is something I used to dismiss as being too complicated to make myself. Much easier to ask a family member to make it for me (lol).

But having an instant pot makes making besan burfi so simple!

“Turned out absolutely great. I have tried this recipe from various sites and hands down this was the simplest. Of course your arm gets a workout but the outcome!!!!! YUMMY! Thank you. This is one of my favorite Indian sweets and so glad I don’t have to buy it off the shelves anymore.”

Flavia
instant pot besan burfi

What is Besan?

Besan, also known as gram flour or chickpea flour, is made from small brown chickpeas (not garbanzo beans). If you remove the brown skin from brown chickpeas, you’re left with yellow chana dal – grind that, and you’ve got besan. Thankfully it’s easy to find besan at your local Indian grocery store or online.

If you’ve never tried besan before, it has a pleasant, nutty, and somewhat earthy flavor. If you’ve never had besan burfi before, you should know that it’s dense, unlike Kaju Katli, which is more delicate.

Why use besan to make burfi? Because it’s delicious! Besan is an Indian pantry staple. It’s more economical than using nuts or nut flour, making besan burfi an inexpensive dessert.

instant pot besan burfi

How to Make Besan Burfi:

This type of fudge is traditionally made on the stovetop by boiling sugar to the right temperature/consistency while simultaneously cooking besan in bubbling hot ghee. Once both are ready – you’re supposed to combine them into one pot. I find it difficult to use two stovetop burners at the same time without burning myself (#clumsy), so I’ve managed to come up with an easier and safer, and more reliable method. We’re going to make our sugar syrup (also known as chashni) in the instant pot and then mix in the rest of the ingredients.

This method is similar to my Kaju/Badam Katli (cashew/almond fudge) recipe – only much easier because there’s no need to roll out any dough.

The first step: roast the besan.

besan burfi

Set the besan aside for now. It’s time to make sugar syrup!

besan burfi

Then we stir roasted besan, ghee, and cardamom together and pour it all into a glass dish.

Top with crushed nuts (if you want), then slice and serve. It sets within minutes! It really is as easy as it sounds.

besan burfi

Why Roast Besan?

Why do we have to roast besan before making burfi? Because raw chana dal flour is bitter. Roasting besan gets rid of bitterness and is what gives the flour its nutty, toasty flavor.

Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut to roasting the flour. It takes 20 minutes of occasional stirring. I won’t lie, those 20 minutes can feel like an eternity… unless you’re listening to music! Play your favorite tunes, and after 5-6 songs, the besan will be ready 🙂

instant pot besan burfi
instant pot besan burfi
instant pot besan burfi



What do I do if I see the Burn sign?!

Ignore it. It’ll go away on its own after a few minutes. I’ve made sugar syrup in the instant pot many times, and every now and then, the IP will go rogue and give me a “burn” sign – it has always gone away on its own after several minutes – be patient.

Here’s what to expect if the burn sign comes up: after a few minutes, the burn sign will disappear, and the pressure cooker will continue to count down. As long as the valve is closed and the silicone ring is on properly, it’ll be fine. The sugar won’t burn. The temperature of the syrup will still be within the correct range to make this fudge.

instant pot besan burfi

Besan burfi lasts a while. You can store this burfi on the counter for a week, in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or in the freezer for months. Enjoy!

More Burfi Recipes to Try:

Instant Pot Besan Burfi (Chickpea Fudge)

instant pot besan burfi

Instant Pot Besan Burfi (Chickpea Fudge)

4.61 from 23 reviews
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Cuisine Indian

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cups besan approx 230 – 245 grams
  • 1 cup sugar approx 200 – 210 grams
  • â…“ cup water approx 2.55 – 2.75 ounces
  • Âľ cup ghee approx. 5.5 – 6 ounces
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom*
  • 2-3 tablespoons chopped nuts optional, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Roast the Besan:
    Set a 6 quart Instant Pot to sautĂ© (default medium setting) and allow the pot to heat up for a couple of minutes. Add the besan to the instant pot and dry roast the besan, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until it smells toasty and the color slightly darkens by a shade or two. Remove the besan from the pot and set it aside for now (if you’re unsure whether it’s toasted properly, you can taste a pinch of it – if it’s bitter, that means it’s still raw). 
  • Wipe down the pot with a dry paper towel, then add sugar and water to the pot and mix well.
  • Secure the lid and cook for 11 minutes at high pressure.
  • Quick-release pressure.
  • Add the roasted besan, ghee, cardamom, and quickly stir until well combined. You’ll need to be quick as this mixture thickens fast, making it tough to stir well.
  • Spoon the mixture into a greased 8×8 or similar sized pan/dish and spread it out with a spatula. If using nuts, press them into the fudge while it’s still warm (you can use parchment paper to press them in). The fudge sets in minutes – make sure to slice it right away and then let it cool before removing the slices. If you wait too long to make the slices, it’ll crumble as you try to slice the hardened burfi.

Video

Notes

Important: All of the recipes on my blog are tested using a 6 quart instant pot – I have not tested this recipe in a different sized pot. I don’t know if this recipe will work in a 3 quart or 8 quart as the surface area is different and will affect the temperature of the sugar syrup. I suggest only using a 6 quart for this recipe.
I suggest using freshly ground cardamom over store-bought ground cardamom – I’ve tried both and freshly ground makes a big difference in this burfi given that it calls for such few ingredients. Remember – when you freshly grind cardamom, save the green shells and use them when making chai 🙂
Store this burfi in an airtight container on the counter for a week, in the fridge for a couple of weeks or in the freezer for months.
If you see the burn sign: please ignore it – it’ll go away on its own after a few minutes. I’ve made sugar syrup in the instant pot many times and every now and then the IP will go rogue and give me a “burn” sign – it has always gone away on its own after several minutes – just be patient. Here’s what to expect if the burn sign comes up: after a few minutes the burn sign will disappear and the pressure cooker will continue to count down. As long as the valve is closed and the silicone ring is on properly, it’ll be fine. The sugar won’t burn. The temperature of the syrup will still be within the correct range to make this fudge.
Update 7/8: you may have noticed that I changed the cook time to 11 minutes (it was 12 minutes when I first shared the recipe). I did this after hearing that some of you had trouble with the burfi becoming too hard too quickly. After more testing, I think 11 minutes is the way to go.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @myheartbeets on Instagram and hashtag it #myheartbeets!

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My two little “helpers” say hello 🙂 Hope you enjoy the burfi!

instant pot besan burfi

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About Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley. Thanks for being here! I truly believe that food brings us closer together. Gather around a table with good food and good people, and you’ll have the ingredients you need to create some happy memories. My hope is that you find recipes here that you can’t wait to share with family and friends.

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Comments

  1. Minii says

    Hi Ashley
    May I know how many burfi you get with this quantity. Planning to try today but it’s for a pooja I need to make bulk. Would prefer to try a small batch. Can I just try half the ratio . I want to taste it and then make large portions for Pooja.

  2. Kamala Raghunath says

    I love your recipes Ashley! Can you please share some IP sweets (burfis etc.) with powdered jaggery for people like me who are off white sugar? Thanks so much for being an inspiration.

  3. Shallu says

    I have tried ur badam katli so many times and it comes out perfect but today I tried ur besan barfi recipe, it didn’t come out good. It became all crumbly mixture , though the taste of that mixture is good , but to serve its a pain.
    I don’t know where I went wrong.

    • Ashley - My Heart Beets says

      Hi Shallu, I’m not sure why it didn’t turn out well – it’s hard to say without more detail. Maybe it was the besan? You can share photos and details in my FB group (Instant Pot for Indian Food) – some other blog readers may be able to help troubleshoot!

  4. Sweetcanary says

    would mixing the besan flour with the ghee before incorporating to the sugar water make it easier to mix ? thanks for this great recipie !

  5. Rachel Ashtamkar says

    3 stars
    Hmm I’m one of the ppl who had the burn sign not turn off. In an effort to be patient, I probably waited too long so I think my sugar reduced too much. What’s odd is that the pressure never went on – button stayed down the whole time. But when I took the temp with my instant read thermometer I got a 230 so I thought I was good at one thread stage. I poured, mixed, cut and it all seemed a little extra oily and hard/crumbly, not the texture I’ve made using other recipes. The crumbs left over now that they have sat have a nice texture…I’ll see if my friends and neighbors will tell me the honest truth about if the texture corrected. I will say that the flavor is superb as I took the recommendation to shell and grind my own cardamom.

    • Vib says

      Same thing happened when I tried this recipe. It would not come to pressure. I am using 6qt Instant Pot. I can cook every else in the instant pot just fine. Not enough liquid? Can you provide stove top method?

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