Besan Halwa (Soft & Fudgy)

Besan halwa is a rich and nutty indian dessert made with pantry staples such as besan (gram flour), ghee, sugar and water. This fudgy besan halwa recipe is perfect dessert for festive occasions as well as for cold winter months

You will need just 4 basic ingredients and a little patience with constant stirring. Add a variety of nuts that you like before serving. Gluten free recipe!

Halwa is a delicious indian dessert and is often made with different kinds of flour, lentils, vegetables and fruits. In noth india, love for halwa is profound and these delighful puddings are made for festivals & special occasions.

A variety of halwas made with different flours such as sooji ka halwa, atta halwa, and besan halwa used to be childhood staples. In my home, during winters, halwa is made for breakfast too. Another of our winter favorite is gajar halwa (carrot halwa).

What is Besan Halwa

Besan or gram flour is usually made my grinding hulled kala chana or black chickpeas. Depending on what we are making with it, different kinds of besan are available in indian grocery stores from fine ground or coarsely ground(ladoo besan).

Besan halwa, also sometimes known as besan ka sheera is a delicious pudding like dessert with a nutty flavor. You need handful of ingredients for making this delicious besan halwa.

Other than besan, you will need sugar, water and ghee. I use a mixture of water and milk but only water can be used too. Though dry fruits and nuts make the halwa absolutely delectable, you can leave them out if you wish. 

Sweets made with besan are my weakness! Whether it is besan ladoo, besan barfi or halwa, I find them truly irresistible. Besan sweets need hard work though. You need to roast the besan in ghee while constantly stirring it until besan achieves a beautiful golden color and toasty aroma. If roasted right, besan sweets turn out utterly delicious. 

This besan ka halwa recipe is not complicated, once you roast the besan properly, you are sure to get a delicious tasting halwa. One of my favorite things is that the halwa remains soft and fudgy even after cooling down. It won't become granular.

5 Tips for Making Best Besan Halwa

• Sieve The Besan - This step ensures that your besan is lump-free to start with. Because it is very finely ground, packaged besan gets lumpy while sitting on the store shelf as well as in our pantry. Sieving helps in achieving a smooth and uniform texture of the halwa.
• Roast besan on low flame - This is one of the key steps in making any sweet with besan. Roasting on low flame helps the flour to roast evenly and helps to achieve a nutty aroma. If you roast on high heat, the nuttiness of besan won't come out properly and that affects the taste of the halwa. If besan is not roasted properly, it cannot be fixed once sugar and water has been added. Takes about 10-15 minutes so put on good music and be patient while roasting. 
• Consistent Stirring While Roasting - Continously stir the besan mixture while roasting in ghee. Since besan is finely ground, this prevents besan from sticking and burning at the bottom of the pan. If the besan is burnt even a little bit, your halwa will have blackish specks that do not look appetizing. Roasting until besan is pinkish brown or golden brown in color is what we want to achieve. Please refer to the images of roasted besan that I have included later in this post. 
• Ghee Quantity - Don't skimp on ghee when making anything with besan be it sweet or savory recipes. If the quantity of ghee is not right, your halwa will taste dry and stick to back of the throat while eating. 
• Stir while adding liquid (water + milk)- Once you add water and milk to the hot roasted besan, the chances of besan forming lumps is very high. Pour the water & milk mixture while stirring the besan continously, never ever lumps will form in your besan halwa if you do so.

Ingredients

• Besan - Use regular besan (fine ground) for a fudgy and soft texture. You can also use coarse besan (available as ladoo besan in indian grocery store). The texture of halwa with coarse besan is grainy and not soft. It depends on what texture of halwa you enjoy, either variety is fine as long as the besan halwa is made well. 
• Full fat Milk + Water - You can use only water. But I find that adding milk gives a creamier taste to halwa.
• Sugar - I use granulated sugar. The taste of halwa will be different with jaggery. If you are using jaggery, don't use milk(cooking milk and jaggery together has chances of curdling). 
• Ghee - Homemade ghee is the best but store bought ghee is great too. 
• Green Cardamom (Choti Elaichi) - I really love the flavor of besan and elaichi together. Go light handed on green cardamom since we still want the taste and aroma of besan to shine! You could use saffron as well. 
• Nuts - I use cashew nuts, almonds and pistachios. 

Instructions

Before you start making besan halwa, measure out all the ingredients. Sieve the besan, mix water and milk and chop the nuts. You cannot leave the besan unattended while its roasting.

1. Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a heavy, thick bottomed pan (preferably non stick, cast iron or iron) over medium heat
2. Add chopped cashew and almonds and toast over low medium heat till lightly browned. Transfer nuts to a small bowl and keep aside. 
3. Add the remaining ghee to the pan. Let melt over low medium heat. 

4. Next, add the cup of besan to the melted ghee. Mix well and roast it on low to medium flame while stirring continuously to avoid lumps and to ensure even roasting. 
5. Roast until the besan turns pinkish brown or golden brown. You will smell a wonderful nutty aroma. This process of roasting besan in ghee can take around 10-15 minutes.

6. Once the besan is golden & you smell a nice aroma, reduce the heat to low and with one hand, add the water & hot milk mixture to the roasted flour while stirring continuously with the other hand. You will have to to work fast and be careful since the mixture will splutter. 
7. Keep a low flame. The besan will absorb the liquid within minutes and will be thickish. Add the sugar now. 

8. As the sugar melts the besan will again become slightly loose. After you have added sugar, bhuno the halwa on low heat with continuous stirring until the halwa reaches a smooth texture and starts leaving the sides of the pan and clumping around the stirring spoon. Takes about 6-8 minutes. This is important because, if you dont bhuno the halwa after adding sugar, it will become sticky. Adjust the quantity of sugar as per your taste preferences. 
9. Add a few pinches of green cardamom powder and optionally you may add 1 tablespoon of ghee for a glistening look. 

10. Remove the pan from heat and dish out the halwa into serving bowls. 
11. Garnish with the nuts that we toasted earlier. Serve besan halwa warm.

Storage

Allow the besan halwa to cool down completely and store in an air tight container, refrigerated. Store besan halwa separately from strong smelling savory foods(meats or curries) or ingredients like chopped onions or garlic to prevent it from absorbing those unwanted flavors. Consume within 2-4 days.

To reheat, place cold halwa in a pan and warm up on low heat. Or you can heat in a microwave for 15-20 seconds. Watch the microwave timings else ghee can ooze out from the halwa.