The easiest way to make besan barfi recipe at home, and it’s ready in 20 minutes only! This burfi is perfectly sweet with great texture and made with very few basic ingredients (gram flour, ghee, sugar and semolina). This is a beginner-friendly recipe and no sugar syrup is made.
These are great for the festive season and to pack into sweet gift-box to giveaway during Diwali.

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❤️Why I Love This Recipe
- It’s beginner-friendly, there is no way you can mess this up.
- No-sugar syrup is required for this recipe. The traditional method of making besan barfi calls for 1½ - 2 threads consistency of sugar syrup which is a little tricky and if messed up then barfi end with rock hard texture.
- It has a good grainy texture (no sticking to the teeth or roof of your mouth).
- These are soft with melt-in-your-mouth feel.
- Adults, as well as kids, sure love this barfi.
🧾Ingredients
Here is the pic of ingredients to make a simple, easy besan barfi recipe. You’ll need the main 5 ingredients (plus, your choice of nut for garnish).
Besan (gram flour): Besan is ground up chana dal (split bengal gram) and very easily available in Indian grocery stores. There is similar flour called chickpea flour (garbanzo flour) and it more popular in American grocery stores. This chickpea flour is ground up white chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
- FYI, besan is very fine vs chickpea flour is little coarse. To make BEST besan burfi, you must use besan (gram flour).
Semolina (rava or suji): The very little amount of rava is required, but it adds nice grainy (danedar) texture.
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
Prep:
- Grease the 5-6 inch tray or plate with ghee and keep it aside.
- Blanch the almonds (soak almonds in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes, peel the skin). Then cut into halves. You can use your choice of other nuts.
1) Heat the ghee in a heavy bottom pan on medium-low heat. Once hot add besan and semolina.
2) As soon as you mix, it looks dry and lumpy, you feel the mixture is heavy as your stir. You may think that the quantity of ghee is less. But no, it is perfectly fine. Keep stirring constantly and roast.
3) After roasting for a few minutes, you will see that the mixture becomes pasty and notice a nice color change. Plus, the mixture feels lighter compared to earlier.
4) Keep roasting till it becomes a thin, runny mixture and ghee starts to ooze out from the sides. The whole kitchen is filled with a toasty aroma of the besan. At this time besan is roasted nicely.
5) Now add sugar and cardamom.
6) Mix well and immediately turn off the stove. The mixture looks dry, but the heat from the besan mixture will melt the sugar.
7) Now pour into the greased tray and spread it evenly.
8) Garnish with almond halves. I have estimated the square cuts and put the almond half in the center of the square piece.
9) When it is half-way through set (meaning it is warm), cut into pieces to make the indentation.
10) Now let the barfis set completely for a few hours. Grease the knife with ghee and cut into the previously made indentation. Gently remove the pieces. PS: as it gets cools, it becomes slightly lighter in color.
💭Expert Tips:
Roasting the besan is the key to make the best besan barfi. For that keep below points in mind.
- Stir constantly: While roasting besan-semolina mixture, you must keep stirring continuously to get even browning and to avoid burning the mixture.
- Heavy bottom pan/kadai: Always use the pan with a heavy, thick bottom so besan does not burn. Otherwise, besan gets color quickly without being roasted properly.
- Medium-Low heat: During the entire cooking process keep the gas heat to medium-low
Storage: It stays good up to 1-2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.
🍽 Serving Ideas
- Enjoy a piece of besan barfi as a dessert after a meal or along with your meal.
- It is served to guests during the Diwali festival along with few savory Diwali snacks.
- You can pack in decorative mithai box to giveaway in this festive season.
PS Tried this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback! Plus, Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest updates.
📋 Recipe Card
Besan Barfi (No Sugar Syrup)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Ghee (clarified butter) measured in semi-solid form
- 1 cup Besan (gram flour)
- ¼ cup Sooji (rava or semolina)
- ⅔ cup Sugar (If the sugar has bigger granules then grind to make powder)
- ¼ teaspoon Green cardamom seeds powder
- 5 Almonds (blanched, skin removed and halved)
Instructions
- Prep:- Grease the 5-6 inch tray or plate with ghee and keep it aside.- Blanch the almonds (soak almonds in boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes, peel the skin). Then cut into halves. You can use your choice of other nuts.
- Roast besan-rava mixture:- Heat the ghee in a heavy bottom pan on medium-low heat. Once hot add besan and semolina.- Keep stirring constantly and keep roasting until besan get nice golden brown color, becomes aromatic and ghee starts to ooze out from the sides.Different stages while roasting from start to finish - (dry, lumpy, feels heavy) → (loose, pasty) → (aromatic, thin runny, fat separated, golden brown, feels light).
- Add sugar & cardamom: - Now add sugar and cardamom. Mix well and immediately turn off the stove. The mixture looks dry, but the heat from the besan mixture will melt the sugar.
- Set barfi & cut: - Now pour into the greased tray and spread it evenly. Garnish with almond halves. I have estimated the square cuts and put the almond half in the center of the square piece.- When it is half-way through set (meaning it is warm), cut into pieces to make the indentation.- Now let the barfis set completely for a few hours. Grease the knife with ghee and cut into the previously made indentation. Gently remove the pieces.
Notes
- Stir constantly: While roasting besan-semolina mixture, you must keep stirring continuously to get even browning and to avoid burning the mixture.
- Heavy bottom pan/kadai: Always use the pan with a heavy, thick bottom so besan does not burn. Otherwise, besan gets color quickly without being roasted properly.
- Medium-Low heat: During the entire cooking process keep the gas heat to medium-low
Archana
hi kanan
tried besan barfi..it came out good bt i have to tell you that i reduce the amount of sugar..i use only 1/3 cup..ghee also i was quite unsure how to measure it..while cooking it was a bit try and i just splashed some water and quickly poured it into the tray..luckily it set and came out good..i am going to keep the recipe..thank you
Kanan
I have measured 1/3 cup ghee in semi solid form.
Mine also looked dry but it sets fine.
anyways glad to hear that you got success.
niloufer
The pieces just didnt form. Followed instructions to the T.
What could have gone wrong ?
Kanan
how long did you let it rest to set?
It may take more than 2-3 hours depending on the weather where you live.
Nirav
Looks yummmmyyyyy will try it out. Happy Diwali to you and your family
thanks,
Kanan
Thank you. Also Wishing you a Happy Diwali
Anjana
Beautiful. This is such a nice well rxplained recipe Kanan. Most recipes ask for a sugar syrup which as you correctly pointed out can be tricky. Thanks for sharing and wish you a wonderful Diwali
Kanan
Thank you Anjana.
Happy Diwali to you and your family.
Archana
hi kanan
recipe sounds gud..would like to try it for ths diwali..can u plz give the recipe in grams..btw wishing u n yr family a happy and prosperous diwali☺☺
Kanan
please use this conversion chart and convert into grams accordingly.
happy Diwali Archana !!!