Chana dal barfi is a delicious Indian sweet made from split chickpeas (chana dal), sugar, ghee, and flavored with cardamom. Here’s a recipe to make chana dal barfi:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chana dal (split chickpeas)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios) for garnish
Instructions:
Preparing the Chana Dal:
- Rinse the chana dal thoroughly under running water.
- Soak the chana dal in water for at least 4-5 hours or overnight.
Cooking the Chana Dal:
- Drain the soaked chana dal and add it to a pressure cooker.
- Add 1.5 cups of water to the pressure cooker and cook the chana dal until it is soft and mushy. It usually takes around 15-20 minutes on medium heat. If you’re using an Instant Pot, pressure cook on high for about 8-10 minutes.
- Once cooked, let the pressure release naturally.
Making the Chana Dal Barfi:
- Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai.
- Add the cooked chana dal to the pan and stir continuously on medium heat.
- Cook the chana dal until it thickens and starts leaving the sides of the pan. This should take around 10-15 minutes.
- Add sugar and continue stirring. The sugar will melt and the mixture will become slightly runny again.
- Keep stirring until the mixture thickens again. It should reach a consistency where it can be easily rolled into a ball.
- Add cardamom powder and mix well.
- Grease a plate or tray with ghee and spread the chana dal mixture onto it evenly.
- Sprinkle chopped nuts over the mixture and press them gently so they stick.
- Let it cool for about 15-20 minutes.
- Once the mixture has cooled down a bit, cut it into square or diamond shapes.
- Let it cool completely before removing the barfis from the tray.
- Your chana dal barfi is ready to be served. Enjoy!
You can store the chana dal barfi in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
