This Diwali, I tried a new sweet, it's called 5 cup Mithai. Just that.
It is simple, straight forward. No fuss, no extra prep work and tastes good.
The recipe credit goes to my Mother's childhood friend, Gayatri, she spoke to my mom and quickly gave her the recipe and added that, she made it every year and it is fool proof and time tested. Of course I wanted it!
What struck me, when I read this recipe first was, errr.. really? is that all? but...but... I doubted the very first step of the recipe, usually when this happens, I abandon the project. Not very mature, I know, but IMHO, better than dumping the end product unceremoniously into the trash bin and fretting over the loss of ingredients and kicking myself over it.
What struck me odd was that this recipe calls for chickpea flour (besan) but did not follow the usual norm of roasting chickpea flour like in Besan Ladoo. Unheard of!
And most Indian sweets have cardamom and, or, saffron for flavoring, this sweet does not have *any*! gasp!
Doubt 3, the recipe calls for using rava / semolina, un-roasted, again!
Now do you see why I was in two minds!
But I sometimes tell myself, a little sternly, trust! Good recipes are not always in cook books.
I am glad I trusted and went ahead.
Little S approved! he would walk up to the table where I had placed all my Diwali goodies and open the container and help himself to these delectable squares. The mithai has the seal of approval!
You need:
1 cup Milk
1 cup Ghee + 2 Tbsp Ghee
1 cup Rawa / Semolina
1 cup Besan / Chickpea flour
2 cups Sugar (I used a little less)
Apply ghee on a plate with an edge and set aside.
Heat 2 spoons of ghee in a thick bottom non-stick pan and Lightly roast Besan / chickpea flour. When I asked how much is lightly, pat came the answer, heat ghee, add flour and mix, that's it! no more roasting.
Add cold milk. At this point, I use my immersion blender to make a uniform paste. I found it impossible to break the lumps with the back of the spoon, but a 15 second whirl of my trusted immersion blender and I had creamy paste!
Melt 1 cup ghee and add to the above.
Add rawa (semolina) and sugar.and mix thoroughly.
Keep stirring until it solidifies. when I asked how solid the reply was Gola zala pahije, meaning it should from a ball.
Pour onto the greased plate and pat to form an even surface using a bowl (vati) with a flat bottom.
Here you have 2 options, grease the bottom of the bowl with a drop of ghee or water- just a drop! that will prevent from the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the bowl.
Form squares or diamonds using a shankarpali cutter or Pizza cutter and cool on the plate.
Store in an airtight container.
It does not have to be Diwali to make this sweet!
27 comments:
looks delicious :)
Very attractive sweet, if kids approved it watelse we need to make some.
gr8 idea
I had the extreme good fortune of being able to taste this sweet and boy, it was wonderful!
Dear can I cut down the sugar to half the content?? Will it still taste the same?
Thank you, Aruna.
Priya, I was surprised that my son chose this over Besan Ladoo! But I am glad he did!
Thank you, Santosh.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to share it with you!
The recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar, which is a little too sweet for me and so I have used 1 3/4 cup sugar instead.
You can try reducing and using 1 1/2 cup, but I cannot assure you about the taste. The reason being, since besan is not roasted it may taste a bit off.
It would be a sin to waste all the ingredients if something goes wrong.
Besan burfi with no torturing roasting, i am in.. Would love to make it, Roasting besan kills me, but kids eat the ladoos, so have to make it. I am still in trance with no rava and besan being roasted, but I Trust you, so aye aye Mam.. will be making for TG dinner.
Love Ash.
This is practically instant! Other than the light roasting there is no cooking involved? Wow! I am tempted to try the recipe in half quantities first. If I am out of ghee can I substitute it with unsalted butter in the same quantities?
This is such a great treat to take along as 'khau' for the kids or even as an offering when invited for a pooja. I agree - good recipes are not always found in cookbooks.
- Priti
Priti, it is a simple dessert. Do try it in half the quantity, if you like it, there is always another time! The strenuous step is mixing,to form up to a ball stage.
I would not sub with unsalted butter, the aroma of ghee along with the rest of the ingredients give it a distinct taste.
Do let me know if you try it.
Thank you, Divya.
I know what you mean, roasting - I mean slow roasting is a pain!
I have a shortcut there too, microwave roast besan for ladoo, always works!
Try this, see how you like it. Halve the quantity for the first time, to kinda see how you all like it.
A belated happy diwali, dear Manasi. I didn't get to celebrate Diwali this year because of a project deadline at work, but reading this post put me right back in the spirit. This also sounds like it would be easy enough to veganize-- it's going into my bookmarks!
(belated) Happy diwali to you to, dear Vaishali!
If this recipe can be veganized, you are the one to do it! I will look forward to that!
good one; i make something as 7 cup fudge; this one's very similar but it's sans rava. the mithai looks delightful
Looks delicious, kids approved will be always best.
Manasi it really looks an easy one to prepare...awesome recipe, though my son doesn't like sweet that much, but think he will love this form. I normally prefer homemade ghee. Will that add the same flavor to this sweet?
Visit my recipes @ Manidipa's Kitchen
Thanks Manidipa, I hope you will try this and that your little one approves as well.
I *always* use home made ghee for anything I make (which calls for ghee).
I just posted a 7 cup barfi on my blog and glad to find another. I too was skeptical about not roasting the besan. I am bookmarking this to be made next time
Sorry Manasi, have mentioned your name wrongly..
couldn't wait to try this tempting version.
Tasty Appetite
Hi,
The mithai looks absolutely delicious! But I have one question--doesn't the besan remain uncooked as you are only lightly roasting it? Thanks.
Thanks Anita. To answer your question, no the besan does not remain uncooked, it has a distinct aroma as we do not roast it and that contributes to the taste!
My mom's friend, who gave the recipe actually just adds the besan to ghee and just 'swishes' the spatula twice! I am not so sure of that and go on to very lightly roast it.
The recipe gets done instantly. I personally did not enjoy it, the besan tasted uncooked. But my friend didn't seem to mind it, so I guess it wasn't a wasted effort after all. Thanks :)
Thank you for the feed back. In my experience, the besan gets cooked ( but retains a nutty flavor, which is different from the 'bhuna besan' like in a ladoo) once the whole mixture forms a ball.
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