BESAN KE LADOO Surbhi Sahni, Dévi, New York City

Method

Put chickpea flour, almond flour and green cardamom powder in a flat bottom pan on low heat. Roast the flour stirring continuously until golden brown in color about 20-30 minutes. Be careful while roasting as the flour has a tendency to stick and burn easily.

Remove the roasted flour mixture and spoon into a bowl and cool to room temperature.

Put the roasted flour mixture and sugar in a food processor. Pulse for at least 2 minutes to break the sugar and distribute it evenly in the flour.

Start adding the cold butter, pulse the machine in short bursts until all the butter is incorporated and the dough comes together.

Turn the mixture into a bowl and stir in the almonds and raisins. Mold the dough together using light pressure. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.

Take out the cookie dough and if it seems to be too hard for rolling, leave it out for a few minutes. Sprinkle the table liberally with all-purpose flour and roll the cookie dough about ½ inches thick.

Cut the cookie dough in desired cookie shapes and size and lay them on the baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. (The leftover sides of the dough can be rolled again.) Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before putting it in the oven.

Bake the cookies for 6 to7 minutes turning the tray 180 degrees after a couple of minutes to ensure even baking.

As soon as the tray comes out of the oven, brush the cookies with clarified butter and then sprinkle confectioners’ sugar on top. Cool completely and store in air-tight container. The cookies stay good at room temperature for at least 1 ½ weeks.

Makes about 12-14 cookies

Chef's Quote

Besan ke ladoos are sweets made with chickpea flour. They are sold all year long in most sweet shops in India, but my most vivid memories of them centers around Diwali. For Diwali, these cookies were always made at my home by my mother and grandmother.

The chick pea flour would be roasted slowly in butter for a couple of hours, making our mouths water even before the treats were ready to taste. We would often burn our mouths eating them right out of the oven when they were really too hot to eat. But, they still remain to me to be the most delectable sweets of all during Diwali.

This is a version of Besan ke ladoo ke Cookies that I like to make for my family for the Diwali celebration. I have altered the procedure by dry-cooking the chickpea flour and adding cold butter at the end. The result is a combination of a crunchy and melt-in-your- mouth texture.