Orange Besan Burfi is an extended version of the regular burfi with a taste of orange. Then I will call orange besan burfi a fusion recipe. Orange fruit juice and gram flour are sweetened to form a sweet dish and sugar and dry fruits. All you need to do is add all of them, heat & stir for a while and VIOLA an Indian mithai is ready.


Isn’t it easy? It is. Before we talk about our narangi burfi, let’s discuss the fuzz around this Indian fudge.

Fudge is the term here for burfi. We (in India) call it “burfi or burfee” and people overseas call it “fudge”. It is a candy made out of sugar, milk, and butter. It was then beating the mixture to get a smooth and creamy consistency.

The same is with our orange besan burfi. The best part about narangi besan burfi is – ingredients are readily available. Despite that, the process is a bit lengthy.

As I said, orange besan burfi is a fusion recipe still has an additional trait. It’s seasonal too. No, not the besan, I am talking about the orange fruit. Oranges are traditionally harvested in winter.

A new variety of cultivation techniques have made oranges available throughout the year. Still, winter is the best time when we have a fresh stock of orange in the market. You can even use the freeze-dried orange cubes or powder. Both of them are equally fresh & natural.

Now that you know the ups and downs of the orange besan burfi let me walk you through other exciting details.

Burfi Varieties

Since we are talking about burfi (specifically) here are some popular variations. They are popular but equally delicious and high in demand during the festival seasons here in India. See below:

  • Besan barfi (made with gram flour)
  • Kaju barfi (made with cashews)
  • Pista barfi (made with ground pistachios
  • Peanut barfi (made with peanuts)

This Orange Besan Burfi is:

  • A seasonal Indian sweet dish
  • An easy & simple recipe
  • Made using essential ingredients available in your kitchen
  • A fusion recipe of fruit juice & semolina (suji)
  • Different compared to your regular burfi.
  • Not too sweet and not so dull
  • Having a subtle flavour of orange

Understanding the Orange Besan Burfi

Gram Flour

Gram flour is a flavourful binding ingredient. Here in this orange burfi, we have used gram flour to integrate orange juice. Having said that using gram flour needs special attention. Not only this but using gram flour in any recipe needs to be either thoroughly fried, roasted, sauteed, and cooked.

Leaving it undercooked might upset your stomach. Hence, be patient when using gram flour. Do not hustle.

Orange Juice

I have used orange juice here instead of pulp. Again using orange juice might increase your cook time. The reason being a lot of water content because it takes a longer time to burn the water content. In short, there’s a whole lot of manual labour involved here. But there’s a brighter side too.

Using orange juice gives me thick pulp without any residue at the end. On the other hand, the orange pulp contains skin. However, orange pulp burns fast, decreasing the total cook time.

The bottom line is you can use both of them.

Mawa

Mawa, aka khoya, is again a binding agent used here. It does two things at a time. First, you get a creamy texture, and second, it holds other ingredients together. Now, this is very much needed when making burfees. The reason is we cut burfis into cubes. Since it is a cube, it shall remain intact and not fall apart.

Milk mawa makes your task easy. I recommend using it. Both milk cream or heavy cream is an excellent substitute for mawa (khoya).

Ghee

I love ghee, and I certainly use desi ghee instead of butter in my recipes. Need not say I use desi ghee in my home kitchen too and prefer using it unless butter is the main ingredient. I will recommend using desi ghee instead of dairy made butter. Although, butter isn’t a bad idea still desi ghee gives you long-lasting flavour and taste.

Sugar Powder or Sugar Granules?

Which one is preferable? Powdered sugar or granulated sugar. Of course sugar powder! Granulated sugar increases the overall cooking time. On top of it, you will have to stir the mixture and burn the water content continuously.

When you add sugar granules, it melts slowly and releases water into the mixture. But with powdered sugar, the rigorous mixing process is eliminated. Hence, using powdered sugar is always advised.

Tips To Make Better Besan Burfi

  • Saute the besan flour (gram flour) till the moisture evaporates. The besan will start releasing an aroma when it will be adequately sauteed. Also, keep stirring the flour, or else it may burn at the bottom. Keep the flame low.
  • Sugar syrup is a next level substitute of powdered or granulated sugar. Using this magic ingredient, your overall cooking time will drastically reduce.
  • Stirring a mixture is an essential step. It can make or break your recipe. Specific recipes need continuous stirring to prevent the mixture from burning—for example, carrot halwa, dudhi halwa, and Mohan thal. Hence, if you are mentally and physically prepared to perform manual labour, then the result is always rewarding.

More Orange Burfi Recipes: