Roasted cardamom and chickpea flour balls are a great thing to snack on the morning after the night before!
asted cardamom and chickpea flour balls are a great thing to snack on the morning after the night before!
Makes 8
Ingredients: 10 unsalted pistachio kernels 5 whole green cardamoms 100g (3½oz) ghee 150g (5oz) besan or gram (chickpea) flour 200g (7oz) granulated sugar
Method: 1. Roughly crush the pistachios and cardamoms. I use my coffee grinder, but you could just smash them up using a pestle and mortar.
2. In a small non-stick pan, heat half the ghee on a low setting. When it is warm, add the besan and stir well to mix them together. Keep adding the rest of the ghee, bit by bit, and then stir in the sugar and crushed pistachios and cardamoms.
3. Now stir this mixture well for about 20 minutes until it darkens to a warm shade of toffee; the bitter aftertaste of the raw besan disappears and your kitchen fills with a glorious aroma.
4. Leave the mixture to cool to room temperature. Then fashion little balls out of it and leave to set in the fridge until chilled and hard. Store in an airtight container in the cupboard and enjoy for days. (They keep for up to a week.)
Miss Masala by Malika Basu is published by Collins, priced £14.99.
