Chana Magaj
I must admit I am not crazy about making Indian sweetmeats because when I see the amount of sugar and butter it scares me…lol!
Sugar
In saying that I suppose it is a sweetmeat and in order for it to taste good some of it does need a whole lot of butter and sugar. I do try and reduce the amount of sugar where I can but sometimes not always possible.
Small Quantity
Before I started developing my own recipes it was rather difficult to find recipes for small quantities of sweetmeat. If you browse the internet or recipe books sweetmeats are always made in large quantities. I suppose because it’s made only on special occassions and religious festivals people tend to go a little overboard. I do have a sweet tooth but I can only handle so much sugar at a time. So if you give me a piece of sweetmeat I will be happy with just one piece. It is so rich I find it difficult to eat more than a piece. It’s why I prefer making them in small quantities. Trust me I have enough to share with my friends and it lasts me a good few weeks too. I sometimes freeze them and eat it when I feel like some. My boys are not crazy about Indian sweetmeats, they will eat a couple of it and they will be done. I will then have to finish them and that is not a good thing. I have tried making Chana Magaj a few times and often it was a complete disaster. But I am not one to give up so I had to perfect my recipe.
Smooth and Delicious
The last time I made it, it was hard as rock. Every time I took a bite it felt like a was biting into a piece of stone…haha! This time I did things a little differently and it worked like a charm. It turned out super smooth and delicious. I left out the step where you rub some ghee into the flour. I like keeping things easy so this is one of those recipes. Chana Magaj is one of my favourite sweetmeats, I love the flavour but I am not prepared to slave over it…haha! This sweetmeat is made from either chickpea flour or gram flour. There is a slight difference between these two flours but they both work for this recipe. Gram flour is made from brown chickpeas and Chickpea flour is made from white chickpeas. Here in SA we call our little treats Sweetmeat. I have no idea why. I think I will have to study the history of South African food soon, (if I can find someone to enlighten me). I am always intrigued by the names. Only because in India everything has a completely different name…lol! In India this little treat is called Besan ki Burfi.
As you will see from the method I have simplified the steps for this recipe. However, if you want a more grainy Chana Magaj you can rub a tablespoon of ghee, from the 250ml with 2 tablespoons of powdered milk. Allow it to stand for an hour before proceeding with the method above. It only takes about 2 hours of refrigeration time for this Chana Magaj to set. If you do try this recipe please drop me a comment and a star rating. It is always appreciated. More Sweetmeat Recipes to try: Gulab Jamun Smooth, Creamy Burfee If you loved this, please share!
