Chana Magaj

Firstly, bring out the almonds.

Grind the almonds until it becomes powder.

The 2 tablespoons of butter ghee (clarified butter) can be solid or semi solid, place it into a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave until the butter ghee has melted.

Add the chickpea flour (chana / gram flour) to a bowl.

To the flour, add in the cold milk.

Add in the melted butter ghee.

Mix well until it resembles a breadcrumb texture.

On medium-low heat, add the 1 ¼ cup of butter ghee to a pot.

Allow it to melt.

Once the butter ghee has melted, add in the chickpea flour (chana / gram flour).

Mix well until all the flour is incorporated into the butter ghee.

Keep an eye on the mixture & mix every few minutes to prevent it from burning.

After about 10 minutes, you will notice the mixture starts to foam.

Keep mixing until it turns a light brown shade. This whole process takes ±30 minutes.

Once the mixture has darkened, add in the ground almonds.

Mix well & allow to simmer for 1 minute.

After 1 minute, give it a mix & turn off the heat.

Remove the pot from the heat & allow the mixture to cool.

Whilst the mixture cools, bring out a casserole & grease it with 1 teaspoon of butter ghee. I used a 27 centimeter casserole.

Once the mixture has cooled, notice how it gets much thicker.

Add in the icing (confectionery) sugar.

Add in the milk powder.

Add in the nutmeg powder & the cardamom (elachi) powder.

Mix well until most of the ingredients are combined. It will be fairly hard to mix.

Thereafter, use your hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients.

Once combined, empty the mixture into the greased casserole.

Use the back of a spatula or your hands to compress the mixture into the casserole. If you are shaping them into cubes, you may go ahead & top them with coloured almonds.

Place the casserole into the refrigerator & allow to set for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, the mixture would have hardened.

Slice them into cubes if preferred.

Since I am not keeping the traditional square shapes, I personally prefer allowing the mixture to come to room temperature & then crumbling it up with my hands – this will allow for a more crumbly texture.

I am using the Malaysian cutters – to get your shapes, grab portions of the mixture in your hands, compress it into a thick disc, place it onto a surface & use the cutter to firstly cut out the shape. Thereafter, press the middle design cutter in the middle to create the design.

Gently push out the mixture & carefully pull out the mixture from the cutter (patience is key as the mixture is soft & rushing it won’t give you perfect designs).

Once all your shapes are done, top it with the coloured almonds. I placed them in the indent of the design. Gently press the almonds down using your fingers.

You can also top the square shapes with almonds when they are at room temperature if you did not add them before setting. Once again, press the almonds down gently into the squares using your fingers.

These Chana Magaj is ready to be served.

They are creamy, crumbly & melt in your mouth with every bite.

Store them in an airtight container for up to a week or refrigerate for up to a month.