Gluten free, vegan, Indian" Vesan" dessert...a wonderful candy-like treat

  I hope you will try making this wonderful Indian dessert.  I saw Bal Arneson, the Spice Goddess from The Cooking Chanel make this.  It was already gluten free, as it used Besan/Chickpea flour, so no flour swaps were necessary!  It is so very fragrant as it cooks, (I had only used cardamom before in savory dishes). There's something about adding it to sugar that  makes the aroma heavenly, and it is such a rich, decadent treat!
  Mine didn't turn out looking like a fudgey bar cookie as hers did...another one of my cooking adventures that possibly produced something different!  Mine were more like a rich candy that reminded me more of a brittle.  I think I could have cooked the sugar for a few seconds too long, and that's why, or perhaps it's because I used Earth Balance instead of butter.   It was however, awesome!
  It only takes a few ingredients to make this out of the ordinary, gluten free dessert:

Vesan

• 1 cup sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tea ground cardamom (I didn't have ground, so I used my mortar and pestle to convert the whole seeds)
• 3/4 cup butter (I used Earth Balance)
• 2 cups Besan/Chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• * 2 additional Tbl of chopped pistachios for the garnish

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I used my mortar and pestle to make my whole cardamom into ground.

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1.  Put your sugar, water and cardamom into a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.  Boil the mixture until it becomes a thick syrup.  The directions say to make sure the mixture forms a "thread" when pinched between your thumb and finger.  I think that because I was waiting for this "thread", I may have overcooked this, or perhaps I had the heat too high.  Anyway, Bal says about 15 minutes is right to cook it, and I cooked for 14 minutes.

This is before it has gotten to the boiling point.

This is after about 7 minutes of boiling.

 2.  Melt your butter in another saucepan, and add the flour.  Cook while stirring until it's a deep golden brown.  About 10-12 minutes.

3.  Add your pistachios and blend.  Then add the slightly cooled syrup mixture.  Stir well and pour into a buttered 8x8 glass pan.  Sprinkle with extra pistachios.  Let it set for 15 minutes and cut.  As I said, mine turned out differently than Bal's, and I will try this recipe again to see the difference.  It may have been my cooking method, or it may be that I used a butter substitute instead of real butter, but it was a delicious treat all the same!

Please let me know if you give this a try, I'd love to know how it turns out!  What other gluten-free treats do you love?  Hope you have a blessed day!

Joanna