Festive Sweet of India: Barfi
Festivals in India are synonymous with mithais or sweet dishes. Talking about mithais or Indian sweet dishes is incomplete without the mention of barfi. Burfi, burfee or barfi is the desi version of the fudge and like its Western counterpart, the basic ingredients in a barfi recipe are sugar and milk. Make the barfi recipe at home with the help of these expert tips. Considering this Indian sweet dish is most commonly prepared at home, the barfi recipe gets a new avatar depending on the region you find yourself in. The versatile barfi recipe allows for the addition of several shudh-desi ingredients so you’re always in for a new barfi experience. Here’s a look at the top 10 barfis you will find in India.
Dodha Barfi
Tracing its origin to Punjab, this type of barfi is typically made during Diwali. This melt-in-your-mouth barfi has a grainy texture and is traditionally prepared with milk, alum, liquid glucose, sugar, ghee and mixed nuts. The recipe may vary from home to home and some versions of this barfi recipe add dalia (fine crack wheat) and fresh cream.
Ingredients:
- 4 cup milk
- 1-1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoon fine crack wheat (dahlia)
- 1 tablespoon clarified butter (ghee)
- 1 cup crushed cashews (kaju)
- 1 cup crushed almonds (badam)
- 2 teaspoons coco powder
- 2 tablespoons sliced pistachios for garnishing
Method
- In a small pan stir fry crack wheat with butter over medium heat, till it turns brown in color. Set aside.
- In a heavy bottom pan over medium high heat boil the milk, and heavy cream, together.
- Let it boil till milk begins to thicken for about 40 minutes, stir occasionally and clean the sides to avoid the milk build up.
- Add crack wheat and sugar mix well and keep cooking for about 20 more minutes and stirring occasionally and clean the sides to avoid the milk build up.
- Add coco powder mix well, add cashews and almonds stir continuously till milk has become like soft dough and Burfi start leaving the sides of the pan and also Burfi has start leaving the butter. This should take about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the Dodha to 12 inch plate shaping it into square or rectangle in about ½ inch thick.
- While Dodha is still warm cut them in about one inch square. Sprinkle the pistachios over Dodha and lightly press them in.
- Dodha is ready to serve when it is at room temperature. Dhoda will stay good for about 2 weeks at room temperature or refrigerate for 2-3 months.
Coconut Barfi
Reserved especially for the festive season, this barfi recipe is a common sight in the coastal regions of Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Traditionally, the coconut or thengai barfi uses either desiccated or freshly grated coconut along with condensed milk and cream. To break from the smooth and creamy taste, you could add in some nuts of your choice. You could also turn to food colours or flavoured syrups to get these barfis customised according to your taste and needs.
Ingredients
Scraped coconut fresh 2 cups
Ghee 1 tablespoon
Castor sugar (caster sugar) 1-1½ cups
Milk 1 cup
saffron strands a pinch
Green cardamoms 3-4 + for for garnishing
Pistachios Chopped to sprinkle
Method
Step 1
Grease a baking tin with some ghee.
Step 2
Heat sugar in a non-stick pan. Add milk, mix and cook till sugar melts. Add saffron and mix well.
Step 3
Coarsely crush cardamoms in a mortar using a pestle, add to pan and mix.
Step 4
Add coconut, mix continuously and cook on low heat till thick. Switch off heat, add ghee and mix well.
Step 5
Put the coconut mixture into a greased baking tin and level it out. Sprinkle some cardamom powder and pistachios on top and cool.
Step 6
Cut and serve.
Til Barfi
Jharkand’s pride, the til barfi is exclusively prepared during Makar Sankranti but is also available all year round. The star ingredient of this barfi recipe being sesame seeds, other ingredients that find their way into the barfi recipe are jaggery, ghee and peanuts. This barfi recipe is hailed for its nutritive value thanks to the healthy combination of sesame seeds and jaggery, both of which are known to be a very good source of iron.
Ingredients
- Sesame seeds (black) 1 cup
- Khoya/mawa grated 1 1/2 tablespoons
- Pure ghee at room temperature 3 cups
- Sugar 1/2 cup
- Almonds chopped 5-6
- Pistachios chopped 5-6
Method
Step 1
Heat a non-stick pan; add the sesame seeds and dry-roast till light pink. Set aside to cool. Grease an eight-by-six inch tray. Heat the ghee in a non-stick kadai. Add the khoya and sauté on low heat till light pink and fragrant.
Step 2
Add the roasted sesame seeds and sugar, and continue to sauté for three to four minutes or till the sugar dissolves completely.
Step 3
Add the chopped nuts and mix well.
Step 4
Transfer to the greased thali, level the surface and set aside to cool. Cut into desired shapes and serve.
Step 5
Store in an airtight container when completely cooled.
Chironji or Charoli ki Barfi
Chironji seeds, which have a unique almond flavour, often find their way into many Indian desserts, bakery and confectionery products. Besides, they are also majorly used as a cooking spice to add flavour to curries and gravies and also as a thickening agent. These seeds are known for having medicinal properties and have marked a place of importance used in Indian Ayurvedic and Unani system of medicine. The chironji ki barfi is consumed widely across the state of Madhya Pradesh especially on the occasion of Diwali. It is also given to newly-wedded couples. Having originated in Sagar, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, this barfi is dark in colour due to the skin of the nuts and is made using generous amounts of pure desi ghee.
Ingredients
- Cashew nuts 100 gms
- Pistachio 100 gms
- Almonds 100 gms
- Chironji nuts(a type of dry fruit)
- Sugar 250 gm
- Desi Ghee 2 tbs
Method
-
Soak almonds for 5-6 hours.grind it to make a paste.
-
Chop chironjii dana and cashew very finely and fry them in ghee lightly.
-
Put ghee in wide bottom pan .put the almond paste in it and roast till the water dries up completely.
-
Add pistachio in it and roast till a nice aroma spreads.
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Add cashew chironjii dana and elaichi powder .
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Prepare sugar syrup of 2 thread consistensy and let it cool.add dryfruits mix in it
-
Make barfee of desired shape.
My Tip:
It can be kept for 15-20 days and more.
Ginger Barfi
Dry ginger barfi aka saunth ki barfi is prepared on the occasion of Janmashtami. This barfi recipe is also prepared in north India and given to nursing mothers. The ginger barfi is also called ‘Alyachi Vadi’ or ‘Alepak’ in Marathi and is typically relished during the winter months as it helps improve digestion and build immunity.
Ingredients
- Ginger – About 6-7 inches big piece
- Milk – 3 tbsp
- Sugar – About 3 times the ginger paste (See instructions below)
- Clarified butter (Ghee) – Little for greasing a plate
Method
- Soak the ginger in water for about an hour.
- Remove the peel with a peeler.
- Cut into small 1 inch pieces.
- Add milk and grind into a smooth paste.
- Measure this paste and keep aside.
- Measure sugar so that it is three times the quantity of the paste (from step 5).
- Grease a plate/tray with little ghee and keep it aside.
- In a pan, add the ground ginger-milk paste and also add the measured sugar (from step 6).
- Keep heat on medium and stir continuously till the mixture starts thickening.
- When it becomes thick and starts to come off the bottom of the pan very easily, pour it out to the greased plate/tray.
- Allow to cool and cut into small 1 inch or smaller pieces.
- Sweet and spicy ginger barfi is now ready.
Santra Barfi
Santra barfi is the most sought-after delicacy and a true testament of the rich orange harvests of the city of Nagpur. While Haldiram’s is credited for making the best santra barfis, you can definitely give this barfi recipe a try at home. Keeping the rest of the ingredients the same, all you’ve got to do is throw in some peeled and de-seeded orange segments into the barfi mixture, for a citrusy flavour and natural sweetness. For added colour, you could add a few saffron strands.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup All Purpose flour / Maida
- 1 cup Milk Powder
- 1 cup Orange Juice
- 1/2 cup Orange Zest / Peel
- 1/2 cup Ghee / 2 sticks of butter
- 1 1/2 cup Sugar
Method
- Heat ghee in a pan, add all purpose flour, mix and cook till it gets nice golden color and nice aroma starts to come out.
- Add orange zest, mix and add orange juice slowly in flour mixture.
- Add sugar and milk powder and cook till mixture becomes thick.
- Transfer in to greased tray and wait till it gets cool down completely.
- Form pieces in desire shape.
Tips
- Add of orange zest or peels is optional.
- Refrigerate mixture for quicker cooling.
Sev Barfi
Singhar ki Mithai, popularly known as sev barfi is an authentic Sindhi sweet dish. This barfi recipe is made using unsalted sev, milk, unsweetened mawa, sugar, cream, ghee, nuts and sometimes rose essence.
Ingredients
250 gms mava (khoya)
250 gms sugar
250 ml milk
a pinch powdered cardamom (elaichi)
2 to 3 saffron (kesar) strands strands
2 to 3 drops rose essence
2 to 3 drops cardamoms essence
1 tsp yellow food colour
- Boil milk in a deep pan, while stirring adding sugar till it thickens.
- Add the cardamom powder, saffron, khoya, mix well and cook on a medium flame, while stirring continuously.
- When the mix thickens add sev, yellow colour and essences, mix well and remove in greased dish.
- Garnish with silver wark.
Ragi Barfi
In Karnataka, the ragi or nachni barfi is eaten with great relish. While this grain is a great source of calcium, magnesium, iron, protein and fibre, it is usually difficult to digest. Therefore, in case you aren’t opting for store-bought ragi flour, the star ingredient of the ragi barfi recipe, it’s advised that you first soak, sprout and dry the grain before milling it into atta. Apart from ragi flour, jaggery, khoya, ghee and an assortment of nuts find their way into this barfi recipe.
1/2 cup ragi (nachni / red millet) flour
3/4 cup finely chopped jaggery (gur)
1/4 cup almonds (badam) powder
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
- Heat the ghee in a broad non-stick pan, add the ragi flour, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 3 minutes, while stirring continuously.
- Add the jaggery, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring continuously.
- Add the almond powder, milk and cardamom powder, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring continuously.
- Put the mixture into a greased aluminium tin and spread it evenly.
- Cool slightly then refrigerate for 2 hours or till firm.
- Cut into 12 equal pieces using a sharp knife.
- Serve or store in an air-tight container and use as required.
Moong Dal Barfi
The moong dal barfi is popular in the northern parts of India. While it is most popular during festivals, in Rajasthan it is commonly made during winter. This barfi recipe is traditionally prepared using moong dal or yellow lentils, khoya (mawa) and almonds. While making the moong dal barfi, it’s important that you let the sugar syrup cool for a few seconds before adding in the other ingredients to prevent the barfi from hardening.
Ingredients
- 1 cup split and husked green gram (dhuli moong ki dal) – soaked in water for 5-6 hours
- 1 cup ghee
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 50 gm khoya
- A greased plate to set the barfi in
- 1/4 tsp powdered green cardamom
- 2 Tbsp slivered and roasted almonds
- 2 sheets of vark (silver leaves), if you so desire
Method
- Drain and grind dal coarsely. (Slightly more coarse than the texture of fine sand)
- In a heavy kadahi, mix the ghee and the dal, and place over low heat.
- Stir-fry till brown and the fat separates.
- Remove from the kadhai and add khoya in the same kadhai and stir-fry till it is a smooth consistency and lightly colored.
- Mix the dal, elaichi and khoya and keep aside to cool.
- In another pan place the sugar and water over low heat stirring till the sugar dissolves, taking care not to let it come to boil, before the sugar dissolves.
- Once the sugar dissolves, increase the heat and bring to a boil and let the syrup cook till thick, and a drop of it dropped on a cold surface or a cup of cold water, sets at once, into a firm lump.
- Take the pan off the heat and mix immediately into the cooled dal mixture, stirring vigorously and quickly, to blend well.
- Transfer on to the greased plate, pat to level, garnish with the vark and almonds and leave to cool.
- When cool and set, cut into desired sized pieces, using a sharp knife.
Chana Dal Barfi
The chana dal barfi is popular in Punjab and Ludhiana and you will most commonly find this sweet dish served at weddings. Made with soaked and ground chana dal or Bengal gram dal flour, ghee, milk and sugar, this barfi recipe can be made using hot milk, ghee and sugar.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup(100g)-NESTLÉ MILKMAID Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 3 cups (450ml)-Milk
- 100g-Chana Dal (Bengal Gram Dal)
- 500ml-Water
- 1/2 cup-Desiccated Coconut
- 10 Chopped-Badam (Almonds)
- 2 tbsp Chopped-Pista
- 1/2 cup-MILKMAID Pure Ghee
- 1 tsp-Elaichi (Cardamom) Powder
Method
- Soak the chana dal in the water and keep aside for 2-3 hrs. Strain off the water & cook the dal in 2 cups of milk till soft, keep aside to cool. Grind the dal to a coarse paste.
- Heat ghee in a karahi, add the dal paste and fry stirring continuously till the mixture is light brown. Add the NESTLÉ MILKMAID Sweetened Condensed Milk and blend into the mixture, then add the remaining milk and cook till the mixture leaves the sides of the karahi.
- Add the desiccated coconut, almonds, pista and elaichi powder and mix well. Remove from fire and spread in a greased thali. Cool and slice into desired shape.
Source:Living Foodz
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