Barfi

[crsm]

Hi,

Has anyone made the Indian dessert Barfi? If so and it was successful could you let me have the recipe?

Cheers!

Richard

[Marigene]

I have made Indian Barfi a few times from the recipe in 1001 Cookies (Gregg R. Gillespie). I don't know how authentic it is, though, but we enjoyed it. I have sent you the recipe via pm.

[crsm]

I have made Indian Barfi a few times from the recipe in 1001 Cookies (Gregg R. Gillespie). I don't know how authentic it is, though, but we enjoyed it. I have sent you the recipe via pm.

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Thanks very much, I'll give it a try.

I've seen quite a few recipe's on the www but they all seem to be very different and I prefer to use one that someone else has tried out.

Thanks again.

[Peter the eater]

As a high school student in Brampton, Ontario in the 1980's my grade ten girlfriend's grandmother made me a desert that I still remember - cashews and pistachios and other stuff from a shallow pan. Tasted better than it smelt.

Pretty sure she called it "burfi" which sounds much more palatable than "barfi". Surely they're the same thing.

[ludja]

As a high school student in Brampton, Ontario in the 1980's my grade ten girlfriend's grandmother made me a desert that I still remember - cashews and pistachios and other stuff from a shallow pan. Tasted better than it smelt.

Pretty sure she called it "burfi" which sounds much more palatable than "barfi". Surely they're the same thing.

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click

Barfi or burfi (Urdu: برفی), is an Indian and Pakistani sweet. Plain barfi is made from condensed milk, cooked with sugar until it solidifies. Other varieties include besan barfi, made with besan (gram flour), and pista barfi, which is a milk barfi containing ground pistachio nuts. The name is derived from Persian barf which means ice since burfi is similar to ice in appearance.

Barfi is often flavoured with cashew, mango, pistachio and spices, and is sometimes served coated with a thin layer of edible silver leaf (varak). Visually, barfi sometimes resembles cheese, and may have a hint of cheese scent to it. For this reason, barfi is sometimes called "Indian cheese cake".

Barfi is popular throughout India and is often a part of Indian festivals, especially Holi.

You say barfi, I say burfi. Barfi, burfi, Barfi, burfi, let's call the whole thing off..." (add musical notes...)

Edited July 15, 2008 by ludja (log)

[Bull Terrier]

Coconut Burfi (8 portions)

1 coconut (as fresh as possible), weighing around 650g

1 litre of full-fat milk

Lump of butter

2/3 cup of sugar (or to taste)

½ tsp elaichi powder

Blanched almonds, cut into slivers

Open the coconut, and remove the brown part using a sturdy potato peeler. Finely grate the coconut. The finer it is grated the better in order to facilitate cooking. I strongly stress the freshness of the coconut because it will strongly determine the success of the recipe.

Put the coconut, sugar and about half of the milk into a heavy bottomed pan and cook on a slow boil for around 2 hours until reduced to a thick fudge. Don’t try to boil away the milk too quickly because the coconut requires long slow cooking. Add the milk gradually as it boils away. If you find that it reduces too quickly then you can either add more milk or else cover the pan, perhaps just temporarily. However at the end of cooking the consistency is very important – it mustn’t be too liquid, but rather very thick. Be careful not to burn it however, particularly at the end! Stir frequently throughout cooking, and very frequently towards the end.

The almonds are best if fresh in shell. To blanch the almonds throw them into boiling water for 1 minute, before rinsing in cold water. The skin will just peel away easily. Cut into slivers.

Once reduced to a thick fudge add a large lump of butter and cook for several more minutes before then adding the elaichi powder. Stir thoroughly and remove from heat. Leave to cool slightly and then put into a rectangular dish whilst still warm. Garnish with the slivers of blanched almonds and cut into squares. Chill thoroughly before serving.

Personally I like to eat coconut burfi with a nice sweet dessert wine such as Passito di Pantelleria (if you manage to find it).