Coconut Burfi

Do you prefer coconut for that tropical craving in you?…Do you have a sweet tooth?… then here is something that can be prepared in a jiff. This is a quick and easy fix for your sweet cravings. Coconut burfi  is a classic Indian traditional sweet you would find in every part of India and savoured equally for every occasion.

Nostalgic memories occupy my mind whenever I think of this coconut burfi. My mom used to prepare this burfi for most of the festive occasions when I was a kid. It is a simple recipe especially for beginner cooks, the only difficult step involving scraping the coconut. Making it at home requires just three basic ingredients; fresh coconut, sugar and milk. Now you can give your personal touch by adding cardamom, saffron or any essence. You can give it a richer taste by adding milk, condensed milk or Khoya. You can also add nuts to get an extra nutty texture.

Today I’m using cardamom, regular whole milk and cashews. So be creative to give your own twist to this recipe. When done right, the burfis are soft to bite and juicy on the inside with a delightfully crisp exterior. When done wrong, they are dry, hard and falling apart.

There are some steps in this recipe for that matter any recipe where you need to take care, but like I always say: read the recipe in full before you begin so you know what you’re dealing with.

When you are feeling fancy, dress it up with your own creation and let me know. Try this scrumptious sinful sweet delight to please your sweet cravings…..

Step-by-Step process in making Coconut Burfi: 

• Break apart the coconut and scrape out the white meat. Peel the brown bottom later of the coconut that mates with the shell so that you don’t see any brown spots in the burfi.
• You can grate or cut the coconut meat into small cubes and blend in a mixer.

• Grease a tray with few drops of ghee or spread butter paper in the tray and keep it aside. Measure milk and water and keep it aside. Crush cardamom seeds to a fine powder.

• Heat water and sugar in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat and boil it to bring to a two-thread consistency. So now you must be wondering what is this? This is nothing but that when you touch the sugar syrup between the thumb and the index finger and then release the fingers, the syrup forms two lines.
• The other method to test the consistency is to do the cold-water candy test. Take a few tablespoons of water in a cup and add a drop of the sugar syrup to water. If it holds the shape like a soft ball and doesn’t dissolve into the water, then it’s the right consistency. The syrup will be thick by this time.

• Reduce the heat and add shredded coconut, milk and stir continuously till all the moisture is gone. Stir carefully as it will bubble over and spill. The mixture thickens and comes away from the sides of the pan to form a lump in the centre. This happens with the coconut releasing its oil. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
• You can add one teaspoon of ghee at this stage to enhance the flavor of the burfi but it is purely optional. If you want pure white burfis, ensure to turn off heat as soon as it forms the lump. I leave it an extra 2 minutes to get a slight brown shade.
• If the mixture gets overcooked then the sugar will crystallise making the burfi hard or it may crumble. Even if you go wrong don’t worry, just sprinkle some water over the crystallised mixture and stir for about 2 minutes and remove.

• Finally add cardamom powder, mix well and transfer the mixture to the greased plate. Spread the mixture evenly using a spatula keeping half an inch height, which would be the thickness of the burfi.

• The fudge hardens very quickly, so hurry up to run a knife and cut into desired shape before it hardens. Garnish with your favourite dry nuts. Today I’m using only cashews. Once it completely cools, separate the pre-cut pieces.
• Store the coconut burfi in an airtight container and refrigerate for about 2 weeks or enjoy immediately .

By the way….this is my first post for the year 2015..so wanted to give a sweet start  and wish all my lovely readers out there a Very happy, healthy and prosperous 2015

Print Recipe

Coconut Burfi

Coconut burfi is a scrumptious Indian traditional sweet delight found in every part of India and savoured equally for every occasion to please your sweet cravings.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 15 to 20 pieces depending on cut size

Author: Padma

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated coconut
• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup of whole milk
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds powdered

Instructions

• Break apart the coconut and scrape out the white meat. Peel out coconut’s brown skin.
• Grate it or cut coconut meat into small cubes and blend in a mixer.
• Grease a tray with few drops of ghee or spread a butter paper in the tray.
• Heat sugar and water in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat and boil till you get a two-thread consistency.
• Reduce the heat and add shredded coconut, milk and stir continuously till all the moisture is gone. In 10 to 15 minutes, the mixture will thicken and will come away from the sides of the pan.
• You can add one teaspoon of ghee at this stage to enhance the flavour of the burfi but it is purely optional.
• Finally add cardamom powder, mix well and transfer the mixture to the greased plate and flatten with a spatula keeping half an inch height.
• Run a knife to cut the into desired shape before it hardens. Garnish with your favourite dry nuts.
• Once it completely cools, separate the pre-cut pieces.
• Store coconut burfi in an airtight container and refrigerate for about 2 weeks or enjoy immediately.

Notes

To get pure white burfi, use only white part of the coconut. Do not use the brown bottom layer of the coconut that mates with the shell.
The consistency is very important. If overcooked, it will harden and crumble. In that case just sprinkle some water over the crystallised mixture and stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes and remove.
The time taken to get the end consistency depends on the pan thickness, heat and moisture in coconut.
You can use part milk and part water or it can also be made just with water. The burfi with milk will be richer in taste.
You can also use frozen coconut but just thaw it before using.
If you want to reduce sweetness, you can reduce sugar quantity at the most by half a cup, reducing further will not yield the right consistency.

Happy Cooking 🙂

Cheers!!

Padma.