7 Cup Burfi

7 Cup Burfi is a very popular South Indian sweet. This is one of the sweet I used to make as a teenager. Another common sweet which I made was - 5 Cup Burfi . They used to come out very tasty as I was using the fresh homemade ghee.Even now, whenever I visit mom she requests me to make these! :-)

Making this sweet looks simple. It is because we just dump all the ingredients together and cook. It becomes difficult when it comes to the end point. If you miss seeing the ghee separating from the mixture then the mixture gets over cooked and the burfi will not set (In order to avoid overcooking, my husband measured the temperature of the mixture at the end point. Hope it helps). So keep an eye on the mixture after 10 minutes of cooking. I hope you will try making this awesome burfis !!

Ingredients:

• Chickpea Flour (Besan)- 1 cup
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - 1 cup
• Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 cup
• Milk - 1 cup
• Sugar - 3 cups

I just halved the above measurement.

Procedure:

Take all the ingredients in a large pan (preferably non stick or a heavy bottomed). Start the heat on a medium high flame.

Mix well until all the lumps are gone. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium. Keep stirring continuously.

After 15-20 minutes, the mixture becomes thick and slowly the ghee starts separating from the mixture (the color slightly changes to pale brown and the temperature of the mixture is around 180- 190 F). 

Pour this mixture on a plate and spread evenly. Cut the mixture into square or diamond shape, when still hot. Allow it to cool.

Once it cools, 7 Cup Burfi is ready!!

Store it in an air tight container. It stays good for a week. Above measurement makes 15 good sized burfis.

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Carrot Burfi

Carrot Burfi is a newly tried recipe. I saw this recipe in a cook book written by Kaveri B S. The recipe was interesting as she had included coconut. This burfi tastes some-what like carrot halwa but it is cooked longer and is much sweeter. As it is cooked for a long time, the carrot halwa develops a different taste to form burfi. It is chewy and doesn't turn hard on cooling unlike other burfis. I really liked the taste. 

This burfi demands more time (for grating as well as cooking). But hard work always gets paid :-) This is a 'must try' for carrot halwa fans.

Ingredients:

• Carrot- 1 kg
• Sugar - 2 cups 
• Grated coconut, fresh/frozen - 1/3 cup
• Ghee (clarified butter), melted- 4 Tbsp
• Milk - 1 cup
• Cardamom pods- 5-6
• Almonds- For garnishing

Procedure:

Wash the carrots and peel them. Then grate it.

Now take the grated carrots in a cooker along with milk (I also added 1/4 cup of water) and pressure cook it for 2 whistles (you can as well cook it in a cooking pot).

Now transfer the cooked carrot into a cooking pot (preferably non-stick).

Start heating it on a medium flame until the milk evaporates. Then add in the grated coconut and mix well.

Then add sugar and ghee.

Continue heating on a medium flame with constant stirring until the mixture comes together to form a mass (for me it took 55 minutes excluding the cooking time in pressure cooker).

Then transfer it into a greased deep plate (I used a cake pan) and spread it evenly to desired thickness. Smoothen it and garnish with chopped almonds.

Allow it to cool for 30 minutes and then cut it into desired shape and size. Carrot Burfi is ready!!

Store it in an air tight container. It stays good for 3-4 days. Above measurement makes 16 good sized pieces.

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Kuvale Khadi (Ash gourd Burfi)

Kuvale Khadi is a popular traditional Konkani sweet. In Konkani, Kuvale means ash gourd and khadi means burfi. This burfi was commonly distributed during special occasions like marriage, house warming etc. Slowly other sweets are dominating this tasty burfi. This sweet has a very different taste and texture. It's my mother's favorite sweet and of course mine :-) (as always). 

My mother never tried making this sweet. She used to make only halwa. Couple of days back, I decided to buy a big piece of ash gourd to try this burfi. I had a brief idea of making it but still referred the cook book written by Jaya V Shenoy and also this recipe. Burfi turned out really good. I was really happy with its taste and texture. It had been ages since I had one. The process of making it is time consuming but I guarantee the taste of final product. It's really worth of all the effort you put in :-) Do give it a try and enjoy :-)

Ingredients:

• Ash gourd (Winter melon)- 2lbs (nearly 1 kg)
• Sugar- 1 1/2 cups
• Ghee (clarified butter)- 3 Tbsp
• Food Color- 1-2 pinch (optional)
• Cardamom pods- 4
• Cashew nut and raisins- Handful (optional)

Procedure:

Remove the seeds and peel of the Ash gourd.

Then grate it. You will see lot of juices released while grating.

Now put the grated ash gourd in a strainer until most of the juice is drained. Collect the juice in a bowl.

Now measure the grated ash gourd (I got 2 cups). Now take the grated ash gourd along with the juice in a wide pan (Non stick would be great). 

Start heating it on a medium flame until most of the moisture gets evaporated.

Once done, add the raisins and cashew nuts. Then add the sugar.

Mix well and the mixture now turns on the liquid side. Now add the ghee and food color.

Continue to heat this mixture until all the moisture gets evaporated and forms a sticky mass. At this stage add the crushed cardamom seeds and mix well (to know the end point add a small amount on a plate and if it hardens after few seconds then its ready. For me it took a total of 50 min for the entire procedure of cooking).

Transfer the mixture to a greased deep dish (I used a loaf pan). Spread it immediately (I used a small steel bowl). Then cut the burfi into desired shape before it hardens.

Allow it to cool for half an hour. Then remove it carefully with the help of a knife. 
Kuvale Khadi is ready!!

Store the burfis in an air tight container. Above measurement makes 10 good sized pieces.

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Phova Maandi (Rice Flakes Burfi)

Phova Maandi is a very old, traditional jaggery based sweet. I found this recipe when I was going through a cook book written by Jaya Shenoy. Then I asked my mother about this sweet and she told me that my paternal grandma used to make this. But I didn't get a chance to taste this. I came up with my own measurements and the resulting burfi was out of the world. Do give it a try and enjoy :-)

Ingredients:

• Rice Flakes/ Poha- 3 cups
• Dark Jaggery/ Antu Bella- 1 cup+ 3 Tbsp
• White Sesame seeds- 1/4 cup
• Grated Coconut, fresh/ Frozen- 2/3 cup
• Ghee (Clarified butter)- 1/4 cup
• Cardamom pods- 5-6
• Cashew nut, Almonds- As desired
• Water- 1/2 cup

Procedure:

Take sesame seeds in a wide bottomed pan on a medium flame. Heat it until it starts releasing the oil (no need to brown it). Then transfer it to a bowl. 

In the same pan, add half of the ghee and then add the rice flakes. Mix it well until the ghee coats every flake evenly. Fry it until a nice aroma is got (no need to brown it). The flakes gets wilted to a small extent. Transfer it to a big bowl. Once it cools down a bit, crush it lightly using your hand.

In the same pan, add small portion from the remaining ghee and then add the cashews and almonds. Fry them until they turn slight brown. Turn off the heat and transfer it to a small bowl.

Crush the cardamom seeds, grate the coconut (if using fresh). Chop the fried nuts as well.

Next step is to melt the jaggery. The jaggery I used looked like this (This jaggery is very soft and is specially used to make ladoos, burfi, chikkis. This jaggery gives good binding and has a distinct taste).

Now in the same pan, add the jaggery and water. Start heating it on a medium heat and keep stirring. Slowly the jaggery starts to melt.

Once the jaggery melts completely and begins to boil, add the grated coconut and mix well. Let it cook along with jaggery. Slowly the jaggery syrup starts to thicken.

Continue heating till the end point. To know the end point, add 1-2 drops of melted jaggery in a small bowl containing water for every 2 minutes. The jaggery should form a firm drop and it should turn little hard. Once this consistency is reached, add the roasted chopped nuts, sesame seeds, cardamom powder, remaining ghee and roasted rice flakes. Mix it well.

Then pour it on a greased tray or plate and spread it evenly. Press it lightly using your hands.

When it is still warm, cut into desired shape. 

Then allow it to cool completely. Phova Maandi is ready!!

Once the burfis turn hard, remove from the tray and store them in an air tight container. I made 25 burfis.

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Badam Burfi (Almond Fudge)

Badam Burfi is a very popular Indian sweet. This sweet is very rich and just melts in your mouth. I got this recipe from a cook book and made some variations. It turned very good, just as I wanted- Soft, chewy and not too sweet. 

I tried it for the first time and the results were good. It is not very difficult to make. A little time consuming but trust me the end product is great. A melt in your mouth burfi!!:-)

Ingredients:

• Badam/Almond- 1 cup
• Milk- 1/3 cup
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Ghee/ Clarified butter- 1/4 cup
• Water- 1/4 cup
• Cardamom Powder- 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

Soak the almonds in warm water for half an hour.

Then drain the water and remove the outer skin.

Now grind these almonds along with milk to get a paste.

Now take a wide bottomed pan (preferably non stick) and add sugar and water. Start heating on a medium flame, until you get a single thread consistency (take small amount of sugar syrup in between your fingers and when you move the fingers apart, a single thread will be visible. But take care not to burn yourself while doing so).

When you get the single thread consistency, add the prepared almond paste and ghee to the sugar syrup. Mix it well, until everything comes together.

Then keep stirring it continuously on a medium flame. After sometime, the mixture will start to thicken. Now add the cardamom powder.

Continue to heat further with continuous stirring. After a while the paste starts to come together and forms like a chapathi dough (I stopped the process of cooking at this stage, as I wanted soft and chewy burfis. If you want hard burfis, continue to heat for few more minutes). Transfer the mixture to a greased plate (I used cake pan) and spread it evenly with a greased spoon (to desired thickness).

Allow it to cool for a while. When it is still warm, cut them into desired shape and size (I used a knife). Garnish with chopped or whole almonds.

Badam Burfi is ready!!

Store them in an air tight container.

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