Daily Recco, November 10: Coconut Barfi for a Diwali high

It is Diwali this weekend and the festival of lights is also synonymous with sweets. While store-bought sweets are the surest way of ensuring less time in the kitchen and more time with family and friends, some easy and quick sweets are a good way to show your love for them. We shared the recipe of easy Microwave Mysore Pak with you a few days ago. Today, we have Coconut Barfi made with condensed milk. 

Since this is heavily milk-based and has coconut, it will not have as long a shelf life as the Mysore Pak. However, if made closer to Diwali, your family and friends will love this melt-in-the-mouth barfi.

A pointer before you commit yourself to the venture: Remember the Barfi will tend to burn very quickly. So ensure you are cooking it on a low flame and stirring continuously. We suggest that you use a non-stick pan for this. 

What you’ll need:

One cup heaped (about 250 grams) of unsweetened desiccated coconut (fresh or packed)

Three-fourths cup (about 180 grams) of whole milk (if you are using store-bought desiccated coconut)

Three-fourths cup (about 180 grams) of sweetened condensed milk

Four pods of green cardamoms that have been crushed to a coarse powder

Half a teaspoon of rose water

Three teaspoons of ghee

For garnishing: 

A few strands of saffron

A handful of cashews that have been halved (or chopped) and fried golden-brown in ghee

A handful of slivered almonds

How to:

Warm the whole milk and add the store-bought desiccated coconut to it. Set it aside for at least an hour for the coconut to soak up the milk. In case you are using freshly grated coconut, you can skip this step.

Heat the ghee in a broad and heavy-bottomed pan and add the coconut to it. Sauté on low flame for about two or three minutes.

Once the coconut is fully coated in ghee, add the condensed milk and cook on low flame, stirring continuously to prevent burning.

After a few minutes, add the cardamom powder. Keep stirring on a low flame. In a while, the coconut-milk mixture will be cooked and start to thicken.

After about 25 minutes (on a low flame and once the mixture is fully cooked), the ghee will start to come out from the sides.

At this stage, add the rose water to the mixture and give it a final stir and take it off the flame. 

As soon as you take the pan off the flame, pour the thick mixture into a baking tray greased with ghee. Sprinkle the saffron and garnish with fried cashews and slivered almonds.

Let it cool completely to room temperature for about three hours. You can see a crust forming on the top. At this stage, use a knife greased with ghee and cut it into squares or diamond-shaped pieces. Let the slices set further overnight.

The barfi should be crusty and dry on the top and slightly juicy inside.

You can store the pieces in an airtight container and refrigerate them. The Coconut Barfi stays good for about two to three days in the fridge.

Also Read | Daily Recco, October 14: Microwave Mysore Pak to kickstart the festive season