Coconut Burfi

Coconut burfi is one of my favorite Indian  sweets and I've been making it for a long time now.  I recently made it in this fun pink color after I saw Aarti make it on her show many months back.  I purchased my first tiny bottle of food color just  to make pink colored burfi !  

Over time, I've found that the sugar to coconut ratio that works well for me is 1:2 The burfi is still a bit too sweet for my taste, but I've learned that using anything  less than a cup  affects the texture of the burfi,  doesn't allow it to "set" and gives  it a fudge-like consistency.

Ingredients:

(For 36 small squares)

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ -½  cup water ( or just enough to cover the sugar)
• 2 cups frozen coconut, thawed before using
• ½  tsp cardamom powder
• 1-2 drops red food coloring

Method:

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. When the sugar melts and the syrup starts to bubble, add the coconut, cardamom powder and food color.

Mix well and stir at regular intervals till the mixture thickens and is almost dry. This could take 20-25 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a greased pan, allow it to cool and harden (refrigeration might be required), and cut into squares. I used one of my square serving trays, lined it with foil and dumped the coconut mixture into it. This recipe gives me 36 small squares.