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.

Coconut Macaroons

I made these macaroons as holiday treats last Christmas, but they're simple and tasty enough to be baked and enjoyed all year long. I started out with this recipe but ended up making a couple of changes along the way to give the macaroons a hint of Indian flavor.

Ingredients :

(For approximately 10 macaroons)

1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut (I got mine from the Indian grocery store)

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

Salt

1-2 Tbsp milk

¼ tsp cardamom powder

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Grease well and set aside.

Mix the coconut, condensed milk, cardamom powder, and salt together in a bowl. Add a splash of milk (just enough to bring the sticky mixture together) and mix well.

Drop mounds of the mixture (each about 1 tablespoon) onto the baking sheet at least an inch apart from each other.

Moisten your fingertips with water and shape the mounds into little pyramids on the baking sheet. (Dip your fingers in cold water every now and then if the mixture gets too sticky to handle.)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (start checking after 15 minutes) or until the edges and tops start turning brown.

Cool completely before removing from the foil. I found this a little difficult to do even though my foil was greased well, but in the end I did manage to get them all off without them breaking or cracking.

Coconut Banana Spice Pancakes

We don’t have pancakes very often, the main reason being that we don’t care much for sickeningly sweet breakfasts. In fact, I think we’ve only had pancakes twice in the last 5 years. But the other day I came across this interesting recipe on Stefanie’s fabulous blog which made me want to try making some immediately. And that’s how I came to make my very first pancake from scratch following her simple recipe.


Ingredients:

For the batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1/3 rd cup shredded sweetened coconut
½ tsp cardamom
1 tsp red chilli flakes
A pinch of nutmeg
½ tsp salt
1 cup milk
¼ cup coconut milk
1 banana, mashed well
Oil/ Butter- to grease the skillet


For the topping
Honey
Chopped walnuts

Method:
In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, coconut flakes, cardamom, chilli flakes, nutmeg and salt.


In another bowl, blend the milk, coconut milk and mashed banana.
Add this to the flour mixture and whisk well.


Grease a hot skillet with oil/butter, pour a ladleful of the pancake batter . Tilt and move the the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little.


Cook on medium heat for 45-60 seconds until golden brown. Flip the pancake and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.


Drizzle some honey on the top of the pancakes and sprinkle a few chopped walnuts.


This recipe makes 8 small pancakes.

These pancakes were moist and delicious with just a hint of sweetness. So much better than the syrup-laden cloyingly sweet ones! We loved it.

Coconut Burfi

I hadn’t had a piece of coconut burfi in ages. If I remember correctly, the last time I had this burfi, or any burfi for that matter, was when I was in India. It’s been so long!
We normally do not buy sweets or other similar preparations from the Indian stores here because we are never happy with the quality and/or the taste and appearance. I am also not the kind of person who cares enough to put in all the effort required to make such things at home.
However, the other day when I was craving something sweet after dinner, I just had to give in and make this.

Ingredients:
¾ cup grated coconut (I used the frozen kind and thawed it in the microwave before use)
½ cup milk (I used 2% milk)
½ cup sugar
Cardamom powder
A pinch of salt
Ghee for greasing the pan
Almonds for garnishing

Method:
Line the inside of a pan with some aluminium foil and grease well.

Take a heavy bottomed vessel and add the milk, sugar and coconut. Cook on medium heat and stir the mixture well. Add a pinch of salt so as to bring out the flavor of the ingredients.

Continue stirring till the sugar melts and all the milk is absorbed by the mixture. This took me about 35 minutes or so. Add the powdered cardamom and mix well. Continue mixing for another 5- 10 minutes till the mixture thickens and comes together in a fudge-like consistency. Turn off the heat.

Transfer the mixture to the previously greased pan, spread uniformly and allow it to cool. I had to refrigerate my burfis for a couple of hours to get a reasonably decent consistency. It probably had to do with the fact that I only use low-fat milk. Using whole milk would probably produce burfis which are firm and have a slightly better texture. Maybe some more sugar too would have helped, but it was sweet enough already. That being said, it was simply delicious and I ate a few bits and pieces even before refrigeration!!

After refrigerating for a few hours, cut into squares, garnish with almonds and serve.
This recipe yields about 10 pieces.

I am sending this to Viji as my contribution for RCI-Tamil Festivals for celebrating Diwali.