Gulkand Barfi - Rose Fudge

Gulkand are rose petals preserved in sugar. It is made by preserving rose petals with sugar and kept in a glass bottle in the sun till the sugar melts. This preserved mixture is extremely fragrant and delicious and a delicacy. It is meant to give a cooling effect during the summer months.

This sweet recipe came about in an interesting way. My husband had brought Gulkand Barfi from India a few years ago and when we were discussing the menu for Diwali treats this year, he suggested I make it. I had only eaten this sweet that one time. And it had been quite a while since then and I couldn't remember what it was made of.  He told me that it definitely had gulkand and coconut and I would need to figure out the rest.

Well, I started off with sugar and coconut and then added the other ingredients based on the description of the sweet. The end result was extremely delicious and finger licking. I just cannot stop eating it.

Ingredients
3 cups shredded fresh coconut
2.5 cups sugar
1/2 cup gulkand
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz can)
1 packet milk powder (90 gm pack)
2 tsp of milk
2-3 drops red/pink food color (optional)
1-2 tsps of ghee to grease the plate
1-2 drops of rose essence

Method
Take a plate or tray in which you will pour out the barfi and set it and grease it well with ghee.

Mix together the sugar and coconut and heat this. Once the sugar has melted, add the evaporated milk and the milk powder and cook this on low heat, stirring often.  Keep stirring and cook it down till you can see the base of the pan. Add a couple of teaspoons of warm milk to the gulkand and stir it in. Stir it well so that the gulkand liquefies a little so that it can easily be stirred and incorporated into the mixture that is being cooked.

When the mixture thickens enough that when you stir it, the base of the pan can be easily viewed for a few seconds, then the mixture is ready to be poured into the greased plate. At this point add the gulkand and then increase the heat and stirring continuously again cook it down to the consistency where it is ready to be poured onto a greased plate. Turn off the heat, add  the color and essence is using and mix in it thoroughly. Pour the mixture onto the greased plate and using a bowl or measuring cup spread the mixture out into the plate. Make sure to grease the base of the cup with ghee, so that the mixture doesn't stick. Use it to level the mixture and flatten it. Now, let the mixture cool.  When it has cooled to a luke warm temperature, it will solidify a little. At this stage, you can cut it into squares.

Tips
If you want to speed up the cooking process, you can increase the heat but be sure to stand at the stove and keep stirring so that it doesn't brown or stick to the pan.  An alternate method to check if the mixture is at the right consistency is to take a  drop full of the mixture into a plate and as soon as it is cool enough to touch, try to roll it into a ball. If you are able to roll it, then the mixture is ready to be poured. The gulkand is added at the last step and cooked for a minimal time so that is maintains its fragrance. If you take this off the heat a little early and the barfi ends up being soft after cooling completely, you can reheat the mixture. However, you will end up losing the fragrance from the gulkand. So definitely add the essence before you put it into the greased pan. The taste will be the same.

Rose Cashewnut Fig Almond Barfi - Rose Kaju Anjeer Badam barfi

This year I have challenged myself to make some complex sweets which I had usually bought in the past. I have realized that the taste of homemade sweets is so good and I have so much control over the quality of the ingredients that we enjoy it more than the store bought version. This is another decadent sweet. The outer covering is made using cashews and sugar and the process is similar to that of Kaju Katli, which is a Cashew sweet and once you cut into it, you see the inside filling of figs and almonds. This is also a labor and time intensive recipe and you need to keep a close eye on the ingredients but oh so delicious!

Hope you like the recipe and give it a try. If you do, leave me a comment.

Ingredients
1 cup raw cashewnuts
red food coloring
rose essence or rose water
12-14 dried figs
1 tsp ghee
1/4 cup of mava/khoa
1/8 cup of sliced almonds

powdered sugar (measurement in the recipe for cashew covering)

3-4 tbsp powdered sugar for fig mixture (it depends on how sweet the fig paste turns out to be)

Method
Soak the cashews with enough water to cover them completely. Soak the cashews for at least 4-5 hours, overnight would be best. Then drain the water and remove any peels that may have been on the nuts and then rinse them out. Process the cashews to make a fine paste. Add just a little water when you make the paste, just enough to let your grinder function properly. Then, measure an equal quantity of powdered sugar. Mix the cashew paste and sugar and start heating it in a open pan.

Keep stirring the mixture and let it cook. Keep the temperature at a very low level while cooking to avoid any browning. Make sure to keep stirring the two mixtures so that they don't stick to the base of the pan and brown. As the mixture starts thickening, it will get more difficult to stir it around as it gets heavy and sticky. However, it is crucial that at this stage you stir it and do not let it stick to the base and brown. At this stage, test the consistency of the mixture. Take a small drop (it will be hot so be careful) and roll it between your fingers. If you can mould it into a ball (it will be like molten wax) and it retains its shape, then you can take it off the heat. Make sure that the ball is not at all sticky. If it sticks to your fingers even a little, cook it a little longer.

Soak the dry figs for about 15-30 mins and then heat them on the stove top for a few mins till they soften. Then process this through the grinder and make a paste. In a pan, heat the ghee and add the mava. Heat it till it softens and you get the smell of roasting it. Then add the fig paste, sugar and stir well. Cook this mixture till it starts to thicken and then add the sliced almonds. Cook this till it cooks down and becomes pliable like a dough. Remove a small quantity and let it cool down till you can touch it and then try rolling it. If it is not sticky and can be easily rolled into a ball then the mixture is at the right consistency.

Let the mixtures cool to a temperature where you can handle it. Add a couple of drops of red food coloring to the cashew mixture and a couple of drops of rose essence. Knead this into the cashew dough till it is evenly mixed and you have a nice pink color and the dough is a smooth ball.

Then take a fistfull of fig mixture and roll it into a ball. Make a bigger ball of the cashew mixture and then using your fingers make a depression in it and then roll this cashew ball around the fig ball. Cover the fig ball completely with the cashew and then roll this to get a smooth finish. Then flatten it into a thick disk. Slice this into sectors by cutting the disc into eighths along the diameter of the disc. You can make about 4-12 slices based on how big you make the disc.

Garnish with silver foil if available. You can do this before cutting the disc.

You can store it in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. It lasts in the refrigerator for upto a month.

Tips

If you add a lot of water when you grind the paste, then the sugar proportion will be off. Also, since you need to cook it down to a dough consistency, it will take much longer to cook it. The nut paste must be very fine and there shouldn't be any grainy texture. If you are in doubt, use 1 cup of powdered sugar for 1 cup of nuts and if it is granulated, use 3/4 cup of sugar. Granulated sugar will take much longer to melt, and if you process it in the grinder, you can turn it into powdered sugar and use that.

Use a large pan so that the evaporation rate is faster and that will make the cooking process faster. Use a non stick pan so that the mixture will not stick while cooking. The color should not change. Also, as the sugar melts, the mixture will start getting sticky and as the the cooking process comes closer to completion, it will get more difficult to stir it around. If you are cooking a large quantity, then it is advisable to take turns with someone else to stir it. Grease your hands with some ghee/clarified butter before you knead the cashew mixture and also when handling the fig mixture to keep it from sticking to your hands.

Cashew Pistachio Rolls - Kaju Pista Barfi

This is a decadent sweet. Made from just two ingredients, nuts and sugar, it highlights the rich taste of the cashews and pistachios. I had always bought it till now, however since I had made Kaju Katli in the past, which is a Cashew sweet, I thought I would try my hand at this decadent dessert. Now, to be honest, it did take quite a lot of time and a lot of elbow grease but the end result was so good, that I don't think I can go back to eating the store bought version anymore. I also bought some edible silver leaf (warak in Hindi) and was able to give a very professional look to the sweet. Even my parents thought that it was store bought when I shared the photo with them.

With the festive season starting soon, give this sweet a try and let me know how it turns out.

Ingredients
1 cup raw cashewnuts
1 cup raw, unsalted pistachios
powdered sugar

Method
Soak the cashews and pistachios in separate containers with enough water to cover them completely. Soak these for atleast 4-5 hours, overnight would be best. Then drain the water and remove any peels that may have been on the nuts and then rinse them out. Process the cashews to make a fine paste. Add just a little water when you make the paste, just enough to let your grinder function properly. Then, measure an equal quantity of powdered sugar. Carry out the same process with the pistachios and grind to make a fine paste.  Measure the cashew paste and pistachio paste separately. Then, measure an equal quantity of powdered sugar for each nut. If you get one cup of cashew paste then add 1 cup of powdered sugar to it. Do the same for the pistachio paste. In this example we will end up using a total of 2 cups of powdered sugar.  Mix the cashew paste and sugar and start heating it in a open pan. Then mix the pistachio paste and sugar and start heating it in a separate pan.

Keep stirring these mixtures and let them cook. Keep the temperature at a very low level while cooking to avoid any browning. Make sure to keep stirring the two mixtures so that they don't stick to the base of the pan and brown. As the mixture starts thickening, it will get more difficult to stir it around as it gets heavy and sticky. However, it is crucial that at this stage you stir it and do not let it stick to the base and brown. At this stage, test the consistency of the mixture. Take a small drop (it will be hot so be careful) and roll it between your fingers. If you can mould it into a ball (it will be like molten wax) and it retains its shape, then you can take it off the heat. Make sure that the ball is not at all sticky. If it sticks to your fingers even a little, cook it a little longer.

Let the mixture cool to a temperature where you can handle it. At this stage, knead the two mixtures separately into two balls like you would knead dough till they are smooth. If you want, then you can deepen the green color of the pistachio by adding a couple of drops of green food coloring.

Then roll out the pistachio dough into long cylindrical rolls about 2 cms in diameter. Then roll out the cashew dough into a sheet which is about  half a centimeter in thickness. Then, place the pistachio roll on top of this cashew sheet and roll the cashew sheet around it, such that you get a circular cylinder covering the entire pistachio roll. Cut off the excess dough.  Then, using a serrated knife cut these long cylindrical rolls into small rolls. I cut some in two inch long pieces and some much small.

Garnish with silver foil if available.

You can store it in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. It lasts in the refrigerator for upto a month.

Tips

If you add a lot of water when you grind the paste, then the sugar proportion will be off. Also, since you need to cook it down to a dough consistency, it will take much longer to cook it. The nut paste must be very fine and there shouldn't be any grainy texture. If you are in doubt, use 1 cup of powdered sugar for 1 cup of nuts and if it is granulated, use 3/4 cup of sugar. Granulated sugar will take much longer to melt, and if you process it in the grinder, you can turn it into powdered sugar and use that.

Use a large pan so that the evaporation rate is faster and that will make the cooking process faster. Use a non stick pan so that the mixture will not stick while cooking. The color should not change. Also, as the sugar melts, the mixture will start getting sticky and as the the cooking process comes closer to completion, it will get more difficult to stir it around. If you are cooking a large quantity, then it is advisable to take turns with someone else to stir it. Grease your hands with some ghee/clarified butter before you knead the cashew mixture to keep it from sticking to your hands.

Instead of a roll, you can also roll both out into sheets and then place on top of each other and cut into diamonds or squares as a variation.