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.

Coconut Beetroot Barfi (Coconut Beetroot Fudge)

My Mom and I were discussing various recipes that are made during the festive season and one of my favorites is coconut burfi or naral barfi. I told her I was planning to make that sometime soon and she suggested that I try adding some beetroot to make it colorful. I loved the idea and I decided to try it with golden beetroots. The end result was beautiful. The barfi turned out to absolutely golden and it tastes great. And I feel less guilty eating it because I know I am also eating a vegetable. This is a beautiful, delicious and healthier variation to the coconut barfi.

The recipe for the coconut barfi can be found here.

Ingredients
2 cups fresh coconut - grated/scraped (if using frozen, thaw it)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup beetroot - cooked and grated (see details in method)
1/8 tsp cardamom powder

Method

Cook the beetroot and then grate it. I usually do it in a pressure cooker

Heat the beetroot, coconut and sugar in a pan. Stir it and then add the milk. The sugar will melt and turn into syrup. As the mixture starts to thicken, add the cardamom powder. Stir frequently so that the mixture doesn't burn. Heat this mixture, till it is thick enough, so that when you move a spoon through it, you can see the base of the pan and till the mixture comes together. In the meanwhile, grease a tin or dish with some ghee or butter. Then pour the mixture in a greased pan. Use a spatula to spread this or you can use the base of a small bowl. Grease the base of the bowl with some ghee, so that the coconut mixture doesn't stick to the base. Once it has cooled down a little and is warm to touch, cut it into small squares.  Once it has completely cooled down, you can separate the squares. Store it in the fridge.

Tips

You can scrape/grate a coconut and freeze this in an airtight bag/box for about 6-8 weeks. After you scrape the coconut, heat it for a minute in the microwave or on the stove till you can smell the coconut aroma. Then cool it and freeze it. This helps preserve the coconut for a longer period.
When you cook the beetroot in the pressure cooker, just wash it and place it in the cooker. Remove the top and the root end and peel it after it is cooked.
If you use red beetroot (which I plan to use the next time), you will get a beautiful pink color.

Til Gul Wadi/Vadi - Sesame Seed Fudge

The first week of January has passed by and we are inching towards 14th of January, when the first Indian festival of the year will be celebrated. This is "Sankrant" also known as Makar  Sankrant in India. It is a festival to celebrate the harvest season. This is one festival which almost always falls on the 14th of January (this year it was on the 15th) and is based on the movement of the Sun rather than the Moon. It is celebrated throughout India and is called by different names in different states. Some names that I am familiar with are Lohari (in Punjab), Uttarayan (in Gujarat), Makar Sankrant (in Maharashtra) and Pongal (in the southern states). In Gujarat, the entire day is spent on the terrace of the houses and in streets flying kites. It is one of the most colorful scenes I have ever seen. In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated over a period of three days.

In Maharashtra, it is celebrated by distributing sweets made from sesame seeds and jaggery. These are called "til gul vadi" and the tradition is to say "til gul ghya ani goad goad bola" which translates to "please take this sweet and speak sweetly". There are multiple variations in how this sweet is made, some are really hard in texture, some are brittle and some are soft. Each family has it's own recipe and tradition of making this sweet.

The ones I make have a soft texture and are easy to bite into and extremely simple to prepare. You can roll it into a ball and make a "laddoo" or you can flatten it and cut it into "vadi/barfi" akin fudge pieces. This is my Mom's recipe and my favorite version of this sweet. I hope you will give it a try and enjoy it.

Ingredients
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup peanuts (shelled and without the peel)
1 cup finely cut jaggery, cup should be packed
1 tbsp ghee/clarified butter
2 tbsp of grated dessicated coconut, for garnish
some ghee to grease the plate in which the sweet will be set.

Method
Take a plate with an edge or a pan with a small edge and grease it with some ghee.
In a dry skillet, on low to medium heat, roast the sesame seeds till you get the aroma of the sesame seed.  Keep it aside and let it cool. In the same skillet roast the peanuts following the same method as for the sesame seeds. Be careful not to burn these ingredients. Once these cool down, coarsely grind them separately and then mix the two powders together.

In a pan, add the ghee and jaggery and keep it on a very low flame to cook. The jaggery will start melting. Be sure to keep it on very low heat.. Stir the jaggery so that it doesn't caramelize. Within a couple of minutes, the jaggery will start bubbling and foaming. At this stage, turn off the heat and add the powdered mixture of peanuts and sesame seeds and mix well together. Then pour this mixture (it will be quite thick) into the greased plate. Then using another bowl/measuring cup (grease the bottom), pat the this hot mixture and even it out into the plate. Make sure to level it properly. Then sprinkle the dessicated coconut all over the top and using the cup, pat it into the mixture. All this must be done while the mixture is hot.

Then, after the mixture cools a little, cut it into square pieces of about 1 inch sides. Let the mixture cool completely befor you take the individual pieces out of the plate.

Tips
You can roast the peanuts and the sesame seeds in the microwave. Initially you can do it for 1 minute intervals. Stir it after each minute and then you can reduce that to 30 second intervals. It takes about 2-3 minutes based on the power settings of your microwave. Let them cool completely and then grind.
If jaggery is kept on high heat, it will start caramelizing as soon as it melts, so be careful of the temperature. Also, it is necessary to turn off the heat as soon as the jaggery foams to get the soft consistency, the longer it is cooked, the harder the end product will be. If you feel that the jaggery syrup has become very thick, you can add some more ghee or alternately add a couple of tbsp of milk to the syrup to thin it out (if you add milk, this shortens the shelf life, so be sure to keep it refrigerated and eat it in a couple of days). If  after adding the sesame and peanut powder, the mixture becomes very dry and powdery, then sprinkle a teaspoon of warm milk and stir (while the mixture is hot). The mixture will immediately become moist (if it becomes too soft and moist, then re-heat it).  Then spoon the mixture into the greased plate.

If you forget to remove the pieces and then it gets difficult to take them out, heat the bottom of your plate or keep it in a warm oven for a couple of minutes and then it will be very easy to get the pieces out.

Nariyal Barfi - Coconut Burfi/ Coconut Fudge

Hope you are having a festive week, with Halloween followed by Diwali. As the celebrations wind down, I am going to add one more easy recipe which can be made for any festive occasion or as a dessert. This is a very simple recipe and very tasty.  This was a last minute addition to my Diwali spread this year and I made it just about an hour before guests arrived. What makes this recipe appealing is that it takes under 15 minutes for the entire cooking process.

Ingredients
2 cups fresh coconut - grated/scraped (if using frozen, thaw it)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/8 tsp cardamom powder

Method
Heat the coconut and sugar in a pan. The sugar will melt and turn into syrup. As the mixture starts to thicken, add the cream and cardamom powder. Stir frequently so that the mixture doesn't burn. Heat this mixture, till it is thick enough, so that when you move a spoon through it, you can see the base of the pan. In the meanwhile, grease a tin or dish with some ghee or butter. Then pour the mixture in a greased pan. Use a spatula to spread this or you can use the base of a small bowl. Grease the base of the bowl with some ghee, so that the coconut mixture doesn't stick to the base. Once it has cooled down a little and is warm to touch, cut it into small squares.  Once it has completely cooled down, you can separate the squares. Store it in the fridge.

Tips
You can scrape/grate a coconut and freeze this in an airtight bag/box for about 6-8 weeks. After you scrape the coconut, heat it for a minute in the microwave or on the stove till you can smell the coconut aroma. Then cool it and freeze it. This helps preserve the coconut for a longer period.