During lockdown I really got my bake on, it gave me a focus as I wasn’t able to carry on with my day job, it’s a new hobby and I really enjoy it. I love feeding people and giving away treats, Barfi is a great addition to the list.
Barfi is a basic from Indian cuisine that is made using full fat milk, sugar and ghee. Traditionally it was made by condensing milk for several hours, later sweetened and cooked until a thick consistency was reached. It was then pressed down in a tray, garnished with nuts and cut into squares or triangles. Based on the traditional method, there’s so many different types of barfi available now. Ingredients like mawa (milk powder), condensed milk, coconut and flour are used as an alternative to condensing milk for hours.
We had a couple of family events coming up so I took it upon myself to save a little cash and make a few extra traditional treats that could be gifted out to all those who couldn’t participate. To be honest I chose barfi bites because I thought they’d be easy, I’d just have to do the mixture in the day and then I could just spend a couple of evenings putting them into balls. The reality was I found it difficult to work with some of the textures to make into balls, some were easy, the milk barfi I found simple, and they shaped nicely, the coconut ones were ok to handle, but the almond ones were a little more tricky. Maybe I should have started off by making a few for the immediate family rather than trying to feed the whole community!
These little treats will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Some of the recipes can be so quick and easy to do if you’re having a few friends around, there’s so many vegan recipes around these days that aren’t so bad for the waistline.
Now I’ve got the knack of doing some of the recipes. It’s something I’d practice a couple of times a year, probably over Eid and celebrations and give out to the family. You can make them in advance and just take them out of the freezer when you need them. They look so pretty when they are nicely decorated, I used desiccated coconut, chocolate and pistachio.
One mithai I’d really like to work is a recipe from @milkandcardamom, it’s a penda barfi made with a biscuit base, penda barfi in the middle, topped with white chocolate, I slightly modified the recipe to my taste for the biscuit base, and I ran out of white chocolate for the top layer so I had to modify it to spread the mixture out, but it still tasted great. This is something you can make in between your other jobs if you’re at home. It’s a great showstopper if you have guests around or just want to treat your family.
Is there anybody else out there that is experimenting with modern Indian treats?
Let me know your thoughts.
