Pistachio and Rose Coconut Burfi ( Nariyal ki Burfi )

This is one of my favorite Indian sweets or mithai as we call it. Moist, chewy and full of coconut flavor. I remember my mother making this whenever we had a party in our home and sometimes even for Diwali  ( Festival of Lights ). She would make different colored layers and it would look so beautiful and festive. You can try it if you are feeling ambitious or you can even leave it plain white. I admit that I love the color pink, I can't help myself I am just drawn to that color.

I garnished my barfi with pistachios, you can even garnish with cashews or almonds or any other kind of nuts. I used rose essence to flavor my barfi as I love that flavor and pistachios complement this very well.

Adding the mava and the sugar makes this barfi moist and chewy which is very similar to my favorite candy bar the ' Bounty ' , or ' Almond Joy ' as it is known in the US, sans the almond and the chocolate covering.




Coconut Barfi

Ingredients

300 gm of mava / khoya ( available at Indian grocery stores ) ( you can substitute with condensed milk but remember to omit the sugar in the recipe )
450 gm ground / shredded coconut
450 gm sugar
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped or slivered
1/4 tsp cardamom / elaichi powder
4-5 drops rose essence
a little pink food color ( optional )
1/2 tsp ghee

Method

• Grease an 8 inch cake pan or thali with ghee and also rub some ghee on the back of a steel bowl, or any bowl, to pat the hot coconut mixture in the prepared pan.
• Crumble the mava and saute it in a large saucepan on low heat. ( Tip: make sure that the heat is low as the mava can burn easily ).
• Once the mava is all melted, add the sugar, ground coconut, elaichi powder, rose essence and pink food color.
• Raise the heat to medium ( I cook on an electric stove, gas stoves get much more hotter so still keep that low ), and keep stirring quite frequently for about 20-25 minutes. The water should be all evaporated and the mixture when stirred should adhere together and move around as one mass.
• Remove from heat and pour mixture into the prepared pan and use the greased steel bowl to pat it down to fill the pan evenly. Sprinkle the pistachios and let it cool.
• When cooled cut into squares and enjoy these chewy treats.

I am sending this post to Kalyani's Indian Mithai Mela, that she is so graciously hosting this month. And to Anu's Healthy Kitchen