Besan and Coconut Barfi

This is also called the 7-cup barfi. Barfi is an Indian fudge that is commonly made to celebrate festivals and other wonderful events in our lives. There are so many kind of barfis. This is a very easy to make barfi, it uses a few ingredients and does not take too much time either..

I learnt to make this barfi on my very recent trip to Arizona. We had a family reunion there and spent most of our waking moments, laughing, talking and sharing recipes. My sis-in-law's friend made these barfis for us. They were so delicious that I had to get the recipe. She was very gracious in sharing it with us. This barfi tastes a little like Mysore Pak. Try it and see, you will be hooked too.

Ingredients

1 cup bengal gram dal powder / besan
1 cup clarified butter / ghee
1 cup unsweeted dessicated coconut
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup milk ( can use 2% or whole milk )


Method

• In a medium saucepan ( use non-stick if possible ) heat the ghee. when it is hot add the besan and roast it over low medium heat till it turns slightly pink, or is fully roasted ( where you can smell the besan )
• Next goes in the sugar. Mix them well together till the sugar and besan becomes one. Make sure the heat is low to medium low. Add the milk and let the besan absorb it fully. Then add the coconut and keep stirring intermittently till the mixture stops sticking to the side of the pan and turns around with the spoon. Mind you, it will not lump up into a dough consistency. It will still be in liquid form, but when you stir it it will slightly turn along with the spoon and you get a good look at the bottom of the pan.
• Once that happens, pour the contents of that saucepan on a greased thali ( thali is a steel plate with a half inch edge to it, if you do not own such a plate, grease a 10 inch cake pan ). The besan mixture will spread out, make sure there is no air bubbles. The mixture will look too runny and will make you wonder if this will ever form a barfi. Do not worry, once cooled it will set nicely. When cooled, cut it into nice squares or diamond shaped barfis.