Coconut (Tenga) Burfi

I love sweets in general and burfis especially. Coconut burfi is an easy one to make – and for a coconut lover like me, it was a nice treat!

At home, mom would make it by grating fresh coconut. When I would help, she usually tells me to be particular that I grate only the white parts and not brown bits. Here in the US, we get grated coconut (frozen) which is a nice white – so the efforts in grating the coconut are reduced. However, fresh coconut tastes best and is more juicier than frozen ones. Anyway, we gain some; we lose some …. Let’s go to the recipe.

 

 

Ingredients:

Grated coconut: ½ cup

Granulated Sugar: ½ cup (or as per your taste)

Ghee: about 4 teaspoons

Green Cardamom (Elaichi): ½ teaspoon powdered

 

Method:

1. Grease a plate with sides or shallow pan with a few drops of ghee.
2. In a heavy-bottomed (non-stick) pan, heat about 4-5 tablespoons of water.
3. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.
4. Cook on medium heat and make a syrup of the sugar solution. The syrup is ready when it is sticky – and not just sugar solution. We do not require a 1-string or such syrup; just a little sticky like glue.
5. Add the elaichi powder and the grated coconut.
6. Cook on low heat now.
7. Keep stirring the mixture so it does not stick to the vessel.
8. After about a minute, add the ghee and mix. Continue to stir and cook.
9. The mixture will get thicker and thicker. When the mixture has a porous consistency like bread (pithu in tamil), leaves the sides of the vessel, and releases its oils, the burfi is ready.
10. Immediately turn off the heat, and transfer to the greased plate/pan. The key is to take the burfi off the heat at this point immediately, else it will crumble away.
11. Gently even out the upper surface – do not press as this will make the burfi hard.
12. Set aside to cool. When still warm, make cut lines through the burfi for diamond/square shaped pieces. Do not separate pieces now as they will crumble or lose shape.
13. When cooled, cut into pieces and transfer to a dry container with an airtight lid.



14. You can serve and enjoy immediately. The burfis store well for about a week to 10 days if refrigerated.