7 Cup Burfi and Celebrating 50th Post!

Wishing you all a Happy Diwali!

I first had this burfi at an aunt's place a couple of years back and loved it. When she told me it's called 7-cup burfi, I thought it was made of a cup each of seven different ingredients. After that I forgot about it. When I came back home two months later, I was suddenly curious to know what the seven ingredients were. At that point of time, my aunt was fast asleep in India, so as usual I resorted to the internet for the answer. And that's when I realised that there were seven cups in total, and just 5 ingredients - besan (1 cup) , ghee (1 cup), milk (1 cup), coconut (1 cup) and sugar (3 cups).

The first time I made this, I used the exact same measures. It tasted great but I found it a tad too sweet for my liking. The next time, I reduced the sugar by 1/4th cup and added 1/4th cup of cashewnuts instead. And that's how I've been doing it since then.

Ingredients :
1 cup besan (gramflour, chickpea flour)
1 cup ghee
1 cup grated coconut
1 cup milk
2 3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cashewnuts

[Note : If you are making a burfi for the first time, I suggest you reduce the portions and use a 1/4 cup measure - 1/4 cup besan, 1/4 cup ghee etc. Cooking time will reduce accordingly].

Method:
Blend the cashewnuts with coconut and milk for 10 to 15 seconds, to get a coarse runny mixture.

In a deep bottomed pan [I prefer non-stick], with the flame on low, heat ghee and add besan. With a manual whisk or a large spoon, mix well to get rid of any lumps. Add the blended coconut, cashewnut and milk and keep stirring. Pour in sugar. Increase the flame to medium and keep stirring.

 The mixture will start to thicken.

If you have to run around to attend to other chores and cannot be in front of the stove the whole time (just like me), just reduce the flame to low but make sure you stir the mixture atleast once every minute or else the bottom portion will get burnt. Otherwise, just continue to keep the flame on medium and stir every few seconds.

Keep stirring till the mixture thickens so much that when you move the spoon in the mixture, the mixture should move along with the spoon (but should still be pour-able). This can take anywhere between 30 to 50 minutes, depending on how low or high the flame is.

Sometime in between, grease a large plate [I used a 9X14 glass dish] with ghee. When the mixture attains the desired thickness, just pour it onto the plate.

With a spatula or spoon, spread the mixture evenly.

Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. With a butter knife greased with ghee, cut into desired shape [ I cut mine into squares]. Do not remove from the plate yet.

Once the mixture cools completely (this can take an hour or two) transfer into an airtight container and refrigerate. (If the burfi hasn't hardened by then, refrigerate it for a few hours so that it sets completely before serving).

And thus I celebrated my 50th post :)!