Rose coconut burfi

Coconut burfi is a popular mithai (sweet) made during festivals and celebrations across India, particularly during Diwali. The texture and aromatic flavour profile of this delicacy is enjoyed by many and can be easily whipped up. This variation of the mithai has two layers, one of which resembles the traditional recipe of coconut, cardamon and ghee and the other layer has a rose flavour and colour, creating a beautiful and delicious dessert that can be shared during festival season.

• makes

  20

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 cups desiccated coconut
• 1 cup milk
• 200 ml thickened cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp rosewater
• 1/4 tsp cardamon powder
• 1/8 tsp red/pink food colouring

For garnishing (optional)

• Silver leaf
• Pistachios, chopped
• Dried rose petals

Cooling time: 2 hours

Instructions

1. Melt ghee in a medium frypan on low/medium heat. Once melted, toss in your desiccated coconut and toast for a couple of minutes.
2. Add in milk, cream, and sugar and mix together for a couple more minutes.
3. Sprinkle in cardamon powder and mix in again. Continue mixing on low/medium heat until the mixture begins to clump together.
4. Turn off the heat and separate the mixture into two portions. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
5. Take one portion, and press it into a greased brownie tin/square shallow pan.
6. With the other portion, place it in a small bowl. Flavour this with rose essence and add in a couple of drops of pink food colouring. Mix well with a spatula. If the food colouring isn’t spreading evenly, it’s best to use your fingers to mix/knead this in.
7. Press this layer onto of the previous layer applying firm pressure. Allow this to cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.
8. Remove from the fridge and remove the burfi from the baking tray. You may need to slide a knife along the sides of the pan to help the burfi from the pan, before flipping the pan over onto a chopping board.
9. Decorate with silver foil, pistachios or rose petals, then slice the burfi into equal portions to serve.

Celebrate Diwali with SBS

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.