7 Cups Barfi (Type 2)

How about a race (not the rat kind please) to bring a smile on Lord Ganesha’s face?

Wel….come, come Gowris, Shivas and Subbus, join the race. Hey Subbus what are you waiting for? Oh yeah…I know. So sorry Subbus, this time no kadubus ‘coz Lord G has wished for His Selfie with Barfi….hee hee .

Ready, steady, 1.2..3…4….5…..6……go for this miniathon that’s sweetly different…just 7 laps long! Chase those cups… all same size, 7 of them. 1 of besan, 2 of sugar, 3 of ….. Oomph! Off you zoomed to the finish line in no time!! Tip yourself to a delicious dessert you duly deserve!

A dessert that tempts you to devour, yet sweet signals sent from its bits simply say “Taste me… just a bite and I shall see you savour me bits by bit by wee bit”. 7 ingredients coming together to submerge in a syrup prepared “with no strings (I mean consistencies) attached” and lo! watch those diamonds emerge flat on a plate, glittering. Oh my….I see you scaling up to seventh heaven already!  

Dish Type:  South Indian Dessert

Time:  10 min(preparation) + 30 min (cooking) + 60 min (cooling)

Yield:  16 pcs (approx.)

Ingredients – Option 1

Besan / Gram flour          1 cup

*Chiroti Rava                  1 cup (Semolina fine quality)

Sugar                              2 cups

Ghee                               1 cup

Milk                                1 cup

Raw Coconut                  1 cup (grated)

Cardamom                      2 pcs.

*Cashewnuts                   few nos. cut to fine pieces (for adding aroma) 

Directions

Keep all the ingredients ready in cups, all of same size.

Start by preparing sugar syrup. For this add sugar to milk and boil till sugar melts. Keep stirring frequently. Else milk can “break”. While this is boiling….

Dry fry chiroti rava in a kadai. Keep it aside. Fry besan along with ½ cup ghee. Make sure besan does not turn brown. When you smell the scent of the fried flour, add raw, fresh grated coconut, dry fried rava and continue frying for about 5 min. Add rest of the ghee left in the cup. Keep stirring for 5 more min. By now sugar syrup will be ready. Add this to the kadai and mix the contents well. Ensure no lumps are formed at any point of time. Continue stirring till ghee oozes out and starts flowing on the sides of the kadai. Keep mixing….oh can’t mix any more? Well, that’s a good sign to transfer contents from pan to plate! Before you do it, keep a clean, flat plate or tray ready. Grease it by smearing ghee uniformly all over including the sides.

Pour the contents in the kadai on to the greased plate. Spread the mixture evenly on the plate. Slowly and gently flatten and smoothen the top surface with a spatula. After a minute or two, using a sharp knife, mark lines to divide them. Mark either diagonally into diamonds or straight to from squares or rectangles. When it is warm, run the knife deep over the marked lines to slit them to pieces. Let it stand uncovered till it reaches room temperature (takes about an hour). Remove the pieces carefully and stack them on a plate. 7 cups barfi is now ready. Serve them rightaway.

Store them in an air tight container. Store in fridge if it is used next day or later.

Tete a tete

Chiroti rava (fine quality semolina) is optional. If you don’t use, then use2 cups of besan.

Wheat flour and/ or refined flour may also be used in addition to besan. In that case proportion will be ½ cup besan and ½ cup flour

While stirring, every time make sure spatula reaches right down to the bottom of the kadai and all round the sides for uniform frying.

Texture of the mixture is perfect when it appears smooth and shiny sans any bubbles.

Cashewnuts can be powdered and added towards the end while frying.

Cup of any size can be used. Make sure the same cup is used for measure. No. of pieces vary accordingly. I used cup size that holds 100 gms and treated my family to atleast 16 diamonds!

Shelf life if stored in fridge is around 5 days.

Also view:
Gulipaavate (Quick version)
Banana Fritters (Yeridevu / Suttevu)
Red Rice Laddoos
Mixed Veg Tikki
Bun Gulkand Sandwich

Recipes viewed here are a part of  "Mangala's Potluck" section in this blog