Dry Fruits Burfi

It is almost a month since my last post. A big sorry to all my dear readers!! I was so caught up with my work. I wonder how critical situations come up exclusively at the year end. However, I'm happy that I could fix them all to the satisfaction of the customers and I'm eagerly waiting for the new year now. This kept me completely away from the Blogosphere. I neither looked up my own space nor visited other blogs too. Hopefully, the new year permits me more time for my hobby :)

Another Blog Hop series today, an exciting event hosted by Radhika of Tickling Palates. This time I got the opportunity to visit Nirmala's Kitchen. She hosts a variety of authentic Indian recipes in her blog and as usual, had a little confusion what to try. Recently, during one of my conversations with my German colleague, I was telling him that sweets make an integral part of any festival or special occasion in India. He said, "Oh! Do you make sweets too? I thought, Indian cuisine is mostly with spices and curries". Then, I explained him the importance of sweets in India and also gave him a brief intro to some renowned sweets like Gulab Jamun, Rabri, Jilebi, etc.

After all these, I got a craving for our Indian sweets. If I say, I have a sweet tooth, it would be an understatement. I think, all I have are sweet teeth :) And, look at this, Nirmala has a variety of sweet dishes to offer. And I selected this Dry Fruits Burfi. It was a little different and packed with healthy dry fruits and hence gave a try. The original recipe can be found here. I made some small changes and hence giving you my version too.

Preparation Time: 40 mins
Makes: 20 - 24 squares

Ingredients:
Mawa - 1 cup
Powdered Almond - 1/2 cup
Powdered Cashews - 1/2 cup
Dried figs - 1/4 cup, finely chopped
Dates - 1/4 cup, finely chopped
Pistachios - 1 Tbsp, finely chopped
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups (or less)
Water -1cup
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Ghee - 2 tsps

Method:
In a heavy bottomed large pan, heat a teaspoon of ghee. Roast the chopped figs, dates and pistachios lightly. Then, add the powdered almond, cashews and mawa. Mix well and roast gently. When it gets a little brown and emanates fine aroma, remove from heat and save aside.

In the same pan, heat water and sugar to prepare the sugar syrup. When the syrup attains one string consistency, add the cardamom and the mawa mixture. Mix well and cook in medium heat till it leaves the sides of the pan and gets into one big ball.

Grease a square tin with the rest of the ghee and pour the hot mass into it. Spread and let it cool for some time. Cut into squares and serve.

Verdict:
We found the Burfi extraordinarily tasty and different from the usual Besan ones. It is packed with healthy ingredients and rich with dried fruits. I'm sure, they would definitely delight kids and adults alike. However,  I used less sugar than mentioned in the original recipe and yet it was a little too sweet. May be the added dates brought in those extra sweetness. So, if you want it just delectable, it is advisable to reduce the amount of sugar to be used.

I would definitely be making these Burfis again. May be try it with jaggery too. Thanks Nirmala for this sweet power packed snacks. Sending this as an entry to Blog Hop Week 12.