Date and Coconut Burfi - Monthly Mingle: Bollywood Cooking

This month, Meeta from What's for Lunch Honey has nominated the theme of Bollywood Cooking for the Monthly Mingle. As the name suggests, Meeta is looking for glamorous Indian cuisine fit for a red carpet.

For my entry, I decided to make Date and Coconut Burfi (fudge), which is a festival food in India. The very word "festival" evokes Bollywood glamour to me, so I thought that this would be perfect!

To make this very sweet, delicious treat, you will need:

400g can condensed milk
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup white sugar
75g ghee or butter
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
flaked almonds and silver cachous for decorating

Butter a long, flat slice tray or plate and set aside. Put the condensed milk, coconut, dates and sugar in a heavy-based pan, and cook over a medium heat until it becomes thick and fudgy in consistency. Add the chopped butter or ghee, and cook until the butter just begins to separate from the fudge. Stir through the cardamom, then remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture into the prepared tray or plate, spreading with a metal spatula until it covers the tray or plate and is relatively smooth on top. Sprinkle the top of the burfi liberally with flaked almonds, and allow it to cool slightly.

While the burfi is still warm, cut it into squares, and press a silver cachous into the centre of each square (for added "bling"!), but leave them in the tray or plate to cool completely. Once cooled and set, remove the burfi from the tray or plate and serve. Delicious!

Thanks to Meeta for hosting this month's Monthly Mingle, and be sure to check her site here for the roundup, and the winner of a copy of The Bollywood Cookbook by Bulbul Mankani.