Rich, creamy barfi flavoured with aromatic spices cardamom and saffron. This speedy version uses milk powder instead of khoya, taking less than an hour to make.
Homemade barfi? Absolutely! Making your barfi at home is actually much easier than it sounds.
Barfi, or burfi, like many Indian sweets (such as gajar halwa), is typically made using khoya or mawa.
Khoya is made by slow boiling milk till most of the moisture evaporates, reducing it to milk solids. It’s a fairly time consuming process but fortunately there is a quicker alternative.
This recipe uses whole milk powder to make an instant khoya, so the cooking time is only 10 minutes and the barfi turns out just as delicious just slightly less dense.
We love making barfi at home because this way you can adjust the amount of sugar to your taste (sometimes store bought barfi is too sweet), use good fresh ingredients and add your own flavouring.
So avoid the dried out barfi from the shops and make your own!
Try this barfi with our delicious masala chai.
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About the ingredients
- Freshly ground cardamom powder has better flavour than store bought.
- Use whole milk and whole milk powder for rich flavour, avoid low-fat.
- Cardamom and saffron will give the traditional flavour of barfi but you could add other flavours such as almond, orange, rose, coconut, etc.
Cooking tips
- Use an enamel coated or non-stick pan and wooden spoon.
- Use good quality ingredients for best flavour. We use Nestlé Nido whole powder milk.
- Have all your ingredients close-by as there are no pauses in this recipe.
Step-by-step instructions
Mix in cardamom powder, saffron and water and set aside.
Melt ghee in pan on medium heat.
Add the sugar and mix well.
Stir in the milk.
Reduce heat to low and stir in the powdered milk.
Keep stirring slowly to dissolve any lumps.
Keep stirring slowly scraping the sides and bottom to make sure the mixture does not stick to the pan.
Pour out into a small lined dish, cover and freeze for 30 minutes.
After freezing the barfi will be less sticky and it will be easier to slice and peel away from the parchment paper.
Remove from the freezer, garnish with crushed nuts (optional), then slice into 15 pieces and peel away from the parchment paper.
They are ready to serve!
Making ahead/storing leftovers
Store in a closed container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
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Recipe
Barfi
Ingredients
- cardamom powder ¼ teaspoon
- saffron - stands 8 strands
- water 1 tablespoon
- ghee - ¼ cup 50 g
- sugar - 1 cup 200 g
- milk - 1 cup, whole milk 240 ml
- whole milk powder - 3 cups 300 g
Garnish
- almonds - or pistachios, crushed (optional) 6 whole
Instructions
- Grind 8 strands saffron strands in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, then transfer to a small bowl with ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder and set aside.
- Grease then line a small 6 inch (15 cm) square dish with parchment paper so the ends hand over the sides and set aside.
- Melt 50 g ghee on medium heat in a medium size pan and stir in 200 g sugarusing a wooden spoon.
- Pour in 240 ml milk and the saffron and cardamom mixture and stir to mix.
- Reduce heat to low and add 300 g whole milk powder stirring slowly till all the lumps dissolve and the mixture is smooth. While stirring take care not to let the mixture stick to the sides or the bottom of the pan. Carry on stirring for another 8-10 minutes till the mixture has reduced and thickened to a less sticky paste.
- Remove from the heat and using the wooden spoon transfer the mixture to the lined dish ensuring it reaches all four corners. Cool on the counter then cover and freeze for 30 minutes, till the barfi is no longer sticky and the parchment paper comes away easily.
- To serve, gently lift the opposite sides of parchment paper to remove the barfi from the dish. Sprinkle with crushed almonds or pistachios (optional), slice into 15 and serve.
Notes
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically per serving and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
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