A Balinese encounter

Passport & Plate - Barfi, made the Indian South African way

South Africa | Sunday, March 1, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
500g Nestle` powdered milk
1.5 cups confectioner’s/icing sugar
1 cup full-cream milk
1 small tin (85g) dessert cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons rose water
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (freshly ground in a coffee mill will boost the flavour)
1 to 2 tablespoons ground almonds (omit if you have a nut allergy)
1 to 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
2 handfuls of diced almonds for decoration – colour each handful in a different colour, with 2mls of food colouring of your choice, set aside to dry
Edible glitter and any other toppings that you prefer for decoration

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. In a food processor, blend powdered milk, butter, and dessert cream to produce a mixture that resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Add ground cardamom, ground almonds, and desiccated coconut and mix well.
3. In a heavy saucepan, bring milk, rose water, and icing sugar to boil. Reduce heat until the liquid is sticky to touch.
4. Combine the breadcrumbs mixture and the sticky liquid and mix well.
5. Place combined mixture into a greased glass or ceramic dish (20cm x 25cm).
6. Decorate Barfi while it is still warm. Press down the diced, coloured almonds or sprinkle edible glitter – whatever toppings take your fancy. You could also place the mixture into cookie cutters to create different shapes, or roll into balls and place into miniature paper cupcake holders before decorating.
7. Leave to set for a minimum of 4 hours. If you live in a humid or tropical environment, place Barfi in the refrigerator to set.
8. Cut into squares before serving. Store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

 

The story behind this recipe
Families the world over have childhood memories of clamouring in the kitchen with siblings to lick a bowl of something tasty that their mothers were making. In my family, it has always been Barfi at Diwali time. The slightly warmed, creamy cardamom and rose water flavoured goo, sticky between the fingers, licked until the bowl shined its stainless steel while Mummy evenly patted down the mixture into a steel tray. Being the only daughter in the family complete with a creative streak, it was my privilege to turn plain brown almonds that had been soaked and blanched hours before, into dots of apple green and ruby red that would be pressed on top of the milky delicacy. Like all other Mithai – confectionaries made for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, it was made to share with extended family and friends but nobody in our family really wanted to share Barfi because it was just so delectable. Luckily for us kids, it was the one Mithai that always lasted long after the celebrations ended because the recipe makes a large batch. We’d sneak off to the fridge, each on our own, cut out a block or three and unashamedly eat it right there. As time has blessed me, I got married and moved out of my family home. In another part of South Africa, my husband, daughter and I still celebrate Diwali, albeit in a less festive sense with both of us being miles away from our parental homes. The making of Barfi has amped the spirit of family and celebration in our little home. It’s our connection to comfort. Enter Hirali, my baby girl with the larger than life personality and a marked interest in the goings-on of my kitchen – the sweet aroma of milk, boiling with icing sugar; the blending of dessert cream with milk powder fragranced with cardamom no doubt enticing her nosy arrival. My heart swells as she runs her fingers over the rosy pink and jade diced almonds. I’ve added a sprinkling of edible caramel glitter – her favourite and a new generation of bowl-licking has begun.