Coconut burfi ~ Thengai / Nariyal Burfi ~ Indian coconut fudge

Coconut burfi is a classic Indian fudge like sweet that is made for a lot of events and festivals. It is one of the most simple and basic sweets that is not very complicated and does not take much time to make. With just four ingredients, ones that are almost always stocked in an Indian home, this sweet also does not require a lot of planning making it ideal for making it on short notice.

I used to make coconut burfi using the sugar syrup method earlier, but my mother in law introduced me to this much simpler technique of coconut burfi that gives me most consistent results. Just heat everything together and when the moisture evaporates, spread on a tray, cool and cut. Cannot get easier than that when it comes to sweets. So if you are looking for quick easy sweets this festival season, give this one a try and enjoy it with your friends and family :)

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make coconut burfi

2 cups grated coconut ( nariyal/ thengai) ( see notes)

1 and 1/2 cups sugar ( shakkar/ sakkarai)

1/2 tsp green cardamom seed powder ( elaichi/ ellakkai )

5 tsps clarified butter ( ghee/ nei) + a little extra for greasing

Grease a tray or a pan and keep aside. I used a 9" X 9" brownie pan this time, alhough in the past I have used any kind of tray or glass dishes too.

Place coconut and sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and place on a low to medium low heat.mix and stir the mixture frequently. At first the mixture begins to melt then slowly the mixture begins to thicken.

Add clarified butter/ ghee and cardamom powder/ elaichi and continue to cook on even heat.

Stir frequently and cook until the mixture begins to come together and no moisture remains. One thing I do to know if it's almost done, is towards the end, lower heat and put a little mixture on a plate, blow to cool a little and try to roll into a small ball. If it rolls easily and smoothly it's almost done, not fully but almost there, stir just a little bit until the moisture is almost gone and it comes together. The fourth pic below was just before I took it out to spread on the tray. You can just go by the visual check to see if the moisture has evaporated too, I just find this a useful technique to let me know its almost done :)

Pour onto pre greased tray/ dish/ pan and place a parchment paper on top and with the help of the back of a smooth backed cup or a spatula spread the coconut mixture evenly. If you do not have parchment paper on hand grease the back of a smooth backed cup and smoothen out the mixture.

When it cools a little cut into desired shape with a sharp knife.

Yields approx about 36 - 1 inch square pieces.

Notes:

Grate and use only the white part of the coconut, make sure not to mix in the brown part of the coconut for this sweet.

If you are Indian sweets and ladoos to make this navaratri/ festival season, here are a few more