There are several versions of this barfi on social media as it is the most searched and attempted recipe during Diwali. I have tried and tested a few options, settling for the following recipe that suits my taste buds.
The reason for selecting and publishing this recipe is that it avoids the whole kerfuffle of making “chasni”, the dreaded sugar syrup that features in most Indian sweet recipes. If you are like me, and never too sure whether the sugar syrup has reached “one tar” or “two tar”, then this is the perfect recipe for you too. 😊
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cup Rich Tea biscuits, crushed to resemble coarse sand (You can use Digestive biscuits instead)
- 1 and 1/4 cup mixed nuts (walnuts, cashewnuts, almonds and hazelnuts),
- 1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 250 ml golden syrup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- White, Milk and Dark cooking chocolate or chocolate melts (Or just one type of chocolate if you want to keep it simple) I used 1 bar of each type.
Method
1. In a heavy bottomed pan, roast the mixed nuts on medium heat. Remove from heat and after 10 minutes grind these to a coarse powder in a blender.
2. In the same pan, on a low heat, add the golden syrup and butter. Stir this mixture for 2 minutes.
3. Next add mixed nuts, cocoa powder, biscuits and desiccated coconut. Gently stir the mixture until it binds together.
4. Turn off the heat and pour the mixture in a square/rectangle tray lined with parchment paper. Let it cool for 10 minutes and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
5. For the top layer, use a double boiler method to melt the milk chocolate until it becomes runny. A double boiler gives you the best control over the heat. The steam of the simmering water gently melts the chocolate so that it doesn’t burn. (Create a double boiler by bringing a medium pot filled a little less than halfway with water to a simmer. Place a heatproof bowl that’s just big enough to sit on top of the pot and add your chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar to the bowl. Keep the pot over low heat and stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula until silky smooth.)
6. Remove the cooled down mixture from the fridge and gently pour the melted milk chocolate to cover the surface thinly. You can use a spatula to even out the surface. * If you like a thin layer and do not want to incorporate any other type of chocolates, you can place the tray back in the fridge for up to 4 hours and skip the next few steps.
7. If you want to use the other two types of chocolate, put the tray back in the fridge for 15 minutes.
8. Next melt the dark chocolate in the same pot and the white chocolate in a different pot.
9. Remove the tray from the fridge and pour the white chocolate on the top, evening it out with a spatula.
10. The last bit is the most exciting part of the recipe although it is optional! Carefully pour the dark chocolate over the white chocolate layer (which will have started to solidify slowly as it came into contact with the milk chocolate layer) and with a toothpick, draw circles across the top starting from one end of the tray to the other. This will create swirls of the dark and white chocolate whilst maintaining the milk chocolate layer as a separate layer.
Put the tray back in the fridge and let it cool. After 4 hours, remove it and cut into pieces using a sharp knife. * If your chocolate layer cracks while cutting, heat the knife on a low flame and then cut the pieces.
Enjoy your barfi, and if you make these yummylicious sweets, don’t forget to share and tag me on Instagram! @thespiceboxjourney.
