THENGAI BURFI RECIPE- SOUTH INDIAN COCONUT BURFI – EASY DIWALI SWEETS

• Fresh grated coconut – 1/2 cup(heaped)
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Cardamom seeds – 2 nos (crushed)
• Milk – 1 tbsp
• Chiroti rava – 1/2 tsp (completely optional)
• Fried gram dal – 1 tbsp
• Ghee – a drop ( to grease the plate)

• Grease a plate with a drop of ghee and set aside. Grate coconut carefully without scraping the brown part of it. This is the first most important point to get white coconut burfi. If you find some small pieces of coconut while you grate, dry grind the coconut gratings to a fine powder. But this step is not necessary if you have fine coconut gratings without any pieces.

• Its better to use a non-stick kadai to know the right finishing stage. Aluminium or iron kadai also works great but if you are a beginner,use non-stick kadai.
• In a wide non-stick kadai, take the grated coconut, sugar, milk and rava (if using). Switch on the flame, keep it medium and mix it.

• As u mix,sugar will melt and the mixture becomes watery. Keep the flame completely low and keep mixing the coconut mixture ( Mixing in low flame is the second important thing to get white burfi). White foamish bubbles will form all over the mixture. Keep stirring the mixture by staying nearby. Mixture will start to become thick. Bubbles will form in the sides of the pan and mixture will leave the sides of pan.

• As soon as the mixture starts to leave the pan, add cardamom powder and mix well for a minute. Mixture will start to form a lump. Lastly add the fried gram dal pieces and give a stir. Remove in the ghee greased plate. No problem if the mixture is slightly wet ( the last important point). It will harden in few minutes as it cools down. 
• Press and level the mixture with back of spatula or butter paper. Then leave it untouched for 2 minutes. Now draw lines using a sharp knife and mark squares or diamond shapes. Let it cool. Remove and enjoy ! U can store this burfi in a box and use it for a week.( Initially burfis look half white but it changes to white as time proceeds)

Enjoy !

1. Brown part of coconut should not be used. Use only white part to scrape off.
2. Use low flame throughout the entire cooking process for the mixture to remain white till the end.
3. Remove the mixture as soon as it thickens a bit leaving white bubbles in the sides and becomes a lump. Do not wait for the mixture to become dry completely.
4. After you drop the mixture in ghee greased plate,level it/smoothen it using a spatula or butter paper to give a smooth look to burfi. Burfi will set in 2-3 minutes.

Draw lines & make shapes immediately after 2 minutes else it will be hard to make shape.

Tips for troubleshooting :

1. Suppose if you remove the mixture a bit early, it won’t set. It will remain wet for long time. In that case, again transfer it to the kadai & cook it for 1-2 minutes till it thicken a bit.
2. If you over do the mixture and if it becomes dry and crumbly, no worries. Add 2-3 tbsp of milk and again mix it in the kadai for a minute. It will absorb the milk & become slightly wet. Remove spread and make pieces.

You can use dessicated coconut instead of fresh coconut. But grind it using milk before adding sugar.
U can skip rava and milk while cooking if you don’t like but I used it as per my MIL’s suggestion.
U can use roasted cashew pieces instead of fried gram dal.