Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

Ricotta Cheese Burfi

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“Its Diwali in few days”, I said to my daughter.

I thought so, you are cleaning every nook and corner of the house” replied my daughter.

Diwali, is one of that auspicious occasion that holds a special place in my heart. It comes after monsoon so deep cleaning of the house makes sense to me. In the name of festivities we all do some extra cleaning, decorating and shopping for the house. Full of light Diwali is a festival of love, prosperity, enlightenment, gratitude and new beginnings. Most important of all – an occasion for loved ones to get together, share splendid meals and enjoy the moments of togetherness.

 

 

When I travel down the memory lane I remember we used to prepare scrumptious Diwali sweets at home. These home made sweets were then exchanged with friends, neighbors and relatives. But as time changed and we got busy with other immaterial things, store bought sweets took the place of home made. I still follow the age old tradition of making everything at home and for one thing I am glad that I am gluten free, which makes me and my family eat a little healthier. We eat less sweets now than what we used to eat few years ago and our favorite sweets are usually made from besan, nuts, milk and milk products. I share with you a ricotta cheese burfi that has an irresistible rich taste of kalakand. It is a popular milk and cheese dessert topped with pistachios and almonds.

 

Traditionally to make kalakand, paneer is added to thickened milk, then sweetened and cooked until it becomes a solid mass. In this recipe I am using ricotta cheese with condensed milk to get the desired texture of kalakand. When cooking with condensed milk and cheese one needs to be careful not to let it stick to bottom and burn. If you are some one like my daughter who likes to nibble on slightly browned crispy cheese then cook a small portion of cheese and condensed milk further till it gets slightly burnt and dry. Add pieces of chocolate or Tim tam as you see in the picture below and enjoy chocolate cheese mess.

 

 

RICOTTA CHEESE BURFI
Ingredients:
600g saputo ricotta cheese
1 tin condensed milk
1/4 cup butter
a few drops of rose water and 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/3 cup thinly sliced and chopped almonds and pistachios

Method:

1. Grease a cookie tray. Line with parchment paper.

2. Melt butter in a medium non stick pan. Add ricotta cheese and condensed milk and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Once the mixture  starts to thicken stir every minute or so to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom and forms a soft lump. Remove from heat. Stir in rose water and cardamom powder.

3. Spread the mixture evenly in a tray to approximately 1/2″ thickness.

4. Sprinkle pistachio and almonds, press gently onto the ricotta mixture. Set aside for 1 hour.

5. Cut burfi in diamonds, squares or rectangle shapes and separate out with a spatula.

 

 

 

Why wait for Diwali make and enjoy the burfi now!

Hopefully, I will be publishing my next post from my own domain. Till then I wish all of you my heartfelt wishes for a prosperous Diwali filled with Joy, love, health, wealth and happiness.

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. Bal , your Diwali sounds like the Chinese New year here or our New year back home re cleaning every nook and crannies ! lol I’ve eaten plain cheese burfi before and really love it 😀 Yours is more of a gorgeous version with that lovely pistachios and almonds topping !

    I’ve already visited your own domain 😀 Anyway , enjoy the Diwali and think of me while you’re eating some of those delectable Diwali sweets ! 😀

    Reply

  11. Happy Diwali Balvinder . I’ve been seeing lots of Diwali goodies & this is another lovely treat. Another wonderful idea of your daughter that always amazed me! Have a great gathering with families & enjoy . 🙂

    Reply

  12. Perfect to celebrate upcoming Diwali my friend, I wsh I too could cooklike you for it – aaaah school 😉
    Hope you and your family have a perfect one!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply

  13. Mmmmm…a chocolate and cheese mess sounds fantastic! Diwali sounds like a fun festival…celebrating the best things in life! Your homemade treats will be perfect 🙂

    Reply

  15. Happy Diwali to you, Balvinder! Delicious looking irresistible burfi, perfect for the occasion. Congratulations on moving to your own domain, lovely new look 🙂

    Reply

  16. Congrats on the new look! Looks lovely and so does your dessert! Ricotta is perfect to be used in desserts like these 🙂 Happy Diwali to you too 🙂

    Reply

  19. Happy Diwali, my dear! These lovely bakes are perfect for entertaining & I’m sure u’re gonna have a great time 🙂

    Reply

  21. You have done it!! This is a really pretty and easy to navigate site. I really like your new look: delicate and very restful to the eye. Well done! PS: I love these little cakes, they look delicious X

    Reply

  22. Hi Balvinder, this snack look awesome. Love the generous amount of topping, the combination of almond and pistachio look great. yum yum…..

    Have a great week ahead, regards.

    Reply

  24. Happy Diwali, Balvinder! Hope you and your family had a wonderful time! I don’t think I’ve ever come across cheese barfis before! I must surprise my Indian friends with this on Sunday as I’m attending a Diwali do. Thank you!

    Reply

  28. G’day! I have never previously even heard of burfi; your website and photo made me curious and when I saw it, I knew it just had to be “on the list”. Thank you for inspiring me and I am glad this sweet milk with cheese and nut sweet dessert experience was not missed! 🙂

    Reply

    • Perhaps I have seen MANY and especially during your holiday festival, but it was not until I saw your recipe and photo that inspired me to try and make…For anyone else like myself, this recipe is GREAT! Thank you!

      Reply

  30. Looks good, I’m going to try this out. Would be helpful if you could include how many pieces this would make. I have to make dessert for a pooja for about 50 people, and need that information.

    Reply

    • Jasmine, this burfi tastes good, too. It will be a nice desert for pooja.
      I am not exactly sure, how many pieces I made, but I tried to count looking at the picture it looks like 24.

      Reply

  31. I would like to ask about setting of BARFE At what temp it would get set?
    Is there a way to check?
    thank you. It is great the recipe is easy and not many steps to follow ,also only four ingredients needed ricotta condenced milk , one stick butter, and sliced nuts of your choice
    you had explained nicely thanksthanks
    sd

    Reply

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