Milk Powder Burfi, a delicious and easy to make burfi within 15 mins. It's one of my favourite sweets and I often make them for various occasions as it comes together so quickly. 

If you're looking for any last minute sweets to make for this Diwali, then definitely give this a try. It's such a foolproof recipe and even the beginners can make this sweet without any difficulties.

Milk Powder 

I have used the full fat milk powder for this burfi and i got mine from the "Bulk Barn" store here in Canada. Make sure to use the full fat milk powder. 

In the past, i had tried it with low fat milk powder and the result was very disappointing and the burfi turned out so chewy which i don't like.  

Milk 

Again, i have used full fat milk for the richness. But you can use 2% milk as well. But i don't recommend using non-fat milk. 

Lemon Juice

I have used a little bit of lemon juice in this recipe. It gives such a grainy texture to the burfi. If you don't prefer that, then feel free to skip it. 

Nowadays, life seems so busy as the kiddo starts school. Adjusting to the new routine is a little bit hard for me too. Every day the moment i drop him at the school, i start to think of the time when i will pick him :-)

Though i'm not very active in blogging now, somehow, i managed to post three recipes for this Diwali. If you have tried any recipes from my blog for this Diwali, do share your feedback.

Wishing you all a very happy Deepavali / Diwali.

Milk Powder Burfi | Plain Burfi Recipe

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Yields : 12 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Milk Powder Burfi, Milk Burfi, Milk Peda Milk Powder Burfi, a delicious and easy to make burfi within 15 mins.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Milk Powder(full fat) - 1 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Butter - 1/4 cup

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp(optional)

Cardamom  powder- 1/2 tsp

Saffron - a few strands

Procedure

First in a non-stick pan, add the butter, milk and the sugar.

Then turn the heat on and let the milk come to a boil.

Next add the milk powder and mix it with the milk mixture using whisk(it helps to break the lumps in case there are any lumps).

Once the milk powder mixes with all other ingredients well, let it cook in a low-medium flame. At this time add the lemon juice and cook till the mixture thickens.It takes about 8-12 mins.

Next add the cardamom powder and saffron to the burfi. Mix it well. Switch off the flame and transfer to a tray.

Smooth out the top with a spoon and add a few strands of saffron on top(optional). Let it cool completely and then cut into desired pieces.

That's it. Delicious Milk Powder Burfi is ready.

Related: How to make Milk Cake

Notes:

• Cardamom powder is optional

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Mango Burfi with Almond flour | Mango Barfi

Mango Burfi , a delicious Indian sweet made from the mango pulp and almond flour as main ingredients. It's such an easy  recipe to make in minutes with wonderful texture and taste. 

Last year during summer, i experiment with making the mango burfi using almond flour and it turned out absolutely delicious after a few initial attempts. Ever since i have been making this mango burfi multiple times on various occasions and it never fails to impress anyone.

So if you're looking for some unique yet yummy burfi, then give a try on this delicious mango burfi.

Almond Flour 

In the market, if you're looking for 'grounded almond', you can find almond flour and almond meal. This recipe requires almond flour not the almond meal. Almond flour is basically made from the blanched almonds .So make sure to get the almond flour which has more fine texture compared to almond meal.

Also, in some places, almond meal is made with whole skinned almonds, so the color of the almond meal would be little darker compared to almond flour.

Mango Pulp

For this recipe, you can use the canned mango pulp as well the freshly made mango pulp from the mangoes.

I have used the canned sweetened mango pulp for this recipe. You can use any canned mango pulp for this recipe. So far, i have used verka and deep brand of  kesar mango pulp for this burfi.

If you're using homemade mango pulp. Make sure that the mangoes are well ripen, non-fibrous variety and sweet. To make the mango pulp at home, remove the skin and seed from the mangoes and put it in the blender and blend it well and strain it once before use.

Also remember, i have mentioned the amount of sugar needed for this recipe in the ingredients list is for using the canned sweetened mango pulp. So if you're using unsweetened and/or home made mango pulp, you definitely need more sugar. Give a taste check while cooking and adjust according to your taste. 

Sugar

As i had  mentioned already that this recipe calls for sweetened mango pulp, it doesn't need much additional sugar. Just an extra 1/4 cup of sugar is enough for this recipe. For a very mild sweetness, just 3 tbsp of sugar is enough. 

I have tried with both 3 tbsp of sugar and 1/4 cup of sugar. For me, 1/4 cup of sugar is perfect for this burfi and using 3 tbsp of sugar has very mild sweetness. So use as per your family preference.

Milk Powder

Adding milk powder  to this recipe is a personal preference. You can make this burfi with almond flour only and still it tastes amazing too. Trust me, i have made it that way many times. 

But adding a little bit of milk powder truly elevates the burfi to the next level. It gives that dairy richness to the sweet just like how adding khoya to a burfi makes a difference.

 Other flavorings 

I don't want the other flavorings overpower the mango flavor in this recipe. So i keep it to a minimum when it comes to cardamom powder and saffron. 

Also i used pistachios for garnishing the burfi since the green compliments yellow :-). You can use any other nuts as per your liking or leave as it is too.

Do give this mango burfi a try and let me know how you like it. Now let's see how to make this delicious mango burfi.

Mango Burfi with Almond flour

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 8 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mango Burfi, Mango Burfi with Almond flour, Mango Barfi Mango Burfi , a delicious Indian sweet made from the mango pulp and almond flour as main ingredients.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Mango Pulp - 1 cup

Almond Flour - 1 & 1/2 cup

Milk Powder - 1/2 cup*

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Ghee - 3 tbsp 

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Pistachio(chopped) - 2 tbsp(optional)

Saffron - a few strands(optional) 

*1/2 cup of milk powder is replaced by 1/2 cup of almond flour.

Procedure

In a large heavy bottomed pan, add the mango pulp and sugar. Mix it together and put it on the medium flame.

Measure the almond flour & milk powder and keep it aside. Once the mango pulp starts to bubble, keep the flame on low and cook the mango pulp for about 3-4 mins and make sure that the sugar is completely melted.

Then add the almond flour and milk powder. Mix it well. Then start adding the ghee little by little.

Once the whole mixture starts to roll with the ladle and the ghee slightly starts to ooze out(don't look for a lot of ghee oozing out, it don't, just looks like a shining grease on the bottom), add the cardamom powder, mix it well and switch off the heat. The last pic in the below collage shows the real color of the barfi in the natural light when it's done.

Immediately pour the mixture into the ghee greased tray/plate, smooth it out on the top and then sprinkle the pistachios on the top along with saffron(if using) and press it gently with the spoon/spatula. Let it cool completely and then cut into desired shape.

Super delicious mango barfi is ready to serve.

Related: How to make Badam Halwa using almond flour

Notes:

• Store the remaining barfi in a air-tight container and keep it in the refrigerator.
• It stays well for up to 7 days in a refrigerator.

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Badam Halwa Using Almond flour | Easy Badam Halwa

Badam Halwa, a rich and delicious sweet made with almond, milk, ghee and sugar. Even today, it's consider as one of the  luxurious sweets because of its richness and heavenly taste.   

Traditionally, Badam Halwa is made from the whole almonds and the whole process is taking a very long time because it involves soaking the almonds, peeling them and then ground them into fine paste. Now, thanks to the readily available almond flour so that you can skip all those steps and make the badam halwa under 30 mins. 

Almond Flour 

In the market, if you're looking for 'grounded almond', you can find almond flour and almond meal. This recipe requires almond flour not the almond meal. Almond flour is basically made from the blanched almonds .So make sure to get the almond flour which has more fine texture compared to almond meal.

Also, in some places, almond meal is made with whole skinned almonds, so the color of the almond meal would be little darker compared to almond flour.

Flavoring Agents

Here in this recipe, i have used both saffron and cardamom for the flavors. I never thought of making Badam Halwa without saffron. But one of my friends told me that she liked it without any flavoring because that's how badam halwa is made by her family for years. 

So it's more of a personal choice or how you like it than what recipe calls for, right?. Hence you can use any one of this flavoring agents or you can skip the both . Still it would be delicious.

 

Milk

Whole or full fat milk is the best for this halwa. For this badam halwa recipe, I have used 1.5 cups of liquid out of which 1 cup is milk. You can make this recipe with 1/2 cup of milk too. But the richness and the creaminess wouldn't be the same. 

Adding more milk would increase the cooking time but however it gives the rich flavor so i highly recommend to use the given quantity of milk for better tasting halwa.

Now let's see how to make this delicious and rich badam halwa!

Badam Halwa Using Almond flour

Preparation Time : 0 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Sweets | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Badam Halwa with Almond flour, Almond flour halwa Badam Halwa, a rich and delicious sweet made with almond, milk, ghee and sugar.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Almond flour/ meal - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Water - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Saffron - a few strands 

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 1/4 cup

Procedure

First soak the saffron in 2 tbsp of warm milk for 30 mins. Heat a non-stick pan, add the 2 tbsp of ghee, let it melt completely and then add the almond flour.

Keep the heat in medium and roast the almond flour in the ghee for 3-4 mins. Make sure that the almond flour doesn't change color. Next keep the heat  low and add the water.

Cook till all the water is absorbed by the almond flour. Next add the remaining milk after using i2 tbsp for soaking saffron and mix it continuously so that it doesn't form any lump and smooth. Now increase the heat to medium.

Cook the mixture till the milk quantity is reduced to 1/2(Make sure that the heat is medium and stir it frequently otherwise the bottom would be burnt). Now add the sugar. When the sugar melts, the mixture again loosen a bit. 

Cook the mixture till it become thick. It would take approximately 18-20 mins after adding the milk to the mixture with medium heat. When the mixture starts to thicken, it splatter a bit, so be careful.   At this stage add the saffron milk. Mix it well and the mixture turns pale yellow.

Finally add the remaining ghee and cardamom powder. Cook it for another 3-4 mins and switch off the flame.

Delicious Badam Halwa is ready.

Related : How to make Bombay Karachi Halwa

You can serve this halwa in a bowl or you can pack a spoonful of halwa in a butter paper and serve it like in marriage function. Store the remaining in the refrigerator.

Related: How to make Almond Flour Cookies

Notes:

• This Halwa tends to thicken when it's cool down completely. So remove from the heat when it's a bit runny.
• Added a few pistachios for garnishing on the top. But this halwa doesn't need any nuts.

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Kalkandu Pongal | Sweet Pongal

Kalkandu Pongal, a delicious sweet pongal made with rock candy/ kalkandu. It's one of the famous offerings during Navarathri days in our hometown during my teen years.  

Especially on the last three days of festival which is dedicated to the Godness Saraswathi who is the embodiment of pure knowledge and white color is associated with her  so people believe that  white colour prasadam enhance the blessing  of the Godness . So , this kalkandu pongal is the common prasadam served on temples or even on Golu houses.   

Rice 

Like any pongal, raw rice taste great with this pongal too. But i have tried this pongal with sona massori rice in the past and it tastes equally good. So you can try this pongal with whatever the rice you have in hand. 

Kalkandu 

Kalkandu is simply a rock sugar candy and it's widely used in Indian sweets like ladoo and all. Kalkandu comes in varies shapes. Here i have used the small variety but any variety of kalkandu can be used in this recipe.

Also i have used 1:1 ratio of rice and kalkandu but you can add up to 1.5 cup of kalkandu depends on how much sweetness you want. 

Milk

Adding milk to this pongal gives great flavor and creaminess to the pongal. I have used full fat milk for this recipe. Though you can use less fat milk but i highly recommend to use full fat milk for delicious pongal.

Ok, now let's see how to make this delicious kalkandu pongal.

Kalkandu Pongal

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Sweets | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kalkandu pongal, Sweet Pongal Kalkandu Pongal, a delicious sweet pongal made with rock candy/ kalkandu.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1/2 cup

Kalkandu - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1 & 1/2 cup 

Water - 1 cup

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cashew - 10

Procedure

Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes. Then drain the water and add 1 cup of water & milk into the rice and cook it for 3 whistles in pressure cooker or until the rice is slightly mushy.

Once the pressure is automatically released , open the lid and then add the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and the kalkandu . Let the kalkandu melts completely. 

Meanwhile in a another pan, add the 2 tbsp of ghee and cashews, roast till the cashews are golden brown.

Once the pongal starts to thicken a bit, add the cashews along with that ghee. Give a gentle mix and then finally add the cardamom powder and add the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee. Mix it altogether and switch off the flame.

Delicious Kalkandu pongal is ready.

Related: How to Nei Payasam

Notes:

• Switch off the flame when the pongal is slightly runny. It tends to thicken when it's completely cooled down.
• In addition of cardamom powder, a pinch of nutmeg can also be added for great flavor.
• If you like raisins, add a few while frying cashews.

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Mango Coconut Ladoo, a delicious ladoo made with desiccated coconut and mango pulp. It's one of the easiest ladoo recipes to make within 10 mins. 

If you have followed me for a while, you might already know about my love for mangoes . It's really hard for me to reserve some mangoes to try any recipes because i simply love eating them as it is ! 

But i have been wanting to make this ladoo for a while, so this summer, i bought some extra mangoes on every grocery shopping with a hope of making these ladoos before mangoes are gone for this season. As a result, so far i have made these ladoos three times ! Yep, it's that much good and addictive ! 

Condensed Milk 

For this ladoo, i have used condensed milk for sweetness. It gives such a rich taste to the ladoo.

Also depending on the sweetness of the mango, you may need more or less condensed milk.

So start off with 1/3 of condensed milk.  First mix coconut, mango pulp and condensed milk, give a quick taste and then add more condensed milk if needed.

Fresh Mango Vs Mango Pulp

I have used fresh mango for this ladoo. But store bought mango pulp can also be used for this recipe. If you're using canned mango pulp, make sure to add less condensed milk because most of the canned mango pulp already has sugar in it. 

Now let's check out on how to make these delicious mango ladoo.

Mango Ladoo | Mango Coconut Ladoo

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 mins | Serves : 10 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mango Ladoo, Mango Coconut Ladoo, Ladoo Recipes Mango Coconut Ladoo, a delicious ladoo made with desiccated coconut and mango pulp.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Mango pulp - 1/2 cup

Desiccated Coconut - 1 cup

Condensed milk - 1/3 -1/2 cup*

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

* Depends on the mango sweetness, you can add more or less of condensed milk.

Procedure

Take a one medium size well-ripen mango, scoop out all the flesh in a blender and grind into smooth puree. Take 1/2 cup of mango pulp from it.  

Next add the desiccated coconut, mango pulp and condensed milk in a pan and then switch on the heat. Milk it all well together.

Cook it in a medium flame and within a few mins, it all comes together like a single mass. At this stage add the ghee and the cardamom powder.

Cook it for a few more mins. When you're able to roll the mixture into smooth ball, switch off the flame. The ladoo mixture is ready. 

Let it cool down until the heat of the mixture is hand bearable. Then take a small amount of mixture and roll into smooth ball. 

That's it, Delicious Mango Ladoo is ready.

Notes:

• Within 8-10 mins the ladoo would be ready for the given quantity, so don't cook for a longer time otherwise the ladoo would be chewy.
• My mango is very sweet ,so i have added only 1/3 cup of condensed milk
• It stays well in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
• Use a fine variety of desiccated coconut.
• Use mango that has less fibre and in bright color for smooth and vibrant looking ladoos
• Store bought mango pulp can also be used for this recipe.

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