Coconut….

This amazing nut..the king of all nuts..but oh so versatile..millions of recipes based on coconut, from the humble chutney to delicate payaasams…all over coastal india..right upto south east asia. Be it savoury or sweet…coconut is a must in many forms..
But one memory stands out clear..
The coconut mithai made out of dessicated coconut. As children when
we lived in agarwal colony , there was this lovely old couple in our building..the sakhrani’s who had a daughter living in sri lanka and she used to send  dessicated coconut from there..aunty sakhrani always sent it to my mom and requested her to make the barfi..and always very kindly told her to keep half of it…mom made this barfi with only sugar made into chasni and the coconut with some kesar..and the amazing fragrance of saffron chasni simmering on the stove was divine,.and so was the barfi…and made me a lifelong fan of anything to do with coconut..

The credit for this recipe partly goes a close friend whose basic recipe has been given a twist by me….do try it out…its simplicity is the secret behind this yummy mithai.

Coconut barfi..
Ingredients.
100 gms unsalted butter
1 can condensed milk
125 gms or 150 gms dessicated coconut..as required, depending on the quality.
65 ml of thick coconut cream
Few drops rose essence

Method..
Heat the butter in a non stick pan, combine coconut cream and condensed milk..
Add to the melted butter
Heat it thru
Add the dessicated coconut..first add 125 gms and mix well..if the mixture is too runny you can add the remaining.
Stir on a low flame for abt 5 mins or untill the mixture leaves the sides of the pan..
Add few drops of essence and pour onto a greased tray or indivual small bowls..cover with varkh or few sliced pistachio nuts…and enjoy .

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