Carrot Burfi
Its that time of the year again when the sounds of “Ganpati Bappa Morya” are ringing in your ears no matter where you go in my home state of Maharashtra. This is because one of the biggest festivals in India “GANESH CHATURTHI” is almost upon us. There are a variety of sweets or BURFIS as they are locally called made for this festival but the problem with me is that I cannot make most of them no matter how hard I try (LAUGHS). Which is why I always go for quick and easy to make recipes like this lusciously rich “CARROT BURFI”.
Ganpati Bappa Morya is a popular chant during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebrated in honor of the elephant-headed God, Ganesha. Lord Ganesh is also called “VIGHNAHARTA” which literally means “Problemsolver”. This is the time to start a whole bunch of new activities with the hopes that Lord Ganesh will get rid of all “Vighnas” or Problems for you. The installation of the elaborately decorated Ganesh idols at home marks the beginning of this festival. A religious ritual called PUJA is done and then a variety of offerings are placed in front of the idol. These include his favorite food “MODAK” along with flowers, fruits etc. The clay idol of Lord Ganesh stays in the homes for a few days and then it is submerged in water at the end of the festival.
I badly wanted to celebrate this Ganesh Chaturthi by making MODAKS which are steamed rice flour dumplings filled with a mixture of coconut and jaggery. The problem was that I got way too confident in my own abilities (CHUCKLES). When I actually made a test batch I realized that I needed a little more practice. Now that plan got thrown out of the window it was time for plan B which was my favorite dessert in the whole world; GAJAR HALWA which means “CARROT PUDDING”. Its simply made by cooking grated carrots in milk and then garnishing with bunch of dried fruits. However I decided to change things up a bit by converting this pudding into a cake or burfi as we like to call it.
There are recipes where few ingredients when combined correctly create absolute magic and this is one of them.
Melt ghee (clarified butter) in a non-stick pan on a low heat. Add grated carrots and saute until soft. Add in the milk and cook, stirring occasionally, till the milk reduces. Pour condensed milk and continue to cook, till it thickens. Now add ricotta cheese, sugar and stir frequently. Sprinkle the cardamom powder along with the cashews and pistachios and mix.
Spread the mixture into a greased tray evenly. Garnish with more cashews and pistachios (I just could not resist). Refrigerate for 3 hours. Cut into desired shapes and serve.
Happy GANESH CHATURTHI y’all. May the Lord bless you and solve all your problems.
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Carrot Burfi
Ingredients
- 6 Carrots grated
- 2 tbsp Ghee/ Clarified Butter
- 1½ cup Milk
- ¾ cup Condensed Milk
- ½ cup Ricotta Cheese
- ¼ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Pistachios coarsely crushed
- ¼ cup Cashews coarsely crushed
- 8 pods Cardamom powdered
Instructions
- Melt ghee in a non-stick pan on a low heat. Add shredded carrots and saute until soft. Add in the milk and cook, stirring occasionally, till the milk reduces.
- Pour condensed milk and continue to cook, till it thickens. Now add ricotta cheese and sugar.
- Sprinkle in the cardamom powder, cashews, pistachios and mix. Cool.
- Spread the mixture into a greased tray evenly. Garnish with nuts. Once cool, refrigerate for 3 hours.
- Cut into desired shapes and serve.
This does sound amazing! I love learning about new foods!
It is a very common dessert in India. I have just presented it differently.. 🙂
It just melts in your mouth.
They sure do.. Don’t they.. 🙂
Wow! These look far much more delicious than the ones I used to get in Mumbai. I love Gajar Burfi 🙂
Now that is very high praise coming from you Muna. Thanks.. 🙂
I’m not familiar with burfi, but this sounds amazing…especially with the addition of cardamom in there! 🙂 Also, thanks for the lesson about Ganesha…I love learning the back story behind recipes!
I would say the consistency of burfi would be somewhere between a cake and granola bar. At least for me no festival celebrations are going to feel complete without some type of burfi.. 😉
Wow – these look amazing!! And healthy at the same time! Putting on my gotta-try-this list for sure. 🙂
Thanks Kate.
I’ve never had a carrot dessert like this. Sounds ingreguing!
Try it Jeff. Its got very few ingredients and is quiet easy to make..
I’ve never heard of carrot burfi before, but it sounds delicious! The colour is beautiful too!
Hope you have a great Ganesh Chaturthi, Rahul!
Thank you for the wishes Dawn. We sure are having a good time. As for the recipe it tastes as good as it looks.
Oh wow! I love using carrots in desserts. This must be so rich and delicious. Putting this one on my to-try list!
Totally agree with you Tracy. You can make truly delectable desserts with carrots..
I’ve never heard of or had carrot halwa or carrot burfi before, but they sound and look delicious!! So glad I can always count on you to introduce me to something new, Rahul!! Hope you have a happy Ganesh Chaturthi! Cheers!
Carrot Halwa is an extremely popular Indian dessert Cheyanne. Easy to make and loved by pretty much every Indian including me.. 🙂 Do try it Cheyanne and you will be instantly hooked.. 🙂
This looks like a great treat! I love Carrot Halwa, so I’m sure I’ll love this 🙂
It sure is Megan. Do try it if you can..
Hope your Ganesh Chaturthi was fun. Love carrot halwa and these carrot burfis look fantastic. Love this Maharashtrian way of making carrot burfi, would give it a go sometime. 🙂
It sure was Anu although I wish I was back home in Mumbai.. As for the recipe then this was just me enjoying my favorite dessert a little differently.. 🙂
Your recipes are always new, interesting and delicious. This looks awesome 🙂
Thank you Kushi…
Rahul I love love carrot halwa and since I am in India right now, thanks for the reminder that I need to get on my mom’s nerves until she makes me this hehe!! I love the easy portable carrot burfi idea!! GENIUS!
I love the way you think Ami.. 🙂 When you are home with your parents you always want to get pampered especially when food is concerned.. 🙂
Yep Maharashtrian way of making carrot burfi is a must try. Addition of Ricotta cheese is a rich inclusion. Mouth Watering Rahul
It sure is Smitha and whats more it requires very few ingredients and tastes delicious. All that makes it a win-win situation RIGHT!!!
Happy GANESH CHATURTHI! I love learning about holidays that are new to me. Great looking dish — carrots can be so wonderful in sweet things, can’t they? Thanks!
Thank you John. This festival is one of the biggest in my home state and I really miss being back home at this time. As for the recipe I totally agree with you that carrots go really well in desserts. In fact my favorite dessert is a carrot pudding made with just 5 ingredients.. 🙂
Hi Rahul! This looks so delish ♥
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Thank you Summer.. 🙂
Happy GANESH CHATURTHI to you too, Rahul!
There is this South Asian Sweets Store called Gokul Sweets here in Atlanta that I frequent. I’ve so enjoyed their carrot burfi but had no clue how to make it – so thanks so much for this recipe! I so cannot wait to try it!
I hope you post your MODAKS soon!
Thank you so much Shashi. As for the recipe then I simply took my favorite gajar halwa recipe and converted it into a burfi. The problem is modaks are not going to be this easy. So it might be a while before I post them.. I just need a little more practice.. 🙂
PS: Wifey and I are moving close to Atlanta so you never know you may just see us at Gokul Sweets.. 🙂
Rahul, these are beautiful and sound absolutely delicious! Pinned and I can’t wait to try out this recipe!
Thank you Stephanie. It is my favorite dessert in this world so I hope you like it too.. 🙂
What does burfi mean? Bars?
They look awesome!
Burfi will be something between a bar and a cake. Its consistency would be slightly thicker than a cake but not as crunchy as a bar.