COCONUT SWEET / COCONUT CANDY

COCONUT SWEET / COCONUT CANDY - Recipe from my book THE ANGLO-INDIAN FESTIVE HAMPER 

Coconut Sweet / Coconut Candy / Coconut Fudge / Coconut Barfi - call it whatever name you want. A simple and easy recipe for a timeless Anglo-Indian Delicacy. Bursting with the goodness of fresh grated (scraped ) coconut, sugar and milk and a hint of vanilla essence. This baby pink sweet will rekindle nostalgic childhood memories of helping to stir the sweet while its being prepared to greasing the big plate the molten pink lava would be poured on to and finally to scraping and licking the residues left in the dekshi!!! 

Makes 30 pieces    Preparation time 1 hour

Ingredients

2 cups grated coconut                           

3 cups sugar                                         

½  cup milk

½ cup condensed milk                           

1 teaspoon ghee or unsalted butter

½ teaspoon vanilla essence or extract                

½ teaspoon food colour either pink or green

Melt the sugar with the milk and condensed milk in a thick bottomed vessel. Add the grated coconut and mix well. Cook till the coconut is soft. Add the vanilla, essence, food colour and ghee / butter and mix well. Simmer on low heat till the mixture becomes thick and leaves the sides of the vessel. Pour on to a greased plate and cut into squares.

COCONUT SWEETS (BARFI)

2 cups scraped coconut
2 ½ cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon butter or ghee
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
½ teaspoon food colouring (pink or green)
Take a thick -bottomed vessel and heat the sugar and ¼ cup water on high heat. When the sugar melts, add the cocoanut, vanilla essence, ghee or butter and the milk. Cook on medium or low heat till the mixture thickens and leaves the sides of the vessel. Drop a teaspoon of the mixture in a cup of water and if it forms a ball when rolled between the fingers, the right consistency is reached. Grease a flat plate well and pour the mixture on to it. Cool and cut into shapes.