Anyone familiar with Indian sweets will have tasted barfi. But what about blackberry barfi? Cornish blackberries meet exotic India in this sweet fusion fest. There’s also coconut and subtle hints of rose.
To me, food in London means two things and takes me straight back to my student days. Firstly, high end treats for special occasions like birthdays and graduation. I remember the excitement of tea at the Ritz and tea at the Grosvenor. Not something a girl from a remote Cornish village had ever experienced before.
Indian Sweets
Secondly and much more frequently, I made use of the abundance of good cheap Indian eats in and around the back of Euston Station. This may account for my occasional lateness to lectures.
It was here I was introduced to Indian sweets and was smitten by their exotic flavours. So when Fiona of London Unattached set this month’s Best of British challenge as “what does London food mean to you”, Indian sweets were the first thing that sprang to mind.
Blackberry, Rose and Coconut Barfi
I was dying to have a go at making some Indian sweets after receiving Indian-Inspired Desserts by Roopa Rawal. Watch this space for a forthcoming exciting giveaway. So leafing through the book, it was just a matter of picking which one. Because I still have some rose syrup left, the coconut and rose barfi caught my eye.
That was the one I wanted to start with, but with the addition of some fruit to offset the sweetness a little and to give some natural colour. Hmmm, what’s in season? Well it’s been a while since I last got scratched arms and purple stained fingers, but blackberries it had to be. I managed to pick a tub full from the hedgerows and made my way back home with glee.
One word of warning, this blackberry barfi takes quite a bit of time to make. It also requires a lot of stirring. You’ll also need to use your judgement as to when it’s ready, but that’s not as difficult as it may sound. I managed it without any difficulty, though I did cross my fingers and hope it would set.
Bingo, after a few hours it had well and truly set. Indeed, I was thrilled with the result; my blackberry barfi tasted like a true Indian sweet, despite the fact that blackberries may never have been used before. The texture was perfect too.
The blackberry flavour was very much present and the rose though subtle, did not go unnoticed. The chocolate drizzle added another flavour dimension and helped counteract the sweetness. Having said that, they weren’t as sweet as I had imagined they would be. They featured at a dinner party I recently held for friends and were well received.
Other Recipes for Indian Sweets You Might Like
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this blackberry, rose and coconut barfi, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more blackberry recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Blackberry Barfi. PIN IT.
Blackberry Barfi – The Recipe
Blackberry Barfi with Coconut and Rose
Ingredients
- 300 g blackberries
- 387 g condensed milk (standard sized tin)
- 4 tbsp rose syrup
- 200 g milk powder
- 40 g desiccated coconut
- 30 g dark chocolate optional (for drizzling (I used Green & Black's Cook's 72%))
Instructions
- Puree the blackberries with a jug or stick blender and rub through a sieve to extract as much of the juice as possible. Place the sieve directly over a medium heavy based saucepan to minimise washing up.300 g blackberries
- Add the condensed milk and warm it up on a low heat, stirring all the while.387 g condensed milk
- Add the rose syrup.4 tbsp rose syrup
- Increase the heat a little and add the milk powder. Whisk until any lumps that have formed, disappear.200 g milk powder
- Add the desiccated coconut and continue to stir.40 g desiccated coconut
- Cook for about an hour, stirring every few minutes until the mixture looks fairly dry and as though it might be thick enough to set.
- Spoon into a 2 lb loaf tin lined with baking paper and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
- Leave for at least a couple of hours to set.
- If you opt for the chocolate drizzle, melt the chocolate in a bowl suspended over hot, but not boiling, water.30 g dark chocolate
- Turn the barfi out onto a board.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the barfi with a teaspoon.
- Cut into 32 squares.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
Best of British is a monthly challenge showcasing the best of what British food has to offer in various counties or regions around the UK. The challenge is sponsored by The Face of New World Appliances. They are offering a £50 Amazon voucher prize to give to a winning entry each month. Here are the previous regional entries: Cornwall, Scotland, Yorkshire.
As I used freshly picked blackberries, I’m entering my Indian sweets into Simple & In Season. This is a monthly blogging event created by Ren of Fabulicious Food and is this month hosted by Katie Bryson of Feeding Boys and a Firefighter.
I’m also submitting my blackberry barfi to Javelin Warrior’s Made with Love Mondays. This is a challenge which embraces the whole concept of cooking from scratch.
Chloe Edges says
Delicious! I’ve never eaten barfi but anything with that much condensed milk in it must be amazing!
Choclette says
Hahahaha, indeed. Indian sweets are usually quite sweet. But stick a load of tart fruit with them and things start to change.
Javelin Warrior says
This sounds delicious, Choclette – I don’t know that I’ve ever tried a truly Indian inspired dessert before but I’d give this a go. Love the blackberries and and the texture of the barfi looks amazing. Thanks so much for sharing with Made with Love Mondays and I’m still trying to catch up after a week of holiday 🙂
The Caked Crusader says
I’ve never heard of this – it’s a slightly unfortunate name, but looks amazing!
At Anna's kitchen table says
Ooh, I love barfi! Blackberries make a fresh addition.
Laura loves cakes says
This sounds really interesting…I’ve never heard of Barfi! I do however love blackberries…it looks really tasty and an unusual combination with the cocount and rose! 🙂
Working London Mummy Working London Mummy says
Wow. I love barfi but never tried a fruity one! great idea Choclette!
Janice says
I’ve never made Indian sweets, but that sounds very good.
laura@howtocookgoodfood says
I love your barfi and think you did put your own individual stamp on this Indian sweet which is something I like to do with recipes too. It goes to show you just how good it is to be creative in the kitchen when thinking up ideas.
I wonder how London felt to you after coming from a rather more sedate part of the world?
This is a great creation, love blackberries and they are free!
Karen S Booth says
FABULOUS entry for BOB and also an amazing dessert too….I love new ideas with blackberries, and the colours are fabulous! Karen
Katie says
What gorgeous vivid sweets! I’ve never tried barfi before but they look GREAT! Thanks for linking up 🙂
Katie says
That sounds amazing. I love barfi but never had a fruity version. You are so inventive 🙂
Phil in the Kitchen says
Great idea – these look lovely. Blackberries sound like an excellent ingredient to use. You’ve reminded me of the times I spent eating Indian food around Euston. In particular, some lovely but very extended lunch hours in the Ravi Shankar restaurant back in the late 1980s.
rita cooks italian says
These colours are amazing! I cook Indian food once a week,but I’ve never had Indian puddings/desserts. Crazy, I know. Your cakes are beautiful and surely delicious. I also discovered Indian food when I moved to London, 10 years ago.
Janine says
These have a very striking appearance – they look very professional! Not bad for a first try, I’d say!
Chris says
Lovely, very lovely! That makes me again thinking … why don’t I have something for pudding tonight!
manu says
It looks divine and the colour is beautiful!
mylittleitaliankitchen says
you are the queen of puddings and you are good at using seasonal fruit too!
Chele says
Fantastic colour and I am well impressed with your foraging haul, very successful. Love how the challenge has related to you in a way I am sure nobody ever dreamed off.
Foodycat says
That looks amazing! Adding blackberries is genuinely brilliant. It’s funny, for me Indian sweets are Sydney!
Choclette says
It’s not the best characteristic, but I can’t help feeling smug about the blackberries – thank you. Sydney makes me think of Thai food.
Foodycat says
Yeah – Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, all says Sydney to me. But I used to go to an Indian sweet shop on Cleveland St with friends, share a Thali and load up on burfi and jalebis.
Debby says
wow those look amazing…I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for the give away.
Have a cool weekend.
Deb