Date and Cashew Sweet (Burfi) - Sugar and Fat free!

I was in a dilemma this Diwali as to what kind of burfi i would make. Since we already eat a lot of sugar during the festival, I wanted to make something that was sugar free. So preparing something with dates was the natural choice because dates contain a lot of natural sugar.

Date is a very nutritive fruit. It has lots of natural vitamins and is rich in iron and fiber. It is heart healthy, treats anemia, helps digestion and cures constipation.

Taking into account all this, I went ahead and made Date and Cashew Burfi.

Its really simple to make and the best part is that you can do everything in a microwave!!

Soak about 20-25 dates in milk (just enough to cover them) for 2 hours. After that cook them in the microwave for 4-5 mins and cool. Puree them in a mixer along with the milk they were soaked in. Mix together 1/4th cup broken cashews and a 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk. I used sweetened condensed milk, but you can add unsweetened version too if you prefer or want to make this sweet for a diabetic person.

Put it in a microwave safe container and microwave it on full power for 3-4 mins at one time. Repeat this process, stirring the contents each time till the consistency is very thick. (If you prefer to cook it on a gas stove, its ok too). 

After microwaving it for about 15 minutes, roll a little bit between your fingers, it should not stick and it should form a ball. If it does continue to cook till you get this consistency.

Grease a plate with ghee (clarified butter) and set the burfi. Put the dish in the refrigerator after it cools down for about an hour. Cut the burfi in desired shape and roll it in dry dessicated coconut powder. This way the burfi pieces do not stick to each other.

Keep refrigerated. Should last at least for a month. My kiddos finished everything within a week!

This was our Diwali Faral, posting it a little late, but hey, better late than never :)

Diwali Faral

I am sending this as an entry for: Priya's Fest: MEC: For Sweet Tooth started by Srivalli.