Coconut & cardamom candy (Burfi)

Cardamom is used as a spice commonly found in Indian and Scandinavian cuisines. To describe its taste is difficult, it is just one of a kind! But I'd think of floral, warmth, and an eucalyptus-alike aftertaste. Our sweetheart Asha is sharing the joy of Sankranti (celebration of the beginning of Harvest season in her home country) with her burfi - milk and coconut-based confectionery. Please don't feel discouraged to try it simply because it's such an unfamiliar foreign name, to me it reminisces those coconut chocolate candies from See's. This burfi includes just enough of carrot to tint the morsels with a beautiful rosy color. I always think Indians very good at using colors... look at their gorgeous silk pashminas, purses embossed with tiny mirrors, sari, pashminas... oh did I just say pashminas again?! Asha put her burfi in a bigger tray, then cut into smaller pieces later. If you have extra time, you may like to place the mixture into individual molds in the beginning, which I will describe in detail in the following. This recipe is adopted from Asha's coconut-carrot burfi, courtesy of Asha from Foodie's Hope

Ingredients:

(yield 6 x 5cm cups and 8 x tiny hearts)

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup coconut, if you plan to mold them, use desiccated type. Asha advised, if your coconut already sweetened, cut down the sugar as specified
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/4 white sugar + 1/4 demarara sugar
• 1 - 2 pinches of ground cardamom
• 1 tbp ghee
• some almond flakes (and very fine ground almond for the molds)

Directions

• In a small pot, bring the milk, coconut and carrot to boil, simmer until half liquid gone. Add sugars and simmer until all liquid evaporated. Add ghee and cardamom, well combine, turn off the heat
• To make the mini-cup: you'll need a mini-tart tray. Well grease the molds, sprinkle little bit of ground almond. Press in the coconut mixture, and add more almond flakes on top. Keep them in refrigerator for an hour or two, unmold.
• To make the heart: you'll need a mini cookie cutter, just fill up with coconut mixture, unmold. Drizzle with melt chocolate and decorate with sugar pearls.

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