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Wednesday 4 November 2015

Beetroot Tofu Barfi / Fudge, Diwali Sweet, Vegan And Gluten Free ~ Let There Be Light


I have always tried to fill my Blog with happy posts. But this time, when I sat to pen down, it was with a heavy heart. The ruthless killings of humans both in India and many different parts of the World made me ponder, why oh why can't we stop all this once and for all. Life is such a precious gift and no one should cut a life short, no matter what the reason is. No reason for cutting short a life can be strong enough before life itself. A little more reasoning, love for people, increased tolerance can go a thousand miles in creating a world of peace and happiness. On this week, preceding Diwali, the Festival of Lights, my heart and soul in unison prays for universal peace. I pray that no mother should lose a son or daughter to intolerance anymore. I pray that the diyas / lamps of Diwali lights up not only our homes but are hearts and minds as well.

Diwali is the brightest INDIAN festival which marks the victory of light over dark. As we celebrate Diwali let's all remove any darkness from our minds and light up a thousand lamps to dazzle our thoughts always, with bright happy thoughts, long after the celebrations are over. Let the lights of Diwali envelope each home with only love. Let not a single home remain untouched by the sparkle of Diwali. Let all traces of sorrow be wiped away, giving way to a world of smiles. I sincerely pray and hope that each of these things which I am wishing for in my mind comes true very soon. I request all my dear readers to join me in wishing for Peace and love to light up our world forever irrespective of whether you celebrate Diwali or not.


So as I herald in the festivities with sweets, mehendi, flowers, Diyas, crackers etc. this time I also usher in a ray of hope in my heart that I will not have to wake up to screaming headlines in any newspaper of people being killed because of intolerance, ever again. I light up Diyas of hope that there will only be peace and love in our world. Our children will grow up in a world free of violence, full of smiles.

Coming to the dish which I am making today it is called BEETROOT TOFU BARFI. I decided to go for a sweet this Diwali which would be dairy free, gluten free, vegan having no added sugar and most importantly very easy and quick to make. I have not had a breather from work of late, travelling like crazy. So these sweets are for people like me who in-spite of being extremely busy would want to add their personal touch to the array of sweets for this Diwali, without having to spend much time in the kitchen and without having to go for elaborate shopping for making the sweet. Most of the ingredients used are easily available in all kitchens in any corner of the world. So be it for the festivities or just to indulge your sweet tooth make this guilt free delight. It uses only 6 ingredients and does not take more than 30 minutes to make from scratch to finish. Also it can be made well in advance and stored in a refrigerator upto a week. Visually it is radiant and very festive. You will be surprised how insanely delicious it tastes. So dear readers this Diwali give a touch of health to your celebrations.


It is that time of the month when The Culinary Hoppers get together and cook up a scrumptious fare virtually. You will have a whole repertoire of the most decadent sweets with links right at the bottom of this page as the theme of this Blog Hop is "Diwali Sweets". So you have this huge bouquet of sweets from the Culinary Hoppers to enjoy visually and try out in your kitchens.

Let the Celebrations begin.......

BEETROOT TOFU BARFI/FUDGE RECIPE:

AUTHOR : PIYALI SEKHAR MUTHA
YIELDS : 20 MEDIUM SIZED BARFIS OF 2 INCH THICKNESS 
CUISINE : INDIAN
TYPE : SWEETS
TIME : 15 MINUTES PREPARATION + 15 MINUTES COOKING + 1 HOUR REFRIGERATION

INGREDIENTS :

1) 400 Gms Beetroot
2) 200 Gms Tofu
3) 200 ml Soya Milk ( I have used pista badam /pistachios almond flavoured milk. you may use plain.)
4) 200 Gms Seedless Dates
5) 2 Tsp Ground Green Cardamom
6) 2 Tbsp of Coconut butter ( If you are not on a vegan diet you can add clarified butter/ghee )( You may alternately use almond butter or peanut butter) ( Coconut butter can be homemade by whizzing desiccated coconut in a food processor or grinder for 15 ~ 20 minutes till it becomes soft with a texture resembling peanut butter)

Mix of nuts for garnishing.

THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE BEEROOT TOFU BARFI:

1) Skin beetroot, wash thoroughly and using the smallest hole on your grater shred it like almost a coarse pulp. I do not whizz it in a food processor/grinder because it tends to become very fine and loses its bite.

2) Wipe the tofu dry with a kitchen napkin. Grate the Tofu using the smallest hole in your grater. Keep aside ready to use.

De-seed the dates or use seedless dates and grind it or whizz it into a paste. Grind green cardamoms and keep ready to use.


3) In a thick bottom or non stick pan / wok, add the beetroot. Stir on medium flame till all the water from the beetroot vaporizes.

4) Add Soya Milk. Cook till the beetroot is almost cooked.

5) Add coconut butter and keep stirring for a minute. Incorporate it nicely into the beetroot.

6) Add Tofu and mix nicely.

7) Add Dates paste and again mix it well into the mixture in the pan/wok.

8) Finally add green cardamom powder and stir the contents in the wok so that each ingredient mixes well with the other.

9) Keep stirring the mixture in the pan till it no longer sticks to the pan. Once the mixture no longer sticks to the pan, you know your beetroot tofu date mix is ready to be set into a barfi/fudge.

10) Take a plate and cover it with butter paper. Alternately you can simply grease the plate with coconut butter or clarified butter. Pour the hot mixture into the plate. With the help of a flat spatula spread the mixture out evenly on the plate. Keep in mind the thickness of the barfi you want and accordingly spread out the mixture. Once spread evenly, smooth out the top of the mixture with a flat spatula.

11) Next with the help of a knife make marks right through the mixture, the exact shape and size you want your barfis to be. Just make marks, do not try to separate the pieces at this point as they will break.

12) Coarsely grind the nut mix. You may dry roast your nuts if you wish. Garnish the barfis with the nut mix. Refrigerate the barfis for at least 1 hour. After 1 hour of refrigeration, the barfi pieces separate out easily without breaking.

Serve them to friends, family and enjoy the festivities.  These Barfis can be preserved for a week with refrigeration. They come in very handy for the impromptu guests who drop in especially during the time of festivals and celebrations.


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BEETROOT TOFU BARFI/FUDGE RECIPE:


AUTHOR : PIYALI MUTHA
YIELDS : 20 MEDIUM SIZED BARFIS OF 2 INCH THICKNESS 
CUISINE : INDIAN
TYPE : SWEETS
TIME : 15 MINUTES PREPARATION + 15 MINUTES COOKING + 1 HOUR REFRIGERATION

INGREDIENTS :

1) 400 Gms Beetroot
2) 200 Gms Tofu
3) 200 ml Soya Milk ( I have used pista badam /pistachios almond flavoured milk. you may use plain.)
4) 200 Gms Seedless Dates
5) 2 Tsp Ground Green Cardamom
6) 2 Tbsp of Coconut butter ( If you are not on a vegan diet you can add clarified butter/ghee )( You may alternately use almond butter or peanut butter) ( Coconut butter can be homemade by whizzing desiccated coconut in a food processor or grinder for 15 ~ 20 minutes till it becomes soft with a texture resembling peanut butter)

Mix of nuts for garnishing.

THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE BEEROOT TOFU BARFI:

1) Skin beetroot, wash thoroughly and using the smallest hole on your grater shred it like almost a coarse pulp. I do not whizz it in a food processor/grinder because it tends to become very fine and loses its bite.



2) Wipe the tofu dry with a kitchen napkin. Grate the Tofu using the smallest hole in your grater. Keep aside ready to use.


De-seed the dates or use seedless dates and grind it or whizz it into a paste.
Grind green cardamoms and keep ready to use.


3) In a thick bottom or non stick pan / wok, add the beetroot. Stir on medium flame till all the water from the beetroot vaporizes.


4) Add Soya Milk. Cook till the beetroot is almost cooked.


5) Add coconut butter and keep stirring for a minute. Incorporate it nicely into the beetroot.


6) Add Tofu and mix nicely.


7) Add Dates paste and again mix it well into the mixture in the pan/wok.


8) Finally add green cardamom powder and stir the contents in the wok so that each ingredient mixes well with the other.


9) Keep stirring the mixture in the pan till it no longer sticks to the pan. Once the mixture no longer sticks to the pan, you know your beetroot tofu date mix is ready to be set into a barfi/fudge


10) Take a plate and cover it with butter paper. Alternately you can simply grease the plate with coconut butter or clarified butter. Pour the hot mixture into the plate. With the help of a flat spatula spread the mixture out evenly on the plate. Keep in mind the thickness of the barfi you want and accordingly spread out the mixture.


Once spread evenly, smooth out the top of the mixture with a flat spatula.


11) Next with the help of a knife make marks right through the mixture, the exact shape and size you want your barfis to be.


Just make marks, do not try to separate the pieces at this point as they will break.


12) Coarsely grind the nut mix. You may dry roast your nuts if you wish. Garnish the barfis with the nut mix.


Refrigerate the barfis for at least 1 hour. After 1 hour of refrigeration, the barfi pieces separate out easily without breaking.


Serve them to friends, family and enjoy the festivities.  These Barfis can be preserved for a week with refrigeration. They come in very handy for the impromptu guests who drop in especially during the time of festivals and celebrations.
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Dear friends here is a whole treasure trove of recipes from the CULINARY HOPPERS to make your Diwali celebrations spectacular.

RICOTTA CHEESE BURFI ~   SHUBHA OF SHUBHA'S KITCHEN

BOONDI LADDU ~  VANI OF MARUDHUS KITCHEN

DARK CHICKPEA FLOUR OATS FUDGE ~ ANU OF EASY BITES ONLINE


GULAB JAMUN ~ PADMA OF MASALA KORB


RAGI LADDU ~  SWATI OF LETS COOK HEALTHY TONIGHT

ATTE KE LADDOO ~  SHOBHANA OF SHOBHAS DELIGHT


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