For years, we’ve been dazzled and bewildered by the offerings at South Asian sweet shops. The colorful varieties of chum chum, burfi, halwa, ladoo and gulab jamun look enticing, but it’s hard to know where to start.
Although South Asian friends have taken us through a few of these sugary, milky delights, we know these forays are only the tip of the chum chum.
So, with Diwali, a five-day Hindu festival during which friends and relatives give each other loads of sweets, beginning Monday, we thought it was a fine time to taste of one of the most popular South Asian sweets: burfi.
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Also called barfi (but to avoid the jokes, we’ll stick to burfi here), this Indian and Pakistani delight is based on a simple recipe of milk and sugar, but also requires nuts, clarified butter, coconut, spices, coloring and an edible foil leaf.
To the uninitiated, the flavor can seem deceptively humdrum, like a soft chunk of sugar and nothing else. But have it with a nice hot cup of unsweetened tea, when you are not super full (after, say, a big Indian-Pakistani meal) and you can start to appreciate the nuances, the slightly tangy edge and the nutty undertones of this hunk of dairy and sugar.
Plain burfi uses a ricotta-like cheese and sugar, cooked to a soft slightly airy consistency, while khoya burfi, made with pure reduced milk, tends to be denser and more expensive. You can also find two- and three-colored burfi (color is added, but it doesn’t change the flavor), almond burfi, cashew burfi, pistachio burfi and even chocolate burfi. Usually cut into diamonds or squares and topped with edible silver foil, small pieces of burfi are great afternoon snacks or the perfect finish to a light meal.
A friend recommended Rajbhog Sweets & Snacks (2627 W. Devon Ave.; 773-761-1888) for the best burfi on Devon Avenue, and indeed its khoa burfi ($5.50 a pound) was impressive, with a dense, creamy consistency and hint of cardamom. We also liked the like fluffy, plain burfi ($7 a pound) at Sukhadia Sweet (2559 W. Devon Ave.; 773-338-5400), with bits of carrots, cashew and pistachios. But the burfi that we can’t get out of our mind is the light, slightly tangy plain burfi studded with tiny bits of almond and pistachio, ($5.50 a pound) from Ujala Sweets & Bakery (2500 W. Devon Ave.; 773-274-4959).
So why not clean up the house, light some candles and entertain family and friends with an assortment of sweets, while remembering all of the things you can be thankful for.
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Burfi or Barfi
What is it: Milk and sugar sweets
Where’s it from: India and Pakistan
Price: $5.50 to $7 a pound
Thank you in Hindi and Urdu: Shukria