Easy to do Coconut Burfi recipe. Thengai burfi as its called in Tamilnadu, this is a delicious never fail dessert sweet. Burfi made with milk. With step by step pictures.
Beginners Recipe! Easy to do 4 ingredient Coconut Burfi recipe. Coconut Barfi made with milk. Indian desserts can be daunting and difficult. But this one is such a winner. I had this Coconut Burfi back home at Vinodh’s place this time when we had gone for his sisters wedding. His elder sister Padma akka had brought these wonderful burfi’s. It was the soft and fudgy oooey gooey kind. She always brings some little nibbles for the family all the time. She is a great cook. I had these and I loved it so much. First, I had one, then another and then some. It was irresistible. It was so good that the big box of burfi which was supposed to have been our big family’s dessert was over even before we started lunch. Her recipes are a huge hit among us. She loves to entertain and I have seen her cooking for 20-30 people with such ease, it feels that she is cooking only for four. A very high energy person who is always on the move doing something. She describes this burfi as one pot burfi. Its really hard to mess up as this recipe is very forgiving. Here is an awesome Coconut Burfi recipe.
Things to keep in mind while making this Burfi
If the mixture is furiously bubbling up while cooking, reduce the flame to low and cook on low flame.
The timing may not be exact as each and every stove is different. Its only an approximate gauge. Look for the texture as mentioned in the picture at each stage.
Be Patient! Remember, Indian Sweets are a labor of love.
Note on Fresh Shredded Coconut: Please shred only the white part of the coconut meat being careful not to scrape out the brown outer skin. The brown part is hard and does not give a smooth mouth feel for the burfi. So spend time to get rid of the brown skin. Shred the coconut and set aside. We will need 3 cups. I used about 1.5 big coconut for this recipe.
The Recipe
Take a wide pan and add in the milk, sugar and fresh shredded coconut. Keep the pan on stove and start stirring on medium flame. If the milk boils over, try to reduce the flame to low for a couple of minutes and increase the flame again. Keep stirring.
It will start to bubble up after 15 minutes. The mixture will be watery at this moment. If at any point of time, the milk boils over, try to reduce the flame to low for a couple of minutes and increase the flame again.
After 30 minutes, add in the ghee and continue to stir. The mixture will slowly start to thicken up. Lot of patience. Lot of patience. Remember, good things take time.
After 45 minutes, the mixture would start drying up. It will be gooey at this stage.
After one hour, the mixture would have dried considerably and there would not be any liquid left. It will be like the consistency of wet sand. Switch off the flame.
Apply ghee to a quarter sheet pan and dump the hot coconut burfi mixture on the sheet pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Allow it to cool for one hour.
Mark with a knife and gently remove each piece to a serving plate or a storage container.
The burfi will keep in the refrigerator for up-to a week. Serve cold or at room temperature. You can sprinkle finely shredded pistachios as a garnish.
Happy Cooking!
- Measurements Used - 1 Cup = 250ml
- 4 cups (1 liter) Milk
- 3 Cups Fresh shredded Coconut (white part only)
- 2½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons ghee
- 1 tablespoon ghee for sheet pan
- Shredded Pistachio for garnish
- Take a wide pan and add in the milk, sugar and fresh shredded coconut. Keep the pan on stove and start stirring on medium flame. If the milk boils over, try to reduce the flame to low for a couple of minutes and increase the flame again. Keep stirring.
- It will start to bubble up after 15 minutes. The mixture will be watery at this moment. If at any point of time, the milk boils over, try to reduce the flame to low for a couple of minutes and increase the flame again.
- After 30 minutes, add in the ghee and continue to stir. The mixture will slowly start to thicken up. Lot of patience. Lot of patience. Remember, good things take time.
- After 45 minutes, the mixture would start drying up. It will be gooey at this stage.
- After one hour, the mixture would have dried considerably and there would not be any liquid left. It will be like the consistency of wet sand. Switch off the flame.
- Apply ghee to a quarter sheet pan and dump the hot coconut burfi mixture on the sheet pan and spread it evenly with a spatula. Allow it to cool for one hour.
- Mark with a knife and gently remove each piece to a serving plate or a storage container.
- The burfi will keep in the refrigerator for up-to a week. Serve cold or at room temperature. You can sprinkle finely shredded pistachios as a garnish.
Malathy says
March 12, 2019 at 7:19 pmSo nice I liked it thank u for sharing
Asha says
January 5, 2019 at 11:02 amJust wondering if u forgot to mention cardamom, or does this sweet not require any additional flavoring?
N Srinivasan says
October 29, 2018 at 4:14 pmExcellent narration. Thank u so much. Though
basically I am an electrical engineer , my first and foremost interest only on cooking, especially making sweet. I am already master in making mysorepak ( my mum used to temple me). So planning to prepare for deepavali. My wife’s very favourite sweet is dis.
Hope will make it perfect. Will send u feedback after making.
Thanx once again.
Roshani says
June 26, 2018 at 11:10 pmIt looks yummy n mouth watering. But can we use dry coconut for same. Will it taste good?
Nalini says
May 5, 2018 at 5:01 amLove ur reciepes.. Tried coconut stew for appam and tomato rice with coconut milk and paruppu poli , all were awesome.. Great reciepes and thanks for ur recipes.
Could u pls clarify when sugar has to be added in coconut burfi please..
Suguna Vinodh says
May 5, 2018 at 10:22 pmYou can add everything in the beginning!
Dianne says
October 12, 2017 at 4:41 amIs the ‘fresh’ coconut the green or dried brown nut? How do you shred it?
Suguna Vinodh says
October 12, 2017 at 12:50 pmHave messaged you 🙂
Prathybha says
August 26, 2017 at 12:49 pmHi Suguna,
This looks delicious. I am planning to make it for a bigger crowd for chathurthi. Can we do it the opos way. I know only the sugar syrup hack. How to go about with rest of the ingredients?
Indrani says
August 15, 2017 at 8:10 pmHello , doubled the recipe and made it . Came out very well . It’s addictively delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe .
Suguna Vinodh says
August 16, 2017 at 11:13 amThank you Indrani.
Priya Govindaraj says
June 6, 2017 at 9:41 pmHello ,
Very delicious recipe. Please clarify below
1. Should boiled and cooled milk to be used or raw milk?
2. Should the stirring be continuous without taking off hands? No 5 minutes few minutes excuses?
Thanks
Priya
Suguna Vinodh says
June 7, 2017 at 7:32 pmHi Priya, raw milk is fine as you are cooking for a long time.
Point 2. haha 5 minutes is ok. But have an eye now and then as milk solids can scorch easily.
Renuka says
April 28, 2017 at 2:57 pmThank you so much.
Haven’t tried this recipe before.
I’m sure it’s yummy
Sivaranjani says
April 26, 2017 at 9:40 pmIt is very yummy. I love burfi very much. Its a great treat for me. Thank u so much mam.
Suguna Vinodh says
April 27, 2017 at 1:50 pmThank you so much. Really glad that you liked it!
subbalakshmi says
February 3, 2017 at 5:43 ammy burfi came out too hard. could you tell me how to soften it? thanks,
Suguna Vinodh says
February 3, 2017 at 10:10 amThe cooking should stop when the consistency of the burfi is that of wet sand. If the cooking continues, the burfi becomes hard. May be watch for the consistency next time.
subbalakshmi says
February 3, 2017 at 8:33 pmthank you for your tip. but is there anyway to fix the ones that i already made? i made a lot 🙁
any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
Sundari says
October 20, 2016 at 4:41 pmHi. I made this burfi today and it turned out super yummy. Very much happy with d burfi. Thanks fr sharing this wonderful recipe to all of us. U make our lives easier and soulful with delicious food.. lots of prayers and love from Coimbatore.
Suguna Vinodh says
October 20, 2016 at 7:34 pmThank you so much Sundari! Your words mean a lot to me. Happy Deepavali to you and your family!
studentsim says
September 24, 2016 at 10:34 amHi Kannama: After the roaring success of tomato chutney that I tried last week, I am so excited about trying every recipe on your blog! Regarding this coconut burfi, i love that it is simple even if time consuming. One clarifying question- would frozen coconut work (I live in US and sometimes good coconuts are not so readily available)or will the taste and texture be not to the mark? Thank you so much for all your stupendous work.
Suguna Vinodh says
September 24, 2016 at 2:09 pmYes Studentsim. You can use frozen coconut. Thaw and proceed with the recipe.
Sujatha Srinivas says
September 11, 2016 at 1:59 amHi suguna
Thank you for the wonderful recipe, came out very well!! 🙂
Suguna Vinodh says
September 11, 2016 at 11:32 pmThank you!
Lavanya says
August 26, 2016 at 7:26 pmHi,
I wanted to try your burfi . I wanted to reduce the quantity . If I take 2 cups of milk can I add 1 cup of coconut? Will that work
Tnx for this wonderful recipe
Suguna Vinodh says
August 26, 2016 at 10:47 pmThe original recipe has
4 cups (1 liter) Milk
3 Cups Fresh shredded Coconut (white part only)
2½ cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ghee
1 tablespoon ghee for sheet pan
Shredded Pistachio for garnish
You can just Halve the recipe exactly.
Anu says
August 26, 2016 at 3:31 pmHi
I tried ur coconut burfi it was awesome. It really encourages us to cook n serve love with food keep going
I am great follower of ur page
Suguna Vinodh says
August 26, 2016 at 6:46 pmThank you so much Anu!
Akila says
July 22, 2016 at 10:47 amHi suguna,
Can we prepare it with dry coconut without skin(koppara thengai)?
Suguna Vinodh says
July 22, 2016 at 4:29 pmDry coconut doesnt work well for this recipe.
Madhumathi says
May 11, 2016 at 7:26 pmThanks for this awesome detailed recipe kannamma. Tried for the first time. It tasted awesome and consistency was perfect. Soft and juicy. The store bought ones used to be dry. But your recipe again created that magic.
Suguna Vinodh says
May 11, 2016 at 9:43 pmThank you. Its so awesome isn’t it. Its a family favorite.
spatel says
January 6, 2016 at 5:58 pmHi, we made coconut barf but it’s too soft. How can we fix it so it’s barf consistency. We left to dry for more than 2 hrs but is soft like spread. We made it from milk and condense milk.
Thanks
Suguna Vinodh says
January 6, 2016 at 8:48 pmThere is no condensed milk used in the recipe spatel. May be you can simmer in a pan for another 10 more minutes to thicken up!
Neela says
November 9, 2015 at 10:27 amHi Suguna,
Thanks for your reply. I will try with skimmed milk next time and let you know how I go.
Happy Deepavali to you & to your family.
Regards
Neela
Suguna Vinodh says
November 9, 2015 at 12:12 pmHappy Deepavali to you & to your family Neela!
Neela says
November 8, 2015 at 11:32 amHi Suguna,
i tried this recipe today. But it didn’t end up in white colour like yours. You mentioned that it will reach the consistency of wet sand. But it didn’t come up for me like that. Since i kept it in the stove for a little while to get that consistency, it ended up in a caramel colour. But still I didn’t get that consistency. I used the same measurement what is in your recipe. Don’t know why I didn’t get that white colour. Please advise.
Thanks
Neela
Suguna Vinodh says
November 8, 2015 at 12:07 pmHi Neela, you need to keep continuously stirring else it will burn at the bottom. May be that’s the reason why the mixture turned caramel.
Elisabeth says
November 3, 2015 at 9:32 pmSuguna again a great recipe. Thank you for the specific and encouraging directions. We are planning our Deepavali celebration and my boys requested a sweet. I have never made Indian sweets. This appears quite doable. I love the idea of it as a meditation too. Also is the milk whole milk or can I use another fat content?
Thank you again.
Suguna Vinodh says
November 3, 2015 at 10:09 pmThanks Elisabeth. I used whole milk for the recipe. There is not much of fat (compared to other indian sweets) going in the recipe other than the little ghee. So go for whole milk.
Neela says
November 8, 2015 at 7:18 pmHi Suguna,
Thanks for your prompt reply. As you mentioned, I was stirring continously only. But after I sent a query to you, I realised that I used full cream milk. Here in Australia, full cream milk is really creamy and in the final stage, cream stayed behind with the coconut and never gave me a wet sand consistency. Since I tried to leave it in the stove for little longer to get that consistency, it became caamelised, I think. Don’t you think like that too? Otherwise, it taste nice only.
Thanks
Neela
Suguna Vinodh says
November 8, 2015 at 9:19 pmYes Neela, maybe that’s the reason.
andal says
November 3, 2015 at 12:41 pmSugu sis. Vanakkam. Had been thinking of coconut burfi to make for diwali. But didn’t have d recipe. Its like SECRET OF SUCCESS working deary. My paati used to make lovely burfi and wheat halwa every diwali. She would call thatha for cutting the fudge, as you say. He would do it like meditation.I would sit beside him and watch . Those were the days. …and I am just trying to give at least ten percent of our childhood happiness to my boy. Your blog does a lot of help…A LOT. I fell in love with your blog. There are trillion websites. Why KC happened to me… Happy diwali wishes to each and everyone in your Real Super Big family.
Suguna Vinodh says
November 3, 2015 at 6:05 pmThank you so much Andal. I am so happy that you remembered your grand parents. Food is nothing but memories as they say! Thank you so much for your words. It means a lot to me. A very Happy Happy Deepavali to you and your family too.
Rafeeda @ The Big Sweet Tooth says
November 2, 2015 at 6:54 pmCame through Kannur Food Guide and I can’t stop browsing… First of all, I love your homely blog name, sounds really cute… 🙂 These coconut burfis look absolutely delicious for all that hard work… I wouldn’t really mind sitting and having that complete plate all by myself… Will keep coming in for more…
Suguna Vinodh says
November 2, 2015 at 7:07 pmThank you so much Rafeeda. Kannamma is my real name! 🙂 Your words mean a lot to me. happy cooking.