Seven Cups Burfi – Simple No Fail Diwali Sweet

Seven  cup  burfi  or   seven cup  sweet  or  seven cup cake  is a  delicious  Indian  sweet  made  with  chick pea  flour.   The   texture of  this  confection is similar  to  old  fashioned  fudge.   If  you  never  had  any desserts  made  with   chickpea  flour    this is   going  to be a  pleasant   surprise.

Seven Cups, as the  name  suggests  is  made   with  seven cups of  ingredients .   Any measuring  cup  will do as  long  as  all ingredients  are  measured  using the  same.  My first  trial  had  me  hooked .  The  perfect  fudge  like  texture  with a  simple  recipe . Now  it  has  become  a  tradition  to make  this  during   Diwali ,  but  that is not  to  say  that we don’t  make  it  at other times 🙂 .

Halwas  and  burfis  are  popular  Indian  sweet   treats.  I rarely make these  as these   are  usually labor   intensive.  Seven cups  is  an  exception  as  the   recipe  is  very simple  and   it is  pretty much a  no fail recipe.

I am not  sure   who came  up  with this  simple  but  genius  recipe, but  it  has  never  let me  down . You  can tinker  with the  recipe  a bit and  still  end up with a  pretty good  desert. The  original instructions  I  was  given  simply read “combine  all  7 cups  of  ingredients  and  cook”.

Here are  the  7 cups  that   go into this   sweet

• 1 C Butter/ghee
• 1 C  Besan (chickepea  flour)
• 3 C Sugar
• 1 C  Milk
• 1 C coconut
• Optional   spices /  nuts / dried  fruit  up to 1  C

Try these other Indian sweets 

• Badusha
• Pineapple Kesari
• Shankarpali / Shanakpara /Diamond cuts
• Semiya Payasam

Butter / Ghee

The  original  recipe  asked  for  1 C  Ghee.   In  my experience    replacing  it  with  butter  has  had  no ill effects.    Ghee  has  higher  smoking  point  and  that   was   the  reason  for  many confectioners (mithai   wala) to prefer  it  as  opposed  to oils  or  butter.    Unless you  are   looking   for  more  intense aromas of  ghee ,    use butter.

Besan 

Besan is  widely used  in Indian  cuisine,  from   savory fritters  to  curries  to   sweets.  It  is   the   flour    made  by finely  grinding  the   dried  chickpeas  or  garbanzo beans.    Many Indian/Asian  grocers  and  health food  stores  carry them now a  days.  You could   substitute   wheat  flour  as  well – the  texture   and  taste will  good  but  different .

Sugar 

The  original  recipe  called  for 3  cups   ( about   50%  of  total ).   The  high percentage of  sugar  is  needed for  the   right  crystallization. You can  reduce the  sugar  by 1/2 C    without  any noticeable  textural changes.  But  cutting   down  more   sugar  will  make  the   sweet  more  sticky.

Coconut

I   use  desiccated  coconut  (grated  dry  coconut).  It  reduces  the   cook time   and  the burfi   stays  fresh longer. If  you have only fresh or  frozen use t hose.  When   doing  so  add the   coconut  to the   roasted chickpea  flour (besan)   and toast a   little before  adding  the   sugar.

Optional

The  only other  ingredient  that  I add  to  this  confection is   powdered  cardamom.     If  you  wish  to add   chopped  nuts  and  fruits    add it  to  the   mix  while  it  is  still in the    boiling  liquid  stage.

What  do you  need

• Heavy bottomed  pan
• Spatula
• Greased  pan   for the  burfi  to   cool in.

Here are  the  steps  to making  seven  cups.

1. Melt  the  butter in the  hot  pan.
2. Add  besan to the  (almost)  melted butter
3. Stir  to form a  lump free  mix
4. Fry the  besan  until its  aroma  changes and  froths.
5. Add  sugar
6. Stir  well  till a uniform coarse  mix  is  formed – reduce  heat if  needed.
7. Add  Milk  (before the  sugar  begins  to melt).
8. Mix  and  bring  to boil.
9.  Vigorous  boil.
10. Stir in coconut  as  the  mix  begins  to  thicken.  Keep  stirring.
11. Add  Cardamom powder and  keep  stirring.
12. Mix  begins  to  pull away from  sides.  Turn off  the  heat Immediately transfer  to  the   greased pan.

Here is  the  recipe  for  Seven cups.

Seven Cups

By Syama

A fudge like Indian  confection made especially during  Diwali.  It is an  easy to make  dessert  with  simple  ingredients  and  measurements.  The  firm  texture  crumbles  easily in the  mouth  making  it an  addictive   treat. 

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Ingredients

  

• 1 C Besan / Chickpea Flour
• 1 C Butter or Ghee
• 1 C Grated Coconut Preferably dry grated
• 1 C Milk
• 3 C Granulated Sugar
• 3 Pods Green Cardamon

Instructions

 

• Measure the ingredients and have them ready. Grease a plate or pan to pour the burfi into and set aside.
• Heat a thick bottomed pan over medium heat. Place 1 C butter in the warm pan . Add the besan when the butter is partially melted. Stir and roast the besan over medium heat until it becomes fragrant.
• Reduce the heat to low and add the 3 C sugar to the roasted besan. Mix well. Before the sugar melts add the milk. Over medium to low heat cook this mix stirring often.
• Once the mix comes to a vigorous boil add the grated coconut and powdered cardamom . Mix  well.
• As soon as the mixture begins to pull away from the sides of the pan remove from the heat and transfer to the waiting greased pan. Work quickly and use the back of the spatula to evenly spread the burfi in the pan. Use a greased sharp knife to cut the burfi into desired pieces while still very warm. Let cool before separating the pieces .

Notes

• You can reduce the sugar in this recipe by 1/2 C without noticeable effect in the texture.
• Add 1/2 to 1C dry fruits/ nuts, if desired, after the mix comes to a  vigorous boil .
• If using fresh or frozen coconut add it soon after the besan is toasted.

Important: Nutrition Values are estimates. Actuals vary based on ingredients and serving size.

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  Few  important points  to   remember   before  you  start  to cook

• Have  all the  ingredients  ready  before  you start.
• Grease  and  set aside a  heatproof flat plate  or  pan  to  pour  the  burfi into .
• Use a   heavy bottomed  pan for  cooking ,  preferably one  that  is a few  inches  deep  to  avoid  splattering  and  overflow.

If you try this recipe, I would  love  to hear  about it ! Leave a COMMENT, RATING , share a photo and TAG me on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK  or PINTEREST