Around six months back, I brought a tub of Gulkand which is a kind of rose jam. To be honest, I was intrigued by its smell and texture and so decided to buy it. It was lying in my fridge all this time and I was wondering if I could do something with it for Diwali when I chanced upon this recipe from Archana’s Kitchen.

I made this recipe almost as it is mentioned on the page and it turned out more like a fudge rather than a barfi.It does not have any added sugars to it, with all the sugars coming from the dry fruit and the gulkand.

Gulkand Dry Fruit Barfi

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry figs (anjeer), chopped
• 2 cups dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cups cashew nuts
• 1/2 cups walnuts
• 1/4 cup pistachios
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2-3 tbsps gulkand
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1 tbsp ghee

Method:

• Soak the chopped figs, dates and raisins separately in bowls of water and let them soak for around 30 minutes.
• Strain the water from the dates, figs and raisins and grind them to a smooth paste. I added some water as my mixer was not a very strong one, but if you can do this without adding water, that is better.
• In a food chopper, chop the cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts and pistachios into small pieces and keep aside.
• Grease a tray with some ghee or butter and keep aside.
• In a non-stick pan, heat the ghee and when the ghee gets warm, add the fig, dates and raisins paste and mix well and saute it for a while.
• Now add the chopped nuts, gulkand and nutmeg powder and combine well.
• Stir well for a couple of minutes until the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan.
• Once this happens, pour the mixture into the greased tray and level it well.
• Cover the tray and when the mixture is cool, keep it in the fridge for around 30-45 minutes to firm up.
• Cut it into smaller pieces and serve.