Paneer Burfi
Are you planning to make a quick n easy sweet for the festive season? Then enjoy this super yummy Paneer burfi which is made with only 3-ingredients and comes together in less than an hour (minus the set time). So delicious, creamy, and will melt away in your mouth!
Festival season is upon us! If you are looking for some last-minute recipe ideas, then you have landed at the right place. Paneer Burfi is super easy to make and a quick- fix sweet, perfect for the upcoming festive season.
What is Paneer Burfi?
Paneer is the Indian term used for fresh Cottage Cheese, and burfi or barfi means a scrumptious and creamy fudge made up of milk solids and sugar. No Indian festival is complete without the presence of burfis, ladoos or pedas.
From surprises to heartwarming ceremonies, these treats are a must-have for almost any occasion.
How to make paneer Burfi?
Instant Paneer burfi is made with the goodness of milk mawa powder, sugar, and paneer. All 3, when combined together, creates a lip-smacking creamy delight!
1. Prepare paneer as stated below in the recipe. Squeeze all the water out of the paneer and let it sit covered, undisturbed for 30 minutes to an hour.
2. After the resting time is over, unwrap paneer and knead until it's smooth.
3. Transfer paneer to a big bowl. Add milk mawa powder and powdered sugar and mix to combine.
4. Knead the mixture with your hands until it starts to come together like a dough. The mixture will gradually smooth out as you knead. Pro tip- It will take about 5-10 minutes for the mixture to look like a smooth dough.
5. Grease a bowl and line it with a plastic sheet.
6. Transfer the burfi mixture into the lined greased pan. Use a rubber spatula or spoon to spread burfi evenly across the pan.
7. Garnish the top with cardamom powder, saffron strands, and slivered assorted nuts.
8. Let the burfi cool in the refrigerator for about an hour.
9. After the desired time, cut in squares and enjoy.
Faq's realted to this burfi recipe!
Why use Milk Mawa Powder?
Dry milk mawa powder will soak most of the moisture from the paneer and make it easy to work with. Knead the mixture well. The longer you knead, the smoother and creamier the burfis will turn out.
If you plan to use a fresh block of mawa then - cook the mixture of mawa and paneer together on a low flame until it forms a soft dough. Allow it to cool comfortably. After the mixture is cooled, knead until smooth.
My mixture is very runny?
That's because the paneer was not pressed well. You need to drain all the excess whey out of the paneer. Apply pressure as much as possible to squeeze all the water out the paneer. The pressed paneer should feel wet in between the fingers, but should not feel sticky.
Substitute for Milk Mawa powder!
Milk powder!
US residents can find milk mawa powder in their local Indian grocery stores. Indian residents can use Nestle's everyday milk powder or Amul milk powder. The only difference - milk mawa powder is slightly grainy in texture, and Nestle's everyday milk powder or Amul milk powder are smooth and powdery in texture.
Can I use regular sugar to make this burfi?
I wouldn't recommend that! Please use powdered sugar for this recipe. As compared to powdered sugar, granulated sugar will not blend well and your burfis will turn out grainy and crunchy in texture.
Can I shape this burfi as pedas?
Of course, you can! Instead of setting in a greased bowl, shape the dough like pedas or ladoos.
Making Burfi with Store-bought Paneer!
If you have a block of store-bought paneer sitting in your refrigerator than it's a NO COOK BURFI. Yes.. you heard me right, this burfi can be prepared with store-bought paneer too. For that-
- Soak paneer in hot water for 20 - 30 minutes.
- After the desired time, remove from water and pat it dry.
- Crumble or grate paneer into a mixing bowl. Knead until smooth.
- Follow recipe from STEP 4. Make sure the burfi mixture is smooth and lump-free.
- Set in tray, cool and enjoy!!
Craving for more, try other delicious delicacies:
Paneer Burfi
INGREDIENTS
FOR BURFI
- 2 cups Crumbled Paneer
- ¼ cup + 3 tablespoon Powdered sugar
- ½ cup Dry milk mawa powder
DECORATE WITH
- - - Cardamom Powder to sprinkle on top
- - - Saffron
- - - Crushed Pistachios (or nuts of your choice)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil 2-liter milk in a large vessel. When it comes to a boil, add ½ cup of lemon juice or vinegar.
- As soon as the milk curdles, take it off the flame. Strain it through a muslin cloth. Wash paneer under cold water to remove the acidic taste of lemon juice.
- Squeeze all the water out of the paneer and let it sit covered, undisturbed for 30 minutes to an hour.
- After the resting time is over, unwrap paneer and knead until it’s smooth.
- Transfer paneer to a big bowl. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine.
- Add Milk mawa powder. Mix to combine.
- Milk mawa powder is dried form of mawa. It's in fine powdered form and can be found at any supermarket fridge section. In US it can be found in any Indian grocery store.
- Knead the mixture with your hands until it starts to come together like a dough.
- If the mixture feels dry and difficult to bind, add few drops of milk. Same way- IF the mixture feels sticky - add an extra tablespoon of milk mawa powder. Adjust the sugar level and knead until smooth.
- Grease a bowl and line it with a plastic sheet. Transfer the burfi mixture into the lined greased pan. Use a rubber spatula or spoon to spread burfi evenly across the pan.
- Garnish the top with cardamom powder, saffron strands, and slivered assorted nuts. Let the burfi cool in the refrigerator for about an hour. After the desired time, cut in squares and enjoy.
- To get a solid block of burfi, set burfi overnight in the fridge and cut the cubes in the morning with a sharp knife.
- If the weather is hot and humid then store burfi in the fridge. It's good for 2 - 3 weeks in the refrigerator. If it's winter, burfi can stay outside on the kitchen counter.
Good and very simple sweet but taste is delicious
Thank you, Banu!
Fantastic! Better than the barfi I'm buying at my local store, and better than some of the barfi I had in India. Thank you!
Glad you liked the recipe Steve, Thanks!
If v dont hav milk mawa pwd ??
You can try this recipe with fresh mawa. In that case, cook the mixture of mawa and paneer on a low flame until it forms a soft dough. Shape, cut and enjoy!
Hope that helps!
Can I use paneer bought from the shop?
Yes you can. Steps are given in main post. Thanks!
Hi Ruchi
Yes I used fresh paneer which I made according to your recipe.
Sauri, some moisture was left behind in paneer which caused the burfi to crumble.
I would suggest next time add 1/2 cup of milk powder + 3 tablespoon extra to take care of the moisture content. As shown in pic. 12, mixture should feel tightly bonded when squeezed. If it's falling apart that means it was not squeezed right. Taste and adjust sugar. Set as directed. Hope this answers your query. 🙂
Hell, I wanted to just say I made this over the weekend and it was amazing :-). As you said it was so easy to make them measurements will just perfect. They right amount of sweetness. Finally I found a burfee recipe that is flop proof. Thank you.
My only complaint would be that it was very delicate in that when I pick it up it was breaking. I had keep it in the fridge overnight and when I took into the office (meaning it was out of the fridge for around 2 hours it was breaking when I pick each slice up. Any suggestions on how to make it more solid?
Thanks for your lovely feedback Sauri. I am glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
Did you use fresh paneer to make the burfi?
Hello I am looking forward to trying this recipe as it seems so easy. Can I ask your ingredients say 1/4 cup powdered sugar. How much is this before grinding into powdered sugar? I want to take regular sugar and then grind it into powdered sugar
Sauri, please grind the sugar first and then measure it for the recipe for best results. Thanks!
Hi! Your paneer burfi really looks good and seems quite easy to make.
Since the paneer was allowed to run under cold water and later the kneading process was by hand, will there be any contamination to the burfi? Will it last long?
Do hope you will reply. Thanks!
Thanks Shanti.
I don't think there will be any contamination issues. Paneer is run under cold water to get rid of acidic taste. To avoid contamination, you can always wear a glove to knead paneer. Storage instructions are stated in the recipe - " If the weather is hot and humid then store burfi in the fridge. If it's winter, burfi can stay outside on the kitchen counter."
Hope that answers your query. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
Thanks for your prompt reply.
My pleasure. 🙂
Can we use market bought mawa pack instead of mawa powder
Yes you can.
If using fresh mawa then cook the mixture of mawa and paneer on a low flame until it forms a soft dough.
Can we use fresh mawa instead of mawa powder
Monika you can use fresh mawa. In that case, cook the mixture of mawa and paneer on a low flame until it forms a soft dough. Hope that helps!
Love the recipe di
Thanks dear. 🙂
I am your fan and I save your mailed recipes for me
Thanks
Thanks Robin! Glad you are enjoying my recipes.
Instead of mawa powder can we use baby formula milk powder?
Have not tried it with baby milk formula so can't comment on that. Well, you can use Amul milk powder as a substitute.
Lovely and fast to cook
Especially good prasad material.. Offering to god
Thanks for your kind words Bhavana, it's makes it all the more worthwhile and special. 🙂
Very nice and easy recipe ..and especially very healthy too ..
Thanks Ruchi. 🙂
is the dry milk mawa powder the same as milk powder
Thanks for stopping by Pooja. Milk powder can be used in place of milk mawa powder. Make sure it's not grainy, if it is then grind it to its powdered form.
How can you come up with such and easy pezzy recipe. I tried this for Janmashtami and I am so happy with the results. I really appreciate your professional approach. Like the way you show hoe the mixture should look like, its a great great help dear. Thanks and you made my Janmashtami even more special by everyone praising me.
Shalu, it was just a simple experiment and it resulted in a great burfi. So glad to hear that you liked the recipe. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Janmashtami to you too!!
Thanks fr sharing dis recipe..it really works and made my janmashtmi more sweet
Thank you Sarita for your kind words. I am glad to hear that you liked the recipe. Hope you had a wonderful Janmashtami!!
Ruchi - What a lovely recipe!! I stay in the US and am wondering instead of making fresh paneer, can I use Nanak's paneer that we find in the fridge section of the grocery stores? thanks!
Thanks for stopping by Pia. Yes, you can use Nanak paneer. As stated in the recipe, thaw the paneer, dip paneer in water, pat it dry and then crumble it up. Happy cooking and Happy Janmashtami to you!!
My pleasure! thank you for letting me know! Happy Janmashtami
You are welcome dear. 🙂
Wow!! Seems easy, will try.
What do you replace mawa powder with ?
Thanks for stopping by Revathi. Mawa powder can be replaced with milk powder. Make sure the milk powder you use is in POWDERED form and has no granules in it. You may have to play around with the recipe to adjust the sugar/milk powder content in the recipe. Happy cooking and Happy Janmashtami to you!!