Mahanandi

Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Fig (Anjeer) Cake

Good quality dried figs, sweet tasting apricot kernels, honey and rose water – the no-bake fig cake or fig burfi is the best dessert I have ever made so far. Effortless and exotic, it was astonishing to see what few excellent quality ingredients can do when put together. The recipe is inspired by a product I have seen at a local grocery shop. Being the fig fanatic that I am, I had to recreate at home. As luck would have it, the same shop was also carrying a special price on moist, plump dried figs called Kalamata figs. The dessert is based on figs, needless to say figs quality matters.


Moist and Plump, Dried Kalamata Fig and Apricot Kernels

Recipe:

25 good quality, dried figs
25 apricot kernels or almonds
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons – melted, hot ghee
2 tablespoons – rose water

Finely chop figs. Place them in a food processor, add honey and process until figs are smooth. Add the ghee and rose water (acts as lubricants) in-between for easy grinding. A powerful food processor is essential for smooth end product.

Remove and divide the fig paste into two equal portions. Mold each into a ball and flatten using hands or rolling pin into equal sized rounds of one inch thickness. Place apricot kernels in rows on one round. Place the second round on top of it. Press them together like sandwich. If the cake is too sticky, few hours of refrigeration helps to firm it up. Cut and serve.

I used the same mold that I have seen at the grocery shop to recreate the exact replica. The fig paste behaved very well.

Dense and rich, this fig treat is a sweet mesmerizer. We loved it!


Anjeer Burfi with Apricot Kernels

Notes:
Figs (English) = Anjeer (Hindi)

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Apricot Kernels,Dry Fruits, Nuts & Seeds,Figs (Anjeer),Honey,Mitai (Monday May 28, 2007 at 9:41 pm- permalink)
Comments (17)

The New Home of Mahanandi: www.themahanandi.org

17 comments for Fig (Anjeer) Cake »

  1. fellow fig fanatic here.
    fresh figs are my absolute fav fruit.

    these pics are too tantalising for words.

    Comment by bee — May 28, 2007 @ 10:00 pm

  2. Vijay, more than me loves figs, Bee.
    Aah… fresh figs, it’s been ages since we had fresh ones.

    Comment by Indira — May 28, 2007 @ 10:06 pm

  3. no bake fig cake chala bagundee indira. meeru yentayinaa very creative in trying new recipes.

    Comment by madhavi — May 28, 2007 @ 10:13 pm

  4. yummy, will try this out. Am always on the lookout for healthy sweets.
    I also want to say that I`ve been trying out your recipes and love it. My favorite ones are the toor dal rasam, moong dal rasam, brussel sprout curry etc..delicious, simple, healthy food-my staple foods now.

    Comment by michelle — May 28, 2007 @ 10:33 pm

  5. I am also one big fig fan and loved this’different’ recipe, especially since it won’t be very sweet…thanks ..lovely photos.

    Comment by madhuli — May 29, 2007 @ 12:04 am

  6. The use of honey must definitely soften the figs. Here is my version

    http://annaparabrahma.blogspot.com/2006/10/date-n-fig-toffee.html

    Sometimes I make it with just figs too.

    Comment by Anjali — May 29, 2007 @ 1:47 am

  7. This is truly fantastic. I never thought it was so simple to make such a wonderful looking treat. I was wondering if we can use normal butter instead of ghee, Indira?

    Comment by Meeta — May 29, 2007 @ 4:43 am

  8. That is a treat….! I love Figs, my sister in law in Toronto makes rotis filled with Anjeer and Pistachios. I can only imagine the taste of this with the Apricot Kernels. What a pretty dessert to look at too. 🙂

    Trupti

    Comment by Trupti — May 29, 2007 @ 4:49 am

  9. Coincidentally, we recently bought this from a store 🙂 Its pretty good. And now, its pretty easy to make too.

    Comment by sana — May 29, 2007 @ 5:36 am

  10. Another link about the hazards of eating that many apricot kernels: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9F0CE2D71630F935A15750C0A965958260

    Comment by Joe Grossberg — May 29, 2007 @ 11:24 am

  11. I can almost feel the crunch of those little fig seeds. I would rough chop the apricot kernels to take small bites and relish for a long time 🙂

    Comment by Suganya — May 29, 2007 @ 11:52 am

  12. It seems some people just would like to dig for the garbage wherever they could. Article linked in comment#10 seems like one such thing. Yes, there may be some apricot kernels which can be hazardous. But they are rare. Even eating some variety of pecans, peanuts and cashews can be dangerous to people and the same thing applies to eating some variety of mushrooms. Usually non-edible kernels are not sold in any stores. The linked article doesn’t say that all apricot kernels are hazardous. Please read the following excerpt from the article:

    ” Cyanide is naturally found in apricot kernels and other fruit pits and seeds, like those of peaches and cherries, as well as in almonds, cassava and bamboo shoots. Most often, however, those seeds and pits, including most apricot kernels, are classified as sweet, a variety considered safe because they have little cyanide. The problem lies in those products that are classified as bitter. ”

    I think the purpose of this recipe is to make a decent snack or a dessert out of decent ingredients. Mr.Joe Grossberg, I would like to ask you to use the comments section sensibly and don’t try to scare all who are trying to enjoy some good things.

    Comment by Madhavi — May 29, 2007 @ 3:27 pm

  13. Thats something different!!!!! The pic says it all! 🙂

    Roasted almonds would do good as well I think! 🙂

    Comment by Coffee — May 29, 2007 @ 8:04 pm

  14. Madhavi:

    I stand by what I wrote; there is nothing garbage about it and I don’t appreciate your condescending label.

    Indira did not specify “sweet” apricot seeds, and it is quite possible to buy bitter ones. Bitter apricot kernels weren’t (voluntarily!) withdrawn in the UK until 2006.

    Unlike those of more common foods, like peanuts or mushrooms, the potential hazards of apricot are unlikely to be known by consumers. Furthermore, it is a matter of poison, not allergy.

    I did not say “Soy is poison, period!” (like this commenter) or anything of the sort.

    I’m sorry if it sounded alarmist, but I feel people should know the health risks involved and make informed decisions.

    And I think letting them know of those risks is “us[ing] the comments section sensibly.”

    Indira replies:
    I did mention about sweet tasting apricot kernels. It’s in the introduction. Looks like you have missed it, so I highlighted it for you.

    Comment by Joe Grossberg — May 30, 2007 @ 1:17 pm

  15. Grossberg,

    Did you read this report today?
    U.S. government fights to keep meatpackers from testing all slaughtered cattle for mad cow.

    I hope you will take time to read the report and contact your President and Congress representatives about this Government sanctioned atrocity. “Three cases of mad cow disease have been found in the United States”, the report says. But Bush do not want the meat tested for Mad Cow disease.

    Your country needs you Joe. Please do sound off about how unsafe the meat is whenever you see a meat related entry in a food blog/magazine/tv show. We need people like you to keep us safe. Keep up the good fight. Also I would like to express my gratitude. Your comments have saved our family from Hunza valley products. God bless you.

    Comment by Deva — May 30, 2007 @ 7:58 pm

  16. Deva:

    Thank you for the information.

    I am grateful for the people who have brought attention to mad cow disease, pesticides, etc. because it lets me make healthier food decisions.

    Comment by Joe Grossberg — May 31, 2007 @ 6:07 am

  17. Abba! AA picture choostoovuntey notlo neellu oorutunnayyi! too good! The article is so refreshing and delectable!

    Comment by jyotsna — January 25, 2008 @ 5:00 am

Your Comment

(required)

(required but not published)

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

It sounds like SK2 has recently been updated on this blog. But not fully configured. You MUST visit Spam Karma's admin page at least once before letting it filter your comments (chaos may ensue otherwise).