MANGO FUDGE | MANGO BURFI

A few months back, while I was buying some savories and sweets to carry them to my brother's place, I tasted mango fudge for the first time in a Farsaan shop here in Mumbai and instantly fell in love with it.If you have ever visited Lonavala, you would have definitely tasted Chocolate fudge and also lots of other variations like Walnut fudge,Mango fudge etc.The fudge I tasted was similar to the one in Lonavala.

I have been thinking of making this at home for a while and when I saw this recipe on MyJhola, (check out the awesome video preparation in her blog) I liked it as the preparation was simple and does not include any ghee. In this mango season I tried making it and the fudge came out nice and tasty. The texture of the fudge that I made was somewhere between that of a burfi and a fudge and it managed to fulfill my craving for a fudge. My concept of fudge is something that is more like a smooth texture, gooey,formless and something that melts in the mouth. Intend to prepare a smoother version of this sometime soon- watch out this space.
MANGO FUDGE Recipe:
(makes 12 medium squares)
Recipe Source: My Jhola

Ingredients:
3 cups fresh Mango pulp(Alphonsos or Kesar variety)
4 cups grated Paneer(Cottage cheese)
3 cups Sugar
2 cups Milk powder
1 tsp Ghee,to grease the tray

to garnish:
few Saffron strands
2 tbsp Pistachios,slivered
Method:

• In a thick kadai/pan add grated paneer,sugar and mango puree and mix well.Cook over low-medium flame until the mixture comes together and become thicker.
• At this stage add milk powder and give a quick stir to avoid formation of lumps.Cook for 5 mins by stirring it continuously until it forms a thick fudge consistency.If you want fudge stop at this moment,if you like to cut it into burfi stir for another 5 mins.
  
• Spread on a greased plate till you get a 3/4 - 1" thickness,so use the size of plate accordingly.
• Sprinkle slivered pistachios and saffron strands over the spread mixture and press it slightly.
• Set aside for 1 hr.If you want to cut into pieces allow it set for 2-3 hrs.You can even refrigerate for 1-2 hrs if you don't have much time.

You can cut it into squares or serve it as fudge.It can be stored for 2-3 days if refrigerated.
Notes:

1. Use sweet and ripened Alphonsos(or kesar) variety for this recipe.
   
2. Always grate the paneer for this recipe,do not crumble it.If any paneer pieces are left they would turn hard after it is cooked for long time,hence grate it or mash it completely.
3. Use fresh paneer ,do not use frozen or packaged variety for this.
4. You can even decorate with edible silver leaf.As I did not have it at that moment I could not use.
5. If you don't get hold of fresh mango pulp,use canned one.
6. Use unsweetened khoya( 2-3 cups) instead of paneer for a richer version.In that case you can avoid milk powder or add less quantity of milk powder(1/4 cup).