A mango barfi is an Indian Mango Milk Fudge made with milk powder and sweetened mango pulp. Just like Malai Peda, another popular Indian sweet; my mango barfi is made in the microwave and only takes 9 minutes. It is ridiculously delicious and a hit at parties!
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🥭 What is Mango Barfi?
A Barfi or burfi (pronounced as burr-fee) is a traditional Indian milk-based sweet that looks and feels like a soft fudge. Its name comes from the Urdu word barf (pronounced as burr-ff) which means snow. Traditionally barfi is white because it is made by cooking reduced milk and sugar to a fudge-like consistency and then spreading it in greased plates to set. It is made during the Hindu festivals of Diwali and Holi and eaten throughout India (especially northern India) and Pakistan.
My Microwave Mango Barfi is made with sweetened mango pulp along with milk powder, fresh cream and sugar. The mango pulp gives it a glorious bright yellow saffron colour and a delicious tang. Here is why you should make this Indian sweet ASAP!
- Only takes 9 minutes to make in the microwave.
- Fuss-free, mix-and-make, one-bowl recipe.
- Make a traditional Indian sweet that looks and tastes just like the one from a halwai (Indian sweet shop) without the need for any special technique or ingredients.
- One of the best mango-based sweet treats or desserts. A must if you are a mango fan!
📝 Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients to make my Microwave Mango Barfi. Here is what you'll need and appropriate substitutions when you can't find some of the ingredients,
- Milk Powder - This is readily available at supermarkets. Make sure it is full cream milk powder. Not to be confused with the baby milk powder, this is the full cream milk powder (spray-dried pasteurized milk) that is available in the long-life milk section of the store.
- Sweetened mango pulp - This is available at all Indian grocery stores. It is sweetened mango pulp. I buy the "Alphonso" variety as it is one of the best Indian mangoes around with a rich sweet, sour and tangy taste. "Kesar" mango pulp also works well.
- Sugar - I use raw granulated sugar. Granulated sugar is key to achieving the grainy texture of the milk fudge.
- Thickened Cream - Thickened cream has a minimum of 35% milk fat. It is not too thick and not too thin but just right. If double cream (minimum 45% milk fat), the mango barfi will not be as soft and delectable but will harden to a semi-firm fudge consistency.
- Saffron - This is readily available from spice stores. If you can't find it, just leave it out.
- Gold Leaf - This is available in the baking section of supermarkets or specialty baking stores. It is purely for garnishing and can be left out if not available.
- Milk Masala - This is a fragrant mix of various crushed nuts, saffron and cardamom. It is traditionally added to warm milk in India to make a delicious after-dinner drink. If you can't find this, you can easily make something similar at home.
🔪 How to make Indian Milk Masala?
- Lightly toast 5 almonds, 4 cashew nuts and 8 pistachios in a dry frying pan on low-medium heat until toasty and fragrant. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Add to a mortar and pestle along with 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom and 10 strands of saffron.
- Crush to a coarse powdery consistency.
- Use in the recipe.
🥣 How to make Mango Barfi?
- Add milk powder, cream, sugar, milk masala and saffron to a large microwave-safe bowl.
- Mix gently until just combined.
3. Microwave on full power (1100W) for 4 minutes.
4. Remove and mix gently, pressing and breaking down dry lumps of the milk powder.
5. Add the canned mango pulp to the bowl.
6. Mix with a silicone spoon, ensuring all lumps are broken down and barfi mix is even.
7. Microwave on full power (1100W) for 5 minutes.
8. Remove and mix gently ensuring a lump-free mango barfi. The mixture should appear grainy as in the photo. This is the trademark barfi texture.
9. Mix a couple of times and spread barfi in a lined shallow baking pan.
10. Garnish with saffron and edible gold leaf.
11. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
12. Remove from fridge and cut into 2-inch squares using a sharp knife.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions and Storage
Mango barfi will keep fresh in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to a week. Freezing is not recommended. It can be enjoyed chilled, straight from the fridge or warmed up for 10 seconds in the microwave before eating.
Serve this delicious Mango Barfi as a sweet treat to accompany a traditional Indian meal comprising of the following recipes,
- Chana Masala
- Cabbage Thoran (South Indian Cabbage Curry)
- Baingan Bharta (Smoky Indian Eggplant Dip)
- Turmeric Rice
- Kachumber Salad
- Raita
🪔 More Indian Sweets Recipes
Recipe
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Microwave Mango Barfi (Indian Mango Fudge)
Print Recipe Rate / CommentIngredients
- 4 cups (500 g) full cream milk powder
- 1 1/4 cups (280 g) granulated raw sugar
- 300 ml thickened cream
- 1 tablespoon milk masala
- 12 saffron strands, plus extra for garnish
- 1 cup (280 g) sweetened mango pulp, canned
- edible gold leaf, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add full cream powder to a large microwave safe bowl along with sugar, cream, milk masala and saffron. Mix gently and microwave on full power (1100W) for 4 minutes.
- Remove from the microwave and place on a folded kitchen towel. Add mango pulp to the bowl. Mix gently and break down as many milk powder lumps as you can find by pressing them against the side of the bowls with your mixing spoon. Microwave on full power (1100W) for 5 minutes.
- Remove and mix to ensure there are no dry pockets of milk powder left.
- Line a 12in X 5.5in rectangle baking pan with baking paper. Scoop and spread the mango burfi into the lined pan and smooth the top.
- Garnish with saffron strands and gold leaf.
- Cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Remove and cut into 2 inch squares using a sharp, clean knife.
- Mango barfi will keep fresh in the fridge in an air tight container for up to one week.
Notes
- Milk Powder - This is readily available at supermarkets. Make sure it is full cream milk powder. Not to be confused with the baby milk powder, this is the full cream milk powder (spray-dried pasteurized milk) that is available in the long-life milk section of the store.
- Sweetened mango pulp - This is available at all Indian grocery stores. It is sweetened mango pulp. I buy the "Alphonso" variety as it is one of the best Indian mangoes around with a rich sweet, sour and tangy taste. "Kesar" mango pulp also works well.
- Sugar - I use raw granulated sugar. Granulated sugar is key to achieving the grainy texture of the milk fudge.
- Thickened Cream - Thickened cream has a minimum of 35% milk fat. It is not too thick and not too thin but just right. If double cream (minimum 45% milk fat), the mango barfi will not be as soft and delectable but will harden to a semi-firm fudge consistency.
- Saffron - This is readily available from spice stores. If you can't find it, just leave it out.
- Gold Leaf - This is available in the baking section of supermarkets or specialty baking stores. It is purely for garnishing and can be left out if not available.
- Milk Masala - This is a fragrant mix of various crushed nuts, saffron and cardamom. It is traditionally added to warm milk in India to make a delicious after-dinner drink. If you can't find this, you can easily make something similar at home by crushing 4 almonds, 4 cashew nuts, 6 pistachios, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds and a pinch of saffron with a mortar and pestle.
- Storage - Will keep fresh in the fridge in an air tight glass container for up to a week.
Greetings from Portugal! Your microwave Mango Barfi Looks Yummy!
Having just tried a chocolate fudge microwave recipe, this recipe looks very appealing. One thing I noticed between the recipes is that this one uses sugar. Is there a difference between fudge made with sugar and without sugar? Also, I would be interested to see the nutritional differences between chocolate fudge and the mango fudge.
It is great that such a tasty treat can be made in the microwave in just 8 minutes. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Interesting reading all the comments. 2 things worth mentioning. Since you have a global audience, and hence products defer, for example cream. So I searched the internet and thought this information may be helpful to some. Double cream is 38 to 40%fat available only in specialty shops. Whipping cream is 30 to 36% fat. Table cream is 18/30% fat. Half and half is 10 to 18% fat. Could someone jump in answer this query. If Whipping Cream is 30 to 36% fat, would boiling it down 5 minutes render a higher fat content equivalent to Double Cream? The 2nd important point is: Some of us have older microwaves with wattages of 650 to 750 W. This recipe is based on 1100W. Obviously, the fudge/burfi would take longer. I found one way of telling it's done, is that it gathers in the center in a lump and the texture is grainy. Is that correct?
The texture most definitely should be grainy, but not dry.
Looks Yummy. Can this be done on the gas instead of microwave? Any idea how. If Khoa is to be used what is the proportion. Would u still need milk powder ?
Back in India when we didn't own a microwave, I used to cook this on the gas/stove. It doesn't take much longer than this method. I can't remember that far back but I think we used to heat a large tablespoon of "ghee" on a very low flame. Add the khoya (4-5 packed cups), a cup of sugar, a cup of the mango pulp, some saffron strands and milk. Stirring the mixture constantly for 20-25 minutes and adding milk as required to make sure it didn't dry out and burn, we used to get a soft, fudgy mixture that was poured in greased steel pans and we used to call it "barfi".
Thank you Sneh. Your wattage is almost double mine hence the reason why mine takes longer. Great recipe. I've doubled the amount of mango pulp for a more intense flavor and reduced the sugar considerably from 1 1/2 cups to 3/4 -- think 1/4 cup + 1/8 will work even better. Appreciate your quick clarification.
Sneh, what's your microwave wattage?
I tried the recipe with 2 1/2 cups of milk powder (that's all I had) and proportionately decreased the other ingredients. It took 28 minutes. My microwave wattage is 650. I used 35% whipping cream, that's what we get here in Canada. The mango flavor wasn't enough (so I doubled the amount. The fudge was a little too sweet. Balbir Singh suggests a proportion of 4:1 (Khoa to Sugar) -- here I guess milk powder. It rendered an 8 inch pan of Barfi/Fudge. I think it should be of the right consistency after it has air dried for 12 hours.
I cook this at my highest power settings 1100W.
Khoya is like clotted ricotta cream and already a solid, so you would need more in quantity. It is also not eaily available outside of India. I have made this fudge with pourng cream and whipped cream and light cream and the consistency is "to be had with a spoon" at best. That is the reason I use "double cream", it will give you the fudge you see in the picture.
I cook it for only 8 minutes, sometimes 10 minutes at best. It might look like it isn't cooked at the end, but it is. Don't be tempted to cook it longer, because the cream starts becoming butter and loosens the fudge which eventually results in a longer setting time.
Thanks Neha! I hope it turned out great 🙂
Oh my, this looks fantastic, I think my mother would love these!
.-= Neha´s last blog ..Pandan cupcakes with coconut snow frosting =-.