In my previous post I had discussed about the health benefits of kuttu atta (buckwheat flour). I have been eating kuttu ke atte ki puri during fasts for many years. I did not know the health benefits of this flour. Since puris are deep fried, and are a little heavy on stomach, I considered them to be unhealthy, though very tasty. I have since tried few more dishes with this flour. I will today share a kuttu atta recipe that I tried about a month back on Janmashtami. I made kuttu ki barfi or buckwheat flour cake.
You can read about benefits of fasting in one of my previous posts. I have also shared recipe of kalakand that can be eaten during fasts.
I have always loved sweet smell of roasted gram flour. Besan (gram flour) laddoo and barfi are my favorites. I decided to make kuttu barfi on similar pattern. I first pan roasted kuttu atta/buckwheat flour with some ghee. Then I made sugar chashni (syrup) of two threads (see recipe for details). I then  added roasted buckwheat flour to it. I left this mixture to set on a greased plate. I sprinkled some roasted melon seeds (kharbuje ke beej) on top of the mixture. You can also sprinkle nuts if you want to. After it was set, I cut square pieces. The barfis were awesome. The aroma of roasted flour combined with ghee is the USP of this dish.
These barfis taste good when eaten freshly made. If they are kept for too long, they dry up and harden, and have the texture of Mysore pak. Though my friend liked this hardened barfi as well, but my preference is for fresh soft barfis. These can be enjoyed as dessert. They can be also eaten during Navratri fast, Janmashtmi, or Shivratri fast as well.
Kuttu atta recipe: kuttu ki barfi
Few years back I had read about contaminated Kuttu atta killing few people, and was apprehensive of the quality of atta available at nearby store. This time I ordered organic kuttu atta, and many more grocery items from Amazon.in.  There is up to 30% off on groceries at Amazon. You can visit their Grocery and Gourmet Food Store site to place order, and take advantage of ongoing discount. I got very good bargain. Discount for many items is more than some known super markets here, and we get our grocery without moving away from the comfort of our homes.
Kuttu atta Recipe : Kuttu ki Barfi
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- 1 cup kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour)
- 1/2 cup ghee (rarefied butter)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 table spoon melon seeds
- Put 1 tea spoon ghee in kadhai. Heat it on medium flame. When the ghee is sufficiently hot, add melon seeds. Keep stirring the seeds. They will start to splutter. Switch off the gas, and cover the seeds. After they stop spluttering, take the puffed seeds out from kadhai and keep them aside.
- Now pour rest of the ghee in kadhai and heat it. When the ghee has melted, add kuttu ka atta to it. Keep stirring the atta. After 5 minutes when the atta has been roasted properly, take it out from kadhai.
- Heat sugar and water in a pan. Keep stirring occasionally. Sugar will melt, and syrup will form. On further heating, when the syrup becomes thick, take out few drops of syrup. When it is cool enough to handle, put it between your first finger and thumb. When you move the thumb away from the finger, 2 threads of the syrup should form. If it does not happen, cook the syrup a bit more.
- When two threads of syrup start forming, add kuttu ka atta to it. Stir and mix atta and syrup properly.
- Pour this mixture in a greased plate, and level it. Sprinkle melon seeds over the mixture. Allow it to cool. When the mixture has set, cut medium sized squares of the mixture with the help of a knife.
- Kuttu ki barfi is ready. Serve it fresh.
Tips:
- Toast the melon seeds carefully on low flame till they puff up.
- Slightly press the seeds on the surface of kuttu barfi so that they get properly embedded on barfi.