This is the easiest way to make milk burfi, a milky fudge-like treat, perfect for any festive celebration.
Milk burfi, or milk powder burfi, is a dense milk fudge made with a handful of ingredients. It’s effortless to make in an instant pot; it’s basically a pour and cook recipe.
What is milk burfi?
There are many types of milk-based Indian desserts. This recipe is for milk burfi, also known as milk powder burfi.
My recipe is made with less than 5 ingredients and comes together quickly, thanks to the instant pot. You need dry milk powder, sugar, ghee, and cardamom to make this milk fudge. I like to garnish with pistachio, but that’s optional.
How is this milk powder burfi different from kalakand?
I know that I recently shared a recipe for kalakand, and these two recipes look pretty similar, but the texture is totally different.
Kalakand is very soft, while this burfi is dense. Just look at the texture of this burfi – see how it breaks?
I wasn’t planning to share two milk-based sweets so close together, but since I had this recipe ready to go, I thought it might be nice for those of us who, well, love sweets, lol.
Milk burfi wasn’t even on my list of things to make for the blog this year. I came up with the recipe by mistake. Some of my best recipes tend to come about that way (my popular 2-ingredient cheesecake was actually a failed attempt at egg-free flan).
Anyway, at first, I was disappointed that whatever I had made wasn’t what I was trying to make (which was kalakand), but then I took a bite and realized I had accidentally made milk burfi. 😂
Here’s how to make milk burfi:
First, we’re going to make a sugar syrup: mix sugar and water together and pressure cook.
Remove the lid and add ghee, milk powder, and cardamom and mix really fast and really well.
Pour the thick mixture into an 8×8 pan (you’ll need a spoon to scoop the mixture out of the pot and into the pan), and garnish with pistachios.
Refrigerate for an hour, then slice the mithai. If you eat the mithai at this point, it’ll be chewy. You need to put the mithai on a platter to air-dry on the counter for a day. This completely changes the texture of the burfi.
Once it’s dry, you can store it in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to a week, if it lasts that long.
Let me know what you think!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar approx. 200 g
- ⅓ cup water approx. 2.8 oz
- ½ cup ghee approx. 4 oz
- 2 cups dry milk powder approx. 200 grams
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom*
- 1 tablespoon raw unroasted and unsalted green pistachios, chopped
Instructions
- Add the sugar and water to the pot and mix well.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve, and cook for 11 minutes at high pressure.
- Quick-release pressure.
- Add ghee, milk powder, and cardamom to the pot and quickly mix (using either a spoon or a whisk) until well combined. You may want to wear a glove to hold onto the hot pot as you stir – you will need to be fast!
- Pour the mixture into a parchment-lined 8×8 pan/dish (you’ll need a spoon to scoop the mixture out of the pot and into the pan). Shake the pan gently so that the mixture spreads evenly. Sprinkle the chopped green pistachios on top and gently shake the pan again to help them stick.
- Let the milk burfi cool down (on a wire rack – takes about 30 to 40 minutes), then put it in the fridge for 1 hour to set.
- Remove the chilled fudge, slice it into medium-sized squares, and then place the individual pieces on a plate. If you eat the mithai at this point, it will be chewy. Let the fudge sit out at room temperature for 24 hours to dry out. This will completely change the texture of the burfi – make sure to give it time to dry out!
- After it’s dry, you can store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for about a week. I prefer to eat this mithai at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- When this burfi is cold, it’s glossy, smooth, and chewy. You have to give it 24 hours to dry out – then it’ll change to a matte appearance and will turn into dense burfi.
- You can use non-fat or full-fat dry milk powder in this recipe. I have used this brand as well as this brand. I’ve also used the brand Village Farms from Wegmans. You can also find dry milk powder at Indian grocery stores as well as most grocery stores.
- Freshly ground cardamom powder is much more aromatic and flavorful than store-bought. I highly suggest grinding your own for this recipe (and for any Indian dessert recipe). Grind your own by removing the green shell and grinding the black seeds inside. I have and love this electric spice grinder if you’re looking for a recommendation.
- Important! All of the recipes on my blog are tested using a 6 quart instant pot – I have not tested this recipe in a different-sized pot. I don’t know if this recipe will work in a 3 quart or 8 quart as the surface area is different and will affect the temperature of the sugar syrup. I suggest only using a 6 quart for this recipe.
- Do Not Double Recipe: Please do not double/triple this recipe or any other Instant Pot dessert recipe on my blog. A dessert or anything made with sugar syrup can be finicky in an Instant Pot. I have only tested this recipe as written.
Andie says
It worked great using maple sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Much better than American style maple fudge. It was a hit for Friendsgiving.
I make ghee and don’t buy it ready made. There was maybe a Tbls of ghee that separated out. As recommended I carefully poured it off while it was still liquid. It didn’t seem to affect the finished product. It’s so hard not to scarf down the rest.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Andie, thank you for reporting back – just seeing this comment now! I’m so glad to hear that, I’ll have to try myself!
Andie says
What accomodations do I need to make for an 8qt IP? I don’t have a 6qt…
Andie says
I am hosting a Friendsgiving at my house. I think using maple sugar instead of table sugar and cinnamon instead of cardamom will give a very thsnksgiving-y flavor to my milk burfi. Do you think it will work well?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I like the idea in theory but don’t know how different sugar will affect the sugar syrup which helps hold it all together – if you experiment, please let me know how it goes!
Aparna Kumar says
I am not sure what happened but my burfi is stuck to the parchment paper won’t come off. Please help. I have made it before also using this recipe but this never happened. Any suggestion
Thanks
dj says
can you roll this like your date fudge recipe ?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
no, you can’t roll this one
Mahendra Rao says
Thanks for sharing. I am not a great cook but I like trying out things at home. 🙂 The kids will even eat what I make
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Happy to hear that!
Lea says
I stumbled on n this recipe will searching fudge recipes of how to use up my milk solids (no product of making ghee) can I use the milk solids instead please? Or can you recommend a nice recipe please?
Bhavi says
Hi Ashley
I followed all steps as per your instructions. However, ghee separated and then the mixture wasn’t in a pouring texture. It was more thick which I had to remove with spoon and pat it. I haven’t tried yet cause it’s out to air. But From the looks of it – it has turned out to be hard.
Any idea what went wrong – was really looking forward to make a mithai for Diwali
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Bhavi, hopefully it’ll still turn out well, give it a try and let me know how it tastes. Did you use a 6 quart to make this?
Bhavi says
Yes, I used a 6quart to make this. They taste nice but it’s a bit harder than what it should be. I am guessing that’s cause there isn’t any ghee in it. Any suggestions how can I fix this issue for next time ?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Because the ghee didn’t mix in at all? If so, yes that’s definitely the issue. I have no idea why the ghee didn’t mix for you… that’s very strange. Hopefully another reader can chime in with ideas as to why that happened because I am not sure.
Kavita says
I had the same problem. It still tastes ok but it’s not soft like a barfi.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Kavita, not all burfi is soft, but it also shouldn’t be rock hard. Hopefully that’s not the case for you!
Shruthi Hoysala says
The burfi came out really good. Everyone loved it. I did face some minor issues with the recipe. The measuring of ghee is tricky. 1/2 cup of my homemade ghee was too much for this recipe. There was more than a teaspoon full of ghee left at the bottom of the pot after pouring the mixture out. I was worried this might alter the texture but it didn’t :). And I think the airing out the burfi on the counter depends on the weather. It was below freezing when I tried this recipe and I think it aired out in 13 hrs or so. I was scared to keep it out any longer. It had started crumbling. Nevertheless, amazing recipe. Thank you.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Shruthi, glad to hear it worked out and you liked it! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Roopa says
Simply wow!
I had to make second batch right after we taste the first Barfi. Can’t wait for second day.
Thanks a lot for details:)
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Roopa, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you liked this recipe! 🙂