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Instant Pot Milk Burfi (Milk Fudge)

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This is the easiest way to make milk burfi, a milky fudge-like treat, perfect for any festive celebration.

instant pot milk burfi

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.

instant pot milk burfi

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. 😂

instant pot 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!

instant pot milk burfi
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instant pot milk burfi

Instant Pot Milk Burfi

★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: My Heart Beets
  • Yield: 16 pieces 1x
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: Indian
Print Recipe

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

  1. Add the sugar and water to the pot and mix well.
  2. Secure the lid, close the pressure valve, and cook for 11 minutes at high pressure.
  3. Quick-release pressure. 
  4. 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!
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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!
  8. 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.

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.
  • 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.
instant pot milk burfi
instant pot milk burfi
instant pot milk burfi

Comments

      • Ashley,
        Lovely recipes you make. Thanks for sharing all these with us🙏. Surely am gonna try this one.
        Btw Your cheese cake like in many other houses, is a super hit at our house😁too.
        One quick question:
        Can I use Nestle EveryDay dairy whitener instead of the milk powder??

        ★★★★★

        Reply

        • Thanks, Sim! Let me know what you think of this one 🙂 I looked up the brand and it looks like there’s added sugar – I think it’ll work but I’m not sure how much extra sugar there is and if that’ll affect the taste.

          Reply

  3. Made the Kalakand recipe ..it was delicious..just tagged u on it. Now i will have to try this one too!
    But traditional milk barfi has a granular texture. Any idea how i can achieve that texture with these recipes of yours?

    Reply

    • Hi Sheila, I’m glad you liked it! Let me know what you think of the milk burfi 🙂 To answer your question, I’m not sure – this is the best I’m able to figure out but for what its worth, I think the texture is pretty great! Feel free to experiment/tinker around with any of my recipes and let us know your results!

      Reply

  4. Can I get this with oatmilk? I’m looking for vegan options for traditional indian sweets 🙂 Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hi Krishna, I haven’t tried this any other way but I believe some people in my facebook group had success using coconut milk powder in kalakand, so perhaps that would work here? If you try, please let us know how it goes! And if I try, I’ll be sure to update the post. You can also make my khajoor ki mithai with coconut oil instead of ghee for a vegan mithai 🙂

      Reply

  5. Hi Ashley…your recipes are always spot on. You are my IP Guru! Can I use great value skimmed milk powder on this or the kalakand recipe? By mistake I got a kg of that and need to use it…boohoo! There was a comment that someone used it and they tasted the milk powder in the sweet.I so want it to work but wanted your opinion before I go and get some nido. Much love from Canada.Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hi Reva, I haven’t tried that brand but it should work – I’ve tested the recipe with non-fat and whole-milk powder and both turned out the same. Let me know how it goes if you try 🙂

      Reply

      • Just reporting back to you that I tried the kalakand recipe and it was awesome. I actually used the non fat milk powder and found that the ricotta cheese that I had was lite and not from whole milk – lol! Nevertheless went with it and added some khoya to get the crumbly kalakand. Was just amazing!! Thanks again..

        ★★★★★

        Reply

  7. Will this be smooth. I tried your kalakand but it came out grainy and not happy with texture but taste really good. Right proportion. I would like to try if this is more if a panda texture and density. You really come up with easy recipes. I think if you share the brand with your recipe we can just recreate more like yours. I am not good with sweets but trying your recipe. Thank you for sharing

    Reply

  9. Made this recipe and I am glad I did it was such a breeze and the whole thing was done in 15mins! Next time I want to make it in double the quantity so will this recipe give the same result if I double the ingredients also then how much time should I cook the sugar water mixture(instead of 11mins) in that case?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you made it and liked it 🙂 I haven’t tried doubling it, but sugar syrup can be tricky, so I wouldn’t suggest changing ratios unless you’re willing to experiment!

      Reply

  10. Hi Ashley- If I half all the ingredients, do I need to cook the water and sugar mixture for 11 mins or does that also become half- thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Bhavna, I haven’t tried halving this recipe so I’m not sure. Sugar syrup can be tricky so if you change the ratios in my the recipe then it may not turn out. Please let us know what happens if you experiment!

      Reply

  11. The easiest and the best recipe for someone with sweet tooth. I used 1/2 cup of water instead of 1/3 cup and it was easier to transfer the final concoction. Thanks and keep up the good work.

    Reply

  13. Hi Ashley,
    I just made this and it was so thick. It wouldn’t spread in the pan. I had to use my hands to press it down and the pistachios wouldn’t stick. What did I do wrong? It’s currently cooling so I don’t know what it tastes like yet. I hope it still comes out okay.

    Reply

  17. I’ll preface this by saying I don’t think of myself as a good cook, but I do enjoy my instant pot. I have an 8 quart size. Following this recipe my Burfi came out hard and crumbly. I tried cooking sugar and water (now using 1/2 C) for 8 mins then quick release. It seems to have worked out fine, nicely cut and on the plate now. Very tasty.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Laura, all of my recipes on the blog are tested with a 6 quart – I mentioned this in the notes but will add an additional note in bold. Normally a different sized pot isn’t a big deal with curries, but sugar syrup is different. I’m glad you were able to experiment and make it work in the 8 quart! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply

  18. Hi Ashley, thank you so much for making the seemingly impossible possible 🙂 I tried this recipe as a quick sweet for Diwali Pooja. I used a 6qrt instant pot and followed the directions. My instant pot went to burn almost as soon as it got to pressure. The sugar syrup seemed fine though. When I mixed in the other ingredients it didn’t mix in properly and stayed thick and crumbly and the ghee started to separate. I’ve pressed it into a pan and set it to cool. Hopefully it works out okay. What could have gone wrong other then the sugar syrup burned away too much water?

    Reply

    • Hi Prathna, I’m sorry that happened! Was the seal on well and was the valve closed the whole time? It seems like water/too much steam may have escaped causing the sugar syrup to get to a higher temperature. I hope it still turns out okay – please let me know!

      Reply

  19. Hi Ashley, thanks for the recipe! We followed step and step and it turned out good. Also when we mix everything into sugar syrup do you turn on the IP into sauté mode? The mix step was just too fast and I’m glad we were able to mix it and pour it out but I wonder if keeping Low Sauté mode on will help with combine step.

    Reply

  20. I have tried to make this 3 times now, 1/3 cup water and 1 cup sugar. The pressure builds but the timer for 11 mins does not start. The floating valve should rise once pressure is built. Can we add more water?

    Reply

    • Hi Anju, happy to help troubleshoot – I just have some questions. Are you using a 6 qt pot? Is the seal on properly? If you try to tighten the lid while it’s building pressure, does that help with the valve going up (if so, it could be a seal issue)? It sounds like there’s an issue with either the pot or seal – I don’t suggest adding more water to the recipe as that’ll affect the temperature of the sugar syrup. If you can share any details, please let me know!

      Reply

  22. Hi Ashley,

    Tried your wonderful recipe today and the output was amazing .. enjoying yummy desert on this Friday. Thanks tons 👍😍

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  23. My IP said burn when I set it to manual pressure 11 minutes. So I did a quick release and the pot wasn’t burnt. So I added the rest of the ingredients but my burfi wasn’t as loose as the video. Lots of ghee left behind. I didn’t add it to the on though, not all of it. You think it’s still ok?

    Reply

    • Hi, next time if it says burn, I would wait a few minutes to see if it goes away on its own. Did the burfi seem thicken when you put it into a pan? If so, it should set. Please let me know what happens!

      Reply

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