highlights
Barfi reached India from Persia through the Mughals in the 16th century and remained here only.
Dodha (Doda) Barfi was made by a wrestler who was fed up of eating milk and ghee.
Kaju Katli was prepared by the chief chef of the Maratha royal family, which made everyone crazy.
If you ask which sweet was a hit hundreds of years ago and is a hit even today, then the name of Barfi will be at the top. You go to a small or big sweet shop, there will definitely be a sweet there. This will be barfi. Barfi made from khoya, milk and sugar melts in a pleasant way on the tongue giving a special sweet texture. Who knows how many varieties of it were prepared in India. Especially the story of the origin of two Barfi Dodha and Kaju Katli is very interesting.
In the early 90s, when there was no globalization of markets and brands in India, i.e. economic liberalization had not set in, then 5-6 types of sweets were mostly seen in sweet shops. Khoya barfi, gulab jamun, rasgulla, kalakand, imrati, jalebi and laddu decorated in tray. Some sweet shops also had various types of Bengali sweet dishes.
With the entry of commercialization, many experiments took place in the world of sweets, new sweets entered. Innovation and fusion began. As the hit sweets of the entire country started appearing everywhere, new types of sweet dishes also started being created. Earlier, only Khoya Barfi used to be seen more decorated in sweet shops. Now there are Almond Barfi, Moong Barfi, Dry Fruits Barfi, Dodha (Doda) Barfi, Coconut Barfi, Pishta Barfi, Kaju Katli, Tricolor Barfi, Chocolate Barfi… I don’t know how many forms of Barfi are available there. In this, the stories of making Dodha Barfi and Kaju Katli are amazing.
The work of milking has probably been happening here ever since we started keeping cattle and learned to cook food and utensils on fire. There is mention of Indus Valley Civilization and its earlier preparation of dishes like Barfi. The people of the Indus Valley Civilization certainly knew how to ferment milk and sugar and make such sweets.
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Barfi came from Persia
However, the barfi that we eat came from Persia when the Mughals moved there. Some say that traders coming from Persia brought it. Well, whatever it may be, the word Barfi is basically a Persian word. Which is made of ice, its literal meaning in Persian would be frozen thing.
Although Barfi spread in the world from India. It is said that in the middle of the 19th century, when indentured laborers from India went to Caribbean countries and Mauritius, they took it there. People there liked it very much. Well, now Barfi is popular all over the world.
different types of barfi
Now Barfi is also associated with celebrating happy occasions along with our rituals and worship. The style of each barfi and the way it creates a pleasant wave of sweetness on the tongue is also different. Some ice creams are sticky. Some are crispy, some have grainy texture and some melt lightly on the tongue. At many places their shape and type also changes.
How a wrestler made Doda Barfi spontaneously
Now let’s talk about two barfi inventions, which originated on typical Indian soil and spread across the world. Some people like the brown golden flaky sticky Dodha (Doda) barfi. The story of its making is interesting. This happened spontaneously. The incident is of 1912 before partition. Harbans Vij was a wrestler from Punjab. Used to do wrestling work. The dosage was also tremendous. Had finished eating and drinking milk and ghee.
One day he started kneading milk, ghee, cream and dry fruits with sugar in the kitchen. The milk turned white as it was churned. Then it started turning brown. The combination of dry fruits and ghee also did wonders. And whatever came out in the style of halwa was brown, thick, sticky, sticky and had a different taste. He turned it over on the plate, flattened it and cut it into the shape of barfi. Actually, this new taste was not only wonderful but also new. He called it Dodha Barfi. It is not known when this Dodha started being called Doda Barfi.
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How this barfi made the wrestler rich
Now Harbans Vij started the work of making this barfi. This started being liked. His shop started growing and this barfi gave him a lot of recognition. Especially wrestlers used to eat a lot of it. He felt that this barfi provides complete nutrition of milk, ghee and mawa. The popularity of this barfi increased so much that people started coming from far away places to buy it.
Now this special barfi is also exported a lot.
When partition took place, Harbans Vij came to Kapurthala from Punjab, which came under Pakistan. Those who bought his house and shop in Pakistan also continued the work of making and selling this barfi. Harbans started his shop in Kapurthala, which became so famous that the square there came to be called Dodha (Doda) Chowk. This sweet is still exported from Royal Dodha House. Now Harbans’s family runs it.
Interesting story of Kaju Katli
The story of Kaju Katli is also interesting. It was invented in Deccan, South India. From there it spread across the country. Now this is everyone’s favorite. The credit for making it goes to the famous chef Bhimrao in the 16th century. Who was the chief cook in the royal family of the Maratha Empire. Marathas loved sweets very much. Bhimrao wanted to prepare a new sweet so that he could impress the royal family.
The chef of the Maratha royal family made it
It is said that when Bhimrao was preparing this sweet, he also had in mind the Persian sweet Halwa-e-Farsi, which was made from almonds and sugar. So he decided that he would make a new kind of sweet from cashew nuts. Cashew was produced in abundance in that area. And when Bhimrao made sweets from cashew nuts, it was greatly appreciated in the Maratha royal family. It had a thinner layer than mango barfi, so it was named Kaju Katli. It first appealed to the people in Maharashtra and then spread across the country. Now it has become the most famous sweet among Indian sweets. It is considered a high class sweet.
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How to make barfi
Barfi is usually made with khoya made from condensed milk, granulated sugar and ghee. Nuts like pistachios, cashews, cardamom, saffron and peanuts are added to it. It includes fruits, rose water, gram flour or almonds in some regional varieties. For example, both the taste and style of Orange Barfi of Nagpur are incomparable. They are also given a special color through the materials added to them. When this mixture cools down, it is cut into diamond, square or round pieces.
gram flour barfi
This delicious barfi melts as soon as it goes in the mouth. It is made by deep frying gram flour, which not only improves the taste of barfi but also gives it a pleasant aroma. Just as the color of gram flour changes, the color of barfi also changes. Dry fruits are also used in this.
Coconut Barfi
The tempting and soft style of coconut barfi fascinates the tongue with its delicacy. It is made with coconut shavings and khoya.
Almond Barfi
It is made by mixing almond powder and khoya. Its taste is also delicious.
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Food and drink of Kayasthas 08: Khichdi which was liked by everyone, everyone prepared it in their own way.
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Tags: Diwali Food, food, food 18, food business, food diet, Food Recipe
FIRST PUBLISHED: January 30, 2024, 13:17 IST
