Anjeer Barfi (Dry Fig Dessert)

Anjeer Barfi is a healthy, protein-rich and delicious barfi variety from the Indian Cuisine. These are Indian style Energy boosting bars made with dry figs, dates and nuts. Anjeer barfi has no added sugar as dates and dry figs provide the essential sweetness. They are flavoured with ground cardamoms and this spice also works as a digestive aid.

If you are looking for a healthy, natural high-protein and nutritious dessert or a snack bar, look for further – This Anjeer Barfi is the perfect one!

About Anjeer Barfi

Anjeer barfi is a traditional Indian burfi variety made with dried figs and nuts. Anjeer is a Hindi word that translates to “Dried figs” and burfi is a dessert. This barfi is flavored with cardamoms & do not have any added sweetener. So it is considered as a nutrient-rich and healthy dessert snack.

Whether it is festive time or a snack time these are great to share with your family and friends. These also make a fantastic gift to your loved ones.

Traditional Indian burfi are made with plenty of refined sugar to give them the desired texture. This Almond burfi, Milk powder burfi, Besan barfi are some of the most popular traditional burfis from the Indian cuisine.

These Anjeer Barfi are made primarily with dried figs and all other ingredients can be swapped out to your choice. Anjeer barfi are also a popular dessert in the Indian sweet stores but they are mostly made with added sugar & sometimes even with Mawa (khoya).

My Anjeer barfi can be easily made vegan if you replace ghee with some neutral cooking oil or vegan butter. I haven’t used any milk or mawa here.

Ingredients & Substitutes

Dry Figs: This recipe works only with dehydrated figs known as dry figs or dried figs and not with fresh figs. Note that dried figs are high in sugar, calories and fiber too. They are great for constipation and stomach health.

There are different kinds of dry figs in the market. If yours are too dry and pressed down hard, you may soak them in hot boiling water before chopping. I use the softer kind of dried figs, so I prefer not to soak them.

Nuts: Various nuts like almonds, pistachios, cashews and walnuts can be used. Make sure these don’t smell rancid. In the past I would chop these nuts with a knife and use them for this recipe.

But in the recent years, I love to process them in my glass chopper as this is easier. You can also pulse them in an Indian chutney jar. Don’t worry if it becomes too much powdery.

Dates and Raisins: Use soft dates like medjool or kimia else you will have to soak them too. I use medjool dates. I use raisins which can be simply skipped or replaced with dates.

For more sweet recipes, check this collection of Diwali Sweets Recipes

How to Make Anjeer Barfi (Stepwise Photos)

1. Dry roast chopped nuts till crunchy. keep this aside in a plate. If you want you can also toast the whole nuts until crunchy. Cool and then pulse in a grinder.

2. To the same pan, add chopped figs with  3 table spoons water to soften them. By the time i could take the picture, the water got evaporated. But make sure figs turn soft.

Tip: If your figs are hard, soak them in little boiling hot water. As soon as they turn soft, remove from water and chop them.

3. Add chopped dates, raisins, cinnamon or nutmeg powder and cardamom powder. cook on a low flame for few minutes.

If your dates are hard, soak them in hot water and then chop.

4. After 3 to 4 minutes, it turns mushy and sticky. But this depends on the type of your dates too, but cook till they turn soft and mushy. I added 1 tsp. organic virgin coconut oil, this is optional. Since I used a stainless pan, it began to stick , so the oil helped me to cook it further without burning. If you are not using oil or ghee, use a non stick.

5. Anjeer and dates mixture should become quite hot and thick, not soggy, else the burfi turns soggy and turns sticky while you cut.

6. Mix well. the mixture should looks firm and fairly dry like you see in the picture below. After adding nuts if the mixture doesn’t look firm, then cook for another two minutes. Transfer it to a butter paper. Cover it with another parchment paper. Spread the mixture with a rolling pin immediately and cool it. Cut to pieces once it cools completely.

If using within a day, needs no refrigeration. Else refrigerate anjeer barfi and use with in a week.

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