Thursday, October 04, 2012

Cashew Barfi Truffles and a Video Vegan MoFo day 4


Just when I had the Vegan MoFo blogs all organized, I discovered Rando and he created chaos in my life!! Randomofo.com is a brilliant tool created by the people of Vegan MoFo. What it does is that every time you visit the link, a random Vegan MoFo blog post gets loaded. The surprise factor makes it so much more fun that I've blog hopped on it all day yesterday and my Newsify app pretty much got ignored. :oP

Raw Cashew Barfi Truffles

Cashew Barfi is a very common Indian sweet. It's made by grinding cashews into a paste and cooking it with cardamom powder and sugar. The paste is then spread onto a plate in a thin layer and scored in a criss-cross pattern. Once the paste cools, the Barfis harden and can be removed and served as individual diamond shaped pieces.

This sweet is vegan by default, except when some idiot decides the plate needs to be greased with ghee (yuck!). Cashews have plenty of oils on their own and the plates really don't require any greasing to begin with. And if a person wants to make things easier, they could just line the plate with a sheet of plastic or foil and it becomes super simple to pop off the set pieces of Barfi.

I started out making a mostly raw version of Cashew Barfis but I soon learnt that the cooked paste sets to a firm consistency, whereas the raw paste remains sticky and soft, even after being chilled in the fridge for a few hours. That's why I decided to shape the paste into balls and make truffles out of it. The texture turned out to be perfect for truffles!

I rolled some of my truffles in cocoa powder and the others in saffron strands, just for variety (and because I really hadn't intended to do yet another chocolate based post today). One could also use coconut powder, toasted sesame seeds or a variety of other things to coat the Barfi Balls.

I had mentioned in September that my theme for Vegan MoFo would be dishes for a four course meal with each week featuring recipes for one course. My first week's theme is Desserts. But if you've been following my posts all week, you might notice that there's a sub-theme going on. Can you guess what it is? :)

Raw Cashew Barfi Truffles

Cashew Barfi Truffles - vegan, gluten free, mostly raw

1 C Cashews
2 T Sugar (the only non-raw ingredient)
2 Cardomon Pods (use only the seeds, the skins can go into your tea powder to add a mild flavour)
1/8 tsp Saffron Strands
Pinch of Salt

Cocoa Powder
Saffron Strands

Grind everything in a food processor for a few minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the grinding jar once in a while through the grinding process.
Continue processing until the cashews start releasing their oil and you get a smooth, buttery paste.
Transfer the paste into a bowl and chill for half an hour.
Shape the paste into balls and roll onto cocoa powder and saffron strands.
Chill in the fridge for a little more time.
Enjoy! :)

Raw Cashew Barfi Truffles

And now for the video I promised (in the title of this post). You might all be familiar with my dear friend GiGi of Veganville, who did a guest post on my blog earlier this year. She's doing a series of video interviews called "Who Dat Vegan" on Thursdays through Vegan MoFo this year. I'm stoked to be the first person to be interviewed. :)

Here's the question video she sent me:


And here's my long, rambling reply:


Visit GiGi's blog, Veganville to read more about her Thursday program, Who Dat Vegan and also read her other hilarious recipe posts for Vegan MoFo. You'll thoroughly enjoy her write ups and laugh your head off at the videos. Check out her MoFo intro video along with her hubby, Crazy Boy aka Psycho Boy aka Larry. They're even all dressed up for it! haha

Also, if you live in the USA, then order some delicious Veganville Voppee Pies made by GiGi herself.

17 comments:

  1. these look so buttery and delicious! i love the addition of saffron strands. they make the truffles very exotic!

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    1. They are sooo buttery! And after chilling in the fridge for a whole day, they turned out to be even more tasty. Haha my hubby thought the saffron ones looked like brains. :oP

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  2. Yum! Cashew barfi truffles sound delicious. I'm definitely going to give these a try.

    Also - love randomofo. That's how I got here!

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    1. Yay! Thanks so much for telling me you found me through Rando. I'm so happy to know that. :) I've been letting people know when I find them through Rando too.

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  3. Great recipe Sush!! I would not have thought of making truffles out of Kaaju barfi. Loved the video as well. :)

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  4. Thank you for the fantastic shoutout!
    The video will be going up in the next half hour or so our time ;)
    I am so thrilled to have you as the first guest, I knew you would do bang up job and oh Wowzer those truffles well I wish they were in my frig right now, or rather in my tummy. Many hugs.

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    1. I had fun doing the video too, GiGi. :) I only wish that first video in the daylight hadn't been such a huge file so I could have sent that to you too and let you decide which one you'd like to post.

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  5. Just saw your interview over at Veganville. Really cool! Great to see the love spreading :))

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    1. Thanks for watching the interview and for dropping by here. :)

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  6. You ladies are doing it up. And how many ways can I express my desire for your barfi truffles. YUM UMY MUY YMU!

    xo
    kittee

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    1. I can't wait to see all the other people she features in the Who Dat Vegan interviews!

      Hope you get to try out the truffles. Let me know if you do. :)

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  8. Looks delightful, I am trying to keep up with your recipes as you post! Yum can't wait to try. Is your sub theme mostly raw? :D

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    1. Haha yes, you got it right, the sub theme has been mostly raw all week. :)

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  9. the barfi truffles are looking yummy.

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  10. i love those saffron strands! and your interview!

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