Cashew Cardamom Fudge

I love cardamom, it's a fairly unusual spice used in most Indian and Middle Eastern cooking, mostly in desserts and a major component of Chai.

Cardamom comes in pods, seeds or powdered.

You may have seen those weird white sticky puddings in Indian lunch buffets. Most people won't try them but if they have cardamom, I usually love them. That's what drew me to this recipe. I found it in my local paper's food section and was intrigued. The Indian name is Soy Paneer Kaju Barfi, yes "barfi", that doesn't bode well does it ??
Turns out that barfi is condensed milk that is cooked with sugar until it forms a solid, who would have know ;-)

I used my recent yoga club potluck as a chance to try this out.

Cashew Cardamom Fudge

Ingredients

8 ounces of super firm tofu
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces
1 can ( 14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

1) Line an 8 inch glass baking dish with parchment so that it goes up one side.

2) Press the tofu to remove some of the moisture, then grate it into a bowl, using the smaller holes of your grater.

I was surprised by how easily it grated, extra firm tofu !!

3) Using a small or regular sized food processor, grind the cashews to a fine texture.

4) Add to the tofu and mix together.
5) Use a saute pan to cook your fudge, pour in the can of sweetened condensed milk and your tofu cashew mixture.

6) Stir together over medium heat, cook for 15 minutes. You need to increase your stirring as the mixture heats up to prevent it from burning, don't walk away ;-)

7) The mixture should not really boil, although it will bubble and will eventually hold together and look like very thick cooked oatmeal. It will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, that's how you will know it is done.

8) Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cardamom. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading it if need be with a spatula.

9) Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and press gently into the fudge. Chill for several hours, the resting time allows the flavor to develop.

10) The flap of parchment with help you to remove the fudge when you are ready to cut it. You can slice it into triangles or diamond shapes which are traditional. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

I guess my yoga club enjoyed it because when I offered to send the leftovers home with them everyone accepted !!

Next time I am going to try adding shredded coconut and maybe some rosewater ( another one of those exotic flavors I love ).