MAWA COPRA PAK

The following recipe is from my high school cookery book.
I made it first when I was sixteen, under the guidance of my cooking teacher.
This is the original name she gave us for the dish, so I'm keeping it.
Since then I make it on very special occasions as it does take time and patience.
It's well worth the effort though, as it gives a new taste to the classic coconut burfi.
Pak, pronounced paak, is another name for an Indian sweet that is served, cut into squares.

1 lb. mawa/khoa (see my notes on Khoa below for help with this ingredient).
1/2 cup water
6 ozs dried coconut/copra grated fine.
1 oz chopped/sliced almonds
1/2 lb sugar
Vanilla and cochineal (red food color).
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder (it's theonly change I've made).

For copra/dried coconut in the US, we break a coconut and leave one half uncovered in the refrigerator. It dries out and starts to separate from the shell.
Is tore it like that till needed.
Then I remove the coconut meat from the shell and grate it in the food processor.
If you have a fine grater, good, or grate it twice in the food processor to get the right fineness. This burfi requires finely grated copra.

I grate the khoa I buy in the Indian store too.

Mix khoa and coconut.
Make a thick syrup with the sugar and water.
Remove pot from fire and add khoa and coconut.
Cook stirring continuously.
When it get thick, it will start 'spitting' at you...it's time to don a cooking mitt and then stir from that point on.
When mixture is thick and leaves base of pan, add vanilla and a few drops of cochineal.
(I omit the food color these days).
Pour onto a greased plate and be sure to scrape the bottom of the vessel for the slightly burnt part at the bottom and pile it on the plate...it tastes great.
Decorate with almonds.
Cut into squares when cool.
Enjoy.