Falsa Bars-Falsa Fetish # 2

A casual discussion on FB made me fall in love with this unknown(till now) fruit called Falsa/Phalsa. This tiny, purple black, sweet and sour fruit has since then been the queen of my kitchen! As soon as I realized that I could use them as the Blueberries(which we sadly do not get here), I jumped on to all possible recipes. Having found some amazing recipes, I decided to do a 3 part series of my Falsa Fetish.
The first one in the series is my favourite Falsa Gelato. The lovely rich colours along with simple ingredients are surely a perfect Summer Killer. The second in my series is the Falsa Bars which  was loved the most. A super simple recipe with a yummy filling, these bars were over the same day. The crispy shortbread base with the sweet and sour tangy filling topped with a soft yet crisp crust turned out to be the most loved in my Falsa series! And the Baker in me was happy to have finally baked something with this little fruit.
 

Recipe adapted from: Zoe Bakes

Ingredients:I modified the recipe to get a 9x4" rectangular bar

Shortbread Crust :

•  2 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• a pinch of salt

Falsa Filling :

• 100 gms Falsa/Indian blueberries
• 2 tbsp sugar

Top Crust :

• 1/4 cup finely mashed paneer/cream cheese
• 2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Milk and cream mixture(1 tbsp)/egg wash mixture(1/2 egg+1/2 tbsp) for brushing top 
 

 

Procedure :

Shortbread Crust :
Preheat oven to 176 degree Celsius. Grease a 9x4" rectangular pan or a 6x6" square pan.
In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, butter and salt. Knead to a smooth dough and press to the bottom of the pan, spreading it out evenly.
Bake for 20 mins or just till light golden in colour.
Cool.

Falsa filling : 
Wash Falsa and de-seed them.
In a saucepan, combine falsa and sugar and stir on low heat. Add little water and let it cook till it gets mushy and thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Top Crust : 
In a bowl, combine mashed paneer/cream cheese, butter and sugar. Add flour and knead to a smooth ball. Refrigerate the dough for 1/2 hour.
Take out the dough and roll out thin strips to cover the bars. 
Spread the Falsa filling over the shortbread.
Place strips of the dough over it, 2 across the length and 5 width wise.
    

Brush the top with milk-cream mixture or egg wash.
Bake for 30-35  mins or till the top gets a golden brown colour.
Cool and cut in bars to serve.

Notes :

• You may use any other fruit to make the filling or even try a chocolate or caramel filling. 
• For an even more quicker version, use any jam as the filling.
• You may even try and make them savoury bars with any yummy filling of your choice!

My last of this series- another lovely Falsa bake coming real soon.

Happy Falsa Bars Eating
Amrita