Among all the milk-based Diwali sweets that I was making and seeing all around me, this pista badam burfirecipe is a refreshing break since it uses no milk, just crushed nuts cooked down in sugar syrup. I did roast the nuts in ghee but you can easily substitute with any neutral oil to make the pista badam burfi vegan.
Getting the dreaded one-string consistency in sugar syrup for sweets is not my favourite part of sweet making during Diwali. I am okay at it by now and can get it right 99% of the time but it still makes me a bit nervous. The good thing with this pista badam burfi is that even if your sugar syrup is not spot on, there’s a bit more cooking we do once the nuts are added, which should bring it to the right consistency. You can even mix and match it with your own preference of nuts if you are not fan or pista or badam. I personally love the colour pista gives to this but adding the almonds is a good idea to tone down the flavour pista has, which is a bit strong for my taste.
To make your job easier while making this pista badam burfi, buy shelled, unsalted pista and slivered almonds. That will reduce any shelling and chopping time and you can get to this final product in under 30 mins. As you know, I do tend to be a fan of Diwali recipes under 20 minutes. While you are at it, maybe try this condensed milk coconut ladoo, kalakand with ricotta cheese, and my favourite from this year’s Diwali sweets batch – milk peda with milk powder.
- ½ cup shelled, raw, unsalted pista
- ½ cup slivered or chopped raw, unsalted almonds
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- A pinch of cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp ghee (or oil for vegan version)
- 1 tbsp whole nuts for garnish
- Grease a baking tray or platter with oil/butter/ghee
- Coarsely grind the nuts together in a spice grinder or mixie and set aside
- Mix the sugar and water together in a saucepan
- Bring to the boil and let it thicken
- In the meantime, heat the ghee or oil in a pan and add the crushed nuts and cardamom powder
- Mix well and roast until a nutty aroma comes out (about 2-3 mins)
- Check if the sugar has reached a one-string consistency. When you take a bit of the syrup between two fingers and draw them apart, a string should form between your fingers. Or, a tip that I use is to check the back of the spoon or ladle I use to mix this. If the sugar syrup coats the spoon without dripping away, then its ready, at least for this recipe to work
- Pour the thickened sugar syrup over the roasted nuts
- Continue to mix over low heat until the mixture turns a bit firm and non-sticky
- When it starts to form a ball around the ladle, it's ready
- Transfer to the greased tray and flatten the top evenly
- Add more crushed nuts on top and let it cool completely
- Cut into squares or any other desired shape
- Store in airtight containers for up to 5 days in room temperature or for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator
Step by Step Pista Badam Burfi Recipe
Grease a baking tray or platter with oil/butter/ghee
Coarsely grind the nuts together in a spice grinder or mixie and set aside
Mix the sugar and water together in a saucepan
Bring to a boil and let it thicken
In the meantime, heat the ghee or oil in a pan
and add the crushed nuts and cardamom powder
Mix well and roast until a nutty aroma comes out (about 2-3 mins)
Check if the sugar has reached a one-string consistency. When you take a bit of the syrup between two fingers and draw them apart, a string should form between your fingers. Or, a tip that I use is to check the back of the spoon or ladle I use to mix this. If the sugar syrup coats the spoon without dripping away, then its ready, at least for this recipe to work
Pour the thickened sugar syrup over the roasted nuts
Continue to mix over low heat until the mixture turns a bit firm and non-sticky
When it starts to form a ball around the ladle, it’s ready
Transfer to the greased tray and flatten the top evenly
Add more crushed nuts on top and let it cool completely
Cut into squares or any other desired shape. Store in airtight containers for up to 5 days in room temperature or for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
- You can add 2 tbsp of condensed milk or milk powder to the nuts when cooking them for a deeper and richer flavour. This will reduce the shelf life though
- Use any mix of nuts you prefer, like more almonds, macadamia nuts, cashew nuts, etc
- Add 2 tsp cocoa powder to the nuts when cooking them for a different flavour
For pista badam burfi recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.
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