Guru Purnima is a day to acknowledge your Gurus who’ve taught you something that mattered. A plate of sweets still says more than a store-bought gift card or any last-minute gift, and this burfi does the job right. It's not overcomplicated, it's not too soft, and it doesn’t hide behind silver foil or food coloring. This burfi is made with almonds and pistachios – not a dusting of nuts on top, but the actual base of the sweet. There's no khoya, no milk powder, and no shortcut ingredients to bulk it up. Everything stays fresh, rich, and dense the way it should. It holds shape without crumbling and cuts clean without sticking. Make a full tray, cut it into squares, and box it up. It's sweet enough to feel festive, but not syrupy or heavy. Best part: it sets in under an hour, and you don’t need to stir anything on the stove forever.
Almond Pista Burfi Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup almonds (soaked in hot water for 1 hour or overnight, peeled)
- ½ cup pistachios (unsalted, shelled)
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp ghee (plus extra for greasing)
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder (optional)
Method:
- Drain the soaked almonds and pat them dry. Blend almonds and pistachios into a fine paste. Add a spoon or two of water only if the mixture won’t move in the blender. You want a thick and smooth paste, not runny.
- In a non-stick pan, combine 1 ¼ cups sugar with ½ cup water. Bring it to a boil and let it cook on medium until the syrup starts to thicken slightly – about 5 to 6 minutes. You’re not looking for thread consistency, just something that coats the spoon lightly.
- Add the nut paste to the syrup and start stirring. Cook on low heat. Keep scraping the sides and mixing. Once it thickens, add 2 tablespoons of ghee. Stir until it leaves the sides of the pan and forms a soft dough. This takes around 10-12 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the cardamom powder and stir for another minute. Turn off the heat.
- Grease a flat steel plate or tray with ghee. Spread the mixture evenly using a flat spatula or the back of a steel bowl. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Once firm, cut into squares or diamonds using a sharp knife. Store in an airtight box.
Tips and Tricks
- Peel the almonds fully, or the texture gets gritty: Even one unpeeled almond in the blender can mess with the final texture. Soak them in hot water for an hour, then rub the skins off. If you're short on time, pour boiling water over them and soak for 15 minutes; the peels slip off faster when still warm.
- Dry the nuts before grinding: Pat the peeled almonds and pistachios with a towel to get rid of excess moisture. Wet nuts make the paste loose, which slows down the cooking and makes it harder to get the burfi to set.
- Grind in short pulses: Don’t run the mixer nonstop or you’ll heat the nuts and release oil. Blend in quick bursts. Scrape the sides in between to keep it even.
- Use a wide, nonstick pan: A wide surface cooks the mixture faster and evenly. Avoid steel or aluminium pans – the mixture sticks and burns before it cooks through.
- Don’t wait for perfect sugar syrup consistency: One-thread or two-thread syrup isn’t needed here. Just boil until the sugar melts completely and the water looks slightly thicker than plain water. If it turns sticky or amber, you’ve gone too far.
- Add ghee only after the paste thickens: If you add it too early, the mixture gets greasy and won’t bind. Stir until the paste starts to clump and pull away from the pan, then add ghee.
- Work quickly once off the heat: The mixture sets fast as it cools. As soon as it starts forming a dough-like ball, pour it into your greased tray and flatten it immediately. If you wait too long, it’ll harden in the pan.
- Don’t skip greasing the tray: Even a thin layer of ghee makes a difference. If the tray isn’t greased, the burfi sticks and breaks when you try to lift it out.
- Use a butter knife or bench scraper for clean cuts: Let it cool completely before slicing. For sharp edges, wipe the knife between cuts or grease it lightly.
- Store in a cool, dry place – not the fridge: Refrigerating changes the texture and makes it grainy. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. For gifting, wrap in parchment before boxing.