Pistachio or pista paan is a very interesting dessert. As it's name suggests, it comprises pista /pistachio and paan and a perfect combination of these two ingredients. Pista barfi sheet is rolled out thinly and given a cone shape like paan then filled with dry fruits flavored with gulkand. Traditionally pista paan recipe calls for gulkand that is rose petal jam which is easily available in market in India but I skipped it as it's not available where I live. If it is available to you, add 1tbsp to the filling mixture and follow the rest process as it is. I have tried this recipe thrice so I will point out all the tips throughout the post which will help you to get perfect paan. Pistachio paan is a presentable dessert, easy to prepare at home and maybe a lot better than the market ones.
This pistachio recipe is also known as Paan mithai because its shape and colour is a little similar to Paan which a lot of people (mainly in north in India) are fond of.
If you are looking some Indian dessert recipes you may likeChum Chum Recipe, Kalakand Recipe In Microwave, Gulab Jamun Recipe With Milk Powder|Restaurant Style Gulab Jamun
Ingredients
For Pistachio Barfi
Pistachios 1 cup
Milk Powder- ¼ cup
Corn flour -1 tsp
Powdered sugar -1 tbsp
Edible green color 4-5 drops
Condensed milk -2 tbsp
Cardamom powder- ¼ tsp
For Filling
2 tbsp pistachios, blanched, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons almonds, blanched, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons walnut,chopped
4-5 drops Kewra essence
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (elaichi) powder
a few saffron strands(optional)
Let's Prepare Pistachio Paan Step By Step
Place a small size pan over medium heat and add the shelled pistachios. Roast the pistachios at medium low heat by continuously flipping so that they don't get burn.
Roasting helps to grind the pista into fine powder.
Now let the pista cool down and then grind them in mixer to a fine powder. You may sieve the powder to get rid of any bits of pista left.
Mix it with hand, it will turn into crumbly texture, again add 1 tbsp of condensed milk. Now you will be able to form a dough. If not add little more condensed milk. Note - Don't knead the mixture too much else pista will release oil and you will end up in mess.
Chop the dry fruits and set aside.
In a small pan take 1 tsp of butter or ghee (clarified butter) on low heat, add 1 ½ tbsp of condensed milk and stir it. Add chopped dry fruits, cardamom powder and kewra essence. Stir for 1 minute and turn off the heat.
Note- Do not cook the filling mixture for long time else it will get hard like rock.
Now keep the filling mixture aside. Now roll out this dough in between 2 sheets of plastic till it is 5 mm.
Cut 12 squares pieces, you may roll again the scrap pieces or enjoy them as pista barfi. I got 8 proper square pieces. Meet the centre point of pieces and join the other half part of barfi. Press it firmly to give a conical shape. Divide the filling into 8 equal portions. Fill it in the cones with the help of a spoon and garnish with silver leaf and chopped pistachios. Your home-made Pista paan mithai is ready to serve.
Tips
- This recipe can be doubled.
- I have added corn starch to bind the dough. If you wish you may skip it. It just worked for me all the time.
- You may use any dry fruits which you like.
- While shaping the pistachio burfi sheets you may notice some cracks, don't worry it's fine they will not break because we have used condensed milk. Just pinch the crack firmly to join.
- This is fast method so used condensed milk if you have enough time you may replace condensed milk with sugar. In that case you have to prepare sugar syrup first then cook the pista powder in it. Then the dough is rolled out.