Celebrating Ugadi

Today is actually a New Year. Yes, New Year. Celebrated in Karnataka as Ugadi, and also in Andhra and Maharashtra, today is a beginning of a new year for many Indians. As any other festive day, it must be a vegetarian day (see my previous post), but it is also a day to eat sweets. I am going back to the wonderful 1000 Indian recipes book for a new dessert recipe - Pistachio Burfee.

Start with pistachios. Pulse them into a powder.

Add confectioner's sugar and cardamom powder . This is one amazing never-fail flavor combination - pistachios, cardamom, and a bit of sweetness! Adding milk or cream to it is a good idea too, if you are making ice cream. But back to dessert at hand. Pulse until well mixed.

Add just a bit of warm water to pull the mixture together as a kind of dough.

Recipes did say to let mixture stay a bit grainy, but I think I let it be too grainy and will pulse the nuts to a finer powder. Roll the mixture to an even layer. I am actually putting it into a dish lined with wax paper and making it even out that way.

I let the container sit in the freezer for about an hour. After a brief cooling, flip the contents out. Remove the wax paper lining. For special occasions, it is customary in India to use silver foil as decoration. You can buy it in pastry shops or online.

It is very thin genuine pure metal sheets (silver or gold, I have both) that are safe for consumption in small quantities. Add a silver leaf on top of the burfee. Cut into small pieces.

Enjoy! Happy New Year!