Kulfi - bite size

Hope you had a colorful Holi. Holi always takes me back to my days in Lucknow (India), when I was in middle school.. Hiding in the house, anticipating that my friends will catch me and drench me in color,  and then eventually when I was a colorful mess, to walk around the neighborhood, the sweets, the colors, the dholak and finally to get back home and clean the mess, followed by a nice meal and a long nap. Bliss!! The only deterrent  to all the fun was that Holi is almost always in March and so was our final exams.....and for those of you who have  been schooled in India, you know what final exams mean - endless hours of you know what :(. We would always get permission to play holi for two hours and somehow  the two would become multiple hours. Those were the good old days when cellphone was not yet invented, or maybe was invented but not a part of our household. Eventually we would get back home and get 'the stare' from mom ......it was all worth it !! 

Festival are all about togetherness, fun and food!! Desserts being a big part of the celebrations. This year I made kulfi - bite size, the reason for the bite size is that I love kulfi and you know what they say- a moment  in the mouth, forever on the hips. :)

1/2 gallon full fat milk
11/2 cups sugar
1 pack Gits - rubri mix
Finely diced Pistachio - handfull
4-5 tbsp Almond paste
1/4 tsp saffron
1/4 sp powdered cardamom

Take a big sauce pan and add the milk, bring to a boil, lower the flame add the saffron and let it simmer for an hour, stir occasionally. Add the almond paste, rubri mix, sugar and simmer for another hour or more till the milk thicken, and has a nice warm color - almost the same color as the pistachio shell. Don't forget to stir now and then, as the milk thickens you need to stir more often. Add the cardamom and diced pistachio. Let it cool to room temperature - without a lid. Don't freeze the liquid warm, as when you freeze it due to condensation you will get water crystals on the top - you don't want that.
Freeze in a ice cube tray or a freezer safe box. I prefer to freeze in a box with lid. Now wait patiently. Cut to bite size and serve with pistachio and saffron.

Know your ingredient - Pistachio

Pistachio  is as old as the hanging gardens of Babylon and originated in Persia and was a favorite of the queen of Sheba . That is one hearty nut - great for you with rich vitamins and minerals. Nutrition facts here . Though it is great for you it is said to be addictive. I certainly cannot resist them. It has the capability to make its own salt - not enough to give you the salty taste, but you may notice that the unsalted nut taste a bit salty too. You get them in many flavors - salted, sweet chilli and garlic onion . Great in salads, pasta, with fruits, on your oats, not to forget the yumicious pista ice cream. The shell have multi purpose uses too, as a mulch, compost, fire starter - as its rich in oils.  I love pistachio with ice cream and love it in my kulfi.  


Joining for the event -  Sweets for a Saturday #61 hosted by lisa