Pista Uses: How to Use Pistachios in Indian Cooking

Quick answer: Pistachios go into Indian cooking in three forms — chopped or slivered as a finishing garnish, ground into a coarse powder for barfi, halwa and thandai, or soaked and blended into a paste for rich gravies and kheer. The one rule that decides everything is heat: pista loses its green colour and turns dull when it is fried hard or baked long, so it goes in near the end, not at the start.

Also known as: pistachios are called pista in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and Kannada, pesta in Bengali, pista pappu in Telugu and pista paruppu in Tamil. They are the seed of the Pistacia vera tree, and the green you want on your mithai comes from the kernel itself, not from any added colour.

What do pistachios actually add to a dish?

Three things, and it helps to decide which one you are after before you pick up the knife. There is the bite — a firm, slightly waxy crunch that survives in kheer and pulao where almonds tend to go soft. There is the colour — that pale green flecking on a barfi or a bowl of phirni that no other nut gives you. And there is a mild, faintly sweet, almost buttery flavour that sits politely behind cardamom and kesar instead of fighting them.

Want only crunch? Chop them coarse. Want colour? Sliver them thin so the green face shows. Want the flavour running through the whole dish? Then you need a powder or a paste.

Should you blanch, soak or roast pista first?

Usually none of the three, which surprises people. Good pistachios are ready to use straight from the jar, and every extra step costs you either colour or crunch. Blanch them — thirty seconds in hot water, then rub off the thin skin — only when you want the brightest possible green for a mithai garnish. Soak them for two to three hours only when you are grinding them into a paste. And roast only lightly, in a dry pan on low heat for a minute, when you want a deeper flavour in a dessert. The moment they start to brown, the green is gone for good.

6 ways to use pistachios in Indian cooking

• Mithai garnish: slivered pista pressed onto kaju katli, barfi, peda and modak while the sweet is still warm, so it sticks instead of rolling off.
• Kheer, phirni and sewai: stir chopped pista in during the last five minutes with a pinch of crushed green cardamom so the bite survives the simmer.
• Thandai and badam-pista milk: soak overnight with almonds and grind smooth. This is the one place pista is a main ingredient rather than a garnish.
• Pista powder in halwa and ladoo: a coarse powder folded into besan or atta halwa right at the end lifts both the colour and the finish.
• Pulao and biryani: a small handful of chopped pista tossed for seconds in ghee with the browned onions, then scattered over the rice at the dum stage.
• No-cook festive namkeen: chopped pista with roasted makhana and raisins makes a party bowl in five minutes.

Chopped, slivered, powdered or paste — which one when?

How do you make pista powder without it turning oily?

Pistachios are naturally high in oil, so a long grind gives you a sticky butter instead of a powder. Three habits prevent it. Chill the kernels in the fridge for twenty minutes first. Grind in short pulses of two to three seconds rather than one continuous run. And add a spoon of the sugar or milk powder from your recipe into the jar, which absorbs the released oil and keeps the mix loose. Stop while the powder is still slightly coarse — that texture looks better on mithai anyway.

How much should you use, and how do you store it?

For a garnish, one to two teaspoons of chopped pista per serving is plenty; it is an accent, not a filler. For thandai or a pista-paste gravy, count ten to fifteen kernels for two servings. Store shelled pistachios in a clean airtight jar away from the stove, because the same oils that make them rich also make them go stale in heat. Through an Indian summer, the fridge is the safer shelf. Kept cool and sealed, they hold their snap for months.

Quality matters more with pista than with most dry fruits, because a dull, over-dried kernel gives you neither the colour nor the crunch you were buying it for. Our handpicked pistachios are sorted by hand, with no artificial colours, no fillers and no preservatives.

FAQ

Can you eat the thin skin on a pistachio?

Yes. The papery purple-brown skin on the kernel is perfectly edible and most Indian recipes leave it on. Peel it off only when you want the brightest green for a mithai garnish, and blanching for thirty seconds makes it slide away easily.

Why did my pistachios turn brown in the sweet?

They went in too early or met too much heat. Pista browns quickly in hot ghee or a long bake, and once the green fades it does not come back. Add it in the last few minutes of cooking, or scatter it on after the pan comes off the flame.

Can I use salted pistachios in Indian sweets?

Better not. Salted and roasted pista will throw off the balance of a kheer or barfi and the roasting has already dulled the colour. For cooking, always keep a jar of plain, unsalted kernels separate from your snacking packet.

If you are stocking the kitchen for the festive months ahead, a jar of ODM Pistachios (Pista) is an easy place to start.