Crunchy Pista Squares

I'm a snack monster, so come Diwali and I'm faced with the difficult task of deciding which sweet it's going to be this year. When I made the crunchy pista squares last year, I didn't realize it was also vegan. While my pick for this year still hangs, I'm sharing this simple recipe I tried last year.

In a nutshell, this is your regular samosa strip filled with pista mix, deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup.Please don't get intimidated by the elaborate recipe. It takes only 15 minutes to put together a plateful. Cheer on...give it a try!

32 thin samosa strips cut into smaller squares
(4 squares from 1 strip)

For the filling
1.Peel and dry the pistachios on a tea towel.
2.Grind the sugar and pistachios in a blender coarsely.
3.Place this mixture in a saucepan, sprinkle a few drops of water and heat over a gentle flame till the mixture is cooked and leaves the sides of the pan. Add the cardamom powder and mix well.
4.Cool and divide the mixture into equal parts.

For the sugar syrup
1.Dissolve sugar with half a cup of water and simmer for 5 minutes till the syrup is of 1-string consistency.
2.Add the saffron and lemon juice and mix. Remove from the fire and keep warm.

How to proceed
1.Place a portion of the pistachio filling in the centre of one samosa strip.
2.Apply the flour paste on the samosa strip around the filling, taking care to leave the edges dry, so that the layers separate while the square is being fried.
3 Place another samosa strip on top and press gently around the filling in order to stick the two strip together. Apply a little flour paste in the centre of the stuffed square and stick another samosa strip.
4.Deep fry in hot oil until golden in colour. Drain on absorbent paper.
5.Transfer the squares into the warm sugar syrup. Allow the excess syrup to drain before removing.

Image and Recipe: Kuch Mitha Ho Jaye