Kataifi Pistachio Burfi Truffles

Oct 22, 2024

Inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate, these pistachio burfi truffles combine the crispy kataifi pastry with mawa, pistachio cream, cardamom and saffron!

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Inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar, these pistachio burfi truffles are filled with crispy kataifi, pistachio butter, mawa, tahini and flavored with cardamom and a little bit of saffron. Covered in dark chocolate, these truffles are crispy, chocolaty and perfect for gifting your friends and family for the festive season!

9 chocolate truffles dusted with edible gold arranged in a plate

Over the last few months, I saw the viral Dubai chocolate all over my social media. I wanted to try making it myself, but didn’t get the time to experiment in my kitchen until I started working on festive recipes. And then I thought why not add an Indian touch and make pista burfi truffles with the same flavor just like by badam halwa truffles.

This is super easy to make, and the crunchy kataifi works beautifully with the pistachio and mawa. If you are a fan of chocolates with texture/crispiness like kitkat, then these truffles will be your new favorite. These would also make great edible gifts for your friends and family.

Finding Kataifi and Pistachio Cream

The 2 key ingredients needed for this recipe- the kataifi pastry and pistachio butter/cream may not be easily available at your local grocery stores. Check your local middle eastern grocery store for the Kataifi, I have been able to find it there. For the pistachio cream, make sure to use one which tastes good, this is the one I have used and I was able to buy it online. I didn’t like the one which was available at my local grocery store.

Let’s Make it!

First chop off 100 grams (2 cups) of kataifi pastry dough using a knife. Although I used shredded kataifi to begin with, I still chopped it into even smaller strands. Then add 1 tablespoon butter (I used salted butter) to a pan on medium heat. Once the butter melted, add the shredded pastry strands to the pan and start roasting it using a spatula.

a knife cutting the kataifi pastry — Cut the kataifi dough into small pieces

shredded kataifi being roasted in a pan — Roast it with little butter

Stir constantly and roast until the dough turns golden brown in color. Remember to stir constantly so that it browns up evenly. Also, be careful because this can burn quickly so stir continuously. Once browned, remove the pan from heat and transfer it to a large bowl. To the same pan, now add 225 grams (approx. 1 cup) of crumbled mawa. Stir with a spatula and roast until mawa turns golden brown in color. Remove the pan from heat.

spatula stirring mawa in a pan — Roast mawa in the same pan until browned

Transfer the roasted mawa to the large bowl with roasted kataifi pastry along with 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons pistachio paste (140 grams), 1 & 1/2 tablespoons tahini, 1 & 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder, pinch of salt and a generous pinch of saffron strands (crush the strands before adding to the mixture). Mix with a spatula until everything is mixed well together. Your mixture to make truffles is now ready. I have not added any extra sugar here because the pistachio paste was already sweetened.

a white bowl with roasted kataifi, mawa, saffron — Add roasted kataifi, mawa, pistachio butter, cardamom & saffron to a bowl

a spatula holding a mixture to show it's consistency — Mix until everything is well combined

Simple way to shape the truffles – roll with hands and dip in chocolate

There are two ways to make these truffles. The simple way is to roll the mixture into small balls, around 20 grams each. Chill the balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Once chilled, melt some chocolate melting wafers. I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate melting wafers (these don’t need to be tempered), melted them using my microwave in 15 seconds increments and then dipped the chilled balls into the melted chocolate to make your truffles.

a hand holding a truffle — Roll the mixture into small bowls

truffle being dipped in chocolate — Dip in melted chocolate and make truffles

Fancy way to shape the truffles- use candy mold

The fancier way would be to use a chocolate/candy mold. I dust some edible gold dust at the bottom of each cavity. Then pour the melted chocolate over the molds, covering them completely and then invert the mold so that excess chocolate drips over. Smoothen it out using a scraper. Place the mold in the fridge for 20 minutes for the chocolate to harden. If you are not using melting chocolate wafers, you would need to temper the chocolate first else the truffles will melt away at room temperature.

melted chocolate being poured over a mold — Spread melted chocolate over the mold

chocolate mold being inverted upside down to remove excess chocolate — Invert it over to remove all excess chocolate from the mold

Then fill each cavity with the prepared kataifi pistachio mixture and chill it for at least 1 hour. Then top with more melted chocolate and smoothen it out using a scraper. Chill until the chocolate hardens, I chill for at least 3 hours at this point. Remove the truffles from the mold and enjoy!

chocolate molds filled with kataifi pistachio mixture — Fill the molds with prepared kataifi mixture and chill

a spoon putting melted chocolate over truffles — Cover with more chocolate and set

Tips & Notes

Using melting wafers eliminates the need for tempering the chocolate thus making the process a little easier to make at home. I recommend using Ghiradelli dark chocolate melting wafers (or milk chocolate if you prefer that) because they taste the best in my opinion. If using a good chocolate bar, temper the chocolate first and then use it else your truffles will melt away at room temperature and it will be a mess.

The kataifi pastry I used was already shredded but I still chopped it to make it even finer. If you are able to get regular kataifi pastry which isn’t shredded, make sure to chop it well before using in the recipe.

The pistachio cream that I used was already sweetened so there was no need for any extra sugar in the recipe. Every brand of pistachio cream will taste different and will have a different consistency. If the brand you use has very thick consistency, you could microwave it in 15 seconds increments to thin it out a little and then use in the recipe. The brand I used had a thin consistency to begin with and so I used it straightaway.

If you are shaping the truffles by hands and are unable to bind the mixture, I would recommend adding a little more liquid in form of tahini or pistachio cream and then try squeezing some of the mixture between your palms and see if it binds and then roll it into truffles.