I was a pretty stereotypical kid when it came to liver and onions.
It was a “no, thank you” for me.
Actually, I’m sure I said something much less refined than that, but the message was the same.
On one occasion, my mom decided to trick my sister and me by telling us we were having steak, hoping our distaste for liver was all in our heads.
It was not.
(Good try, though, Mom.)
I was thinking about whether the name of something changes how you taste it this week when I made an Indian dessert called barfi. According to several checks I made online, yes, it is pronounced exactly how it seems it should be.
The good news is, though, the name (as it sounds in English) is nothing like the texture and flavor that it may invoke. It’s kind of like a fudge and is traditionally made with milk fats and ghee. In our case, though, this version makes the job a whole lot simpler, with excellent results.
This comes from the blog “Sanjana Feasts.” You can find the original post at https://www.sanjanafeasts.co.uk/2023/10/pistachio-barfi-recipe-2-ingredients. Because this was a two-ingredient recipe, I didn’t add or subtract anything to it.
Pistachio Barfi
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups pistachio ice cream I used a pistachio honey version
- 4 1/3 cups whole dry milk don’t use non-fat
Instructions
- Prepare a nine-by-13-inch pan by lightly greasing the interior with oil or cooking spray, and set it aside.
- Add the ice cream to a large skillet, set over medium low heat. Stir regularly until the ice cream is melted completely.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the dry milk, making sure to fully incorporate it into the ice cream.
- Now, continue stirring constantly, keeping the mixture on low heat for about 15 minutes. Once it has thickened into a sticky paste (kind of a thick fondant texture), remove it from the heat and transfer to the prepared pan. Spread it out evenly and press it flat.
- Let the barfi cool completely on the countertop before cutting. I ended up putting mine in the refrigerator and cutting it cold, because it was a little less sticky to do it this way, but it does not need to stay refrigerated.
- Store it in an airtight container.
This was really good. It created a chewy bar that had a nice nuttiness and wasn’t too sweet. You could easily make this out of any ice cream flavor you like, and it would have been nice with some chopped pistachios pressed into the top.
It’s a lot of hands-on stirring, but the final result is really satisfying and tasty.
And if you need to call it something else to get your friends and family to try it, I think that’s OK. Of course, you can also tell them the real name and hope they leave it all for you.
Even better, though, just say it’s flavored like liver and onions. That would have kept me away.
This piece first appeared in print March 19, 2026.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
