Badam Halwa Recipe

                              Badam Halwa Recipe

                    

Badam Halwa Recipe - Ingredients

Preparation Time : 2 hrs | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian

Badam - 1/2 cup heaped
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Condensed Milk - 1 tbsp (optional)
Milk - 1/8 cup + 1/8 cup
Cardamom powder - a pinch(optional)
Saffron - a tiny pinch
Yellow food color - a tiny pinch

Method:

1. Soak almonds for 2 hrs. Then peel off the skin and make it ready.
   
2. Then grind the almonds along with 1/8 cup of milk to a fine/semi coarse paste as per your preference.I wanted mine grainy so grinded it to a semi fine paste.Take another 1/8 cup of warm milk crush saffron and add it.Add the yellow food color also,set aside.
   
3. In a pan - add sugar with water and let it boil until sugar completely dissolves.Then add the badam paste and stir it continuosly to avoid lumps.Once its completely blended with the sugar syrup add saffron milk and condensed milk and mix well.If you are adding cardamom powder add it now.
   
4. Keep stirring in low flame for 5mins, it will splutter so be careful.Then add a tsp of ghee at regular inervals stirring continuously.At one stage spluttering will stop, ghee will be completely absorbed and the halwa will start leaving the sides of the pan and small white bubbles will start appearing.This is the right stage, to switch off.
   

Cool down and store in a clean container.Badam halwa thickens with time.You can also pack as single servings(as kept in the plate in the background)as we get in shops.

My Notes:

• I love my badam halwa with a grainy texture so grinded it semi coarse.You can grind it to a fine paste too as per your preference.
•  I clicked the pics soon after making the halwa but after cooling down the halwa becomes thick
• You can soak badams for few hours for easy peeling or if you want to peel of instantly then add it to boiling water for 10mins then cool down and start peeling.
• If you like cardamom flavour add a pinch of cardamom powder. I love just the plain saffron flavour so skipped cardamom.
• Keep stirring continuously dont stop at all as it easily gets burnt.Use non stick pan to avoid burning and sticking.
• It will splutter so just be careful just a word of caution :)
• Saffron is the main ingredients that gives flavour to the halwa.
• Adding ghee at regular intervals avoids sticking.
• When refrigerated it keeps well for atleast a week but I bet it wont last till a week :)
• The right stage to switch off is when it starts leaving the sides of the pan.