Badam Halwa/Almond Halwa/Almond Fudge
Ingredients
1. Badam/almonds 1 cup
2. Whole Milk 1 cup with a few saffron strands soaked in the milk
3. Green cardamoms 4 or cardamom powder
4. Sugar 11/2 cups
5. Water 1/2 cup
6. Saffron strands soaked in 1/4 cup milk
7. Ghee 3/4cup(add 2-3 tbsp more if you find the halwa sticky)
Method Of Preparation
1. Blanch The Almonds & Make A Paste
I'm going to show you a very easy-peasy way to blanch the almonds where you don't have to put in any effort to peel the skin.
A. Fill a saucepan with water & bring it to a rolling boil.
B. Add almonds to the boiling water. Let it stay in the water for exactly a minute.
C. Turn off the gas & transfer the almonds onto a colander & rinse it under cold running water to stop the cooking process.
D. Pat dry the almonds & place an almond in between your thumb & index finger & give the broad end of the almond a gentle press, it will come off the skin.
E. Your almonds are now ready to be ground to a paste.
2. Grinding The Almonds
A. Take a cup of milk & soak some saffron stands in it. Add the blanched almonds to this milk & let them remain in the milk for a minute.
B. In a blender add the almonds & saffron soaked milk & cardamoms or cardamom powder.
C. Blend everything together to a coarse paste. Do not blend it too fine, let it be the consistency of idly batter(a little coarse).
3. Making The Halwa
A. In a heavy bottomed pan, add 1/2 cup of water & sugar.
B. On a medium flame, Keep stirring until the sugar completely dissolves in water.
C. Then increase the flame & let the water boil. Do not stir now.
D. Once the water starts boiling turn off the flame & immediately add the ground almond mixture. Mix it well with the water & turn on the flame to low.
E. On a low flame, start stirring the almond mixture. Stir the mixture until there are no more or only a couple of bubbles in the mixture or until the mixture is no more liquidy & has become a little thick(only a little thick). This takes around 25 minutes. Make sure the entire stirring is done on a low flame.
F. After 25 minutes, add the saffron soaked milk (1/4 cup) & again stir it continuously but gently for two minutes or until all the milk is absorbed.
G. Now add 1/4 cup ghee, mix it well & stir till all the ghee is absorbed.
H. Again add 1/4 cup more, mix it well & stir till all the ghee is absorbed. Repeat it again for another 1/4 cup of ghee. You need to add ghee till you get a very soft, glossy, melt in the mouth consistency halwa.
I. Keep stirring till the halwa no more sticks to the sides of the pan. After 25 minutes, you will have to cook for another 12 minutes for the halwa to be done fully.
J. After 12 minutes or after all the ghee is absorbed & the halwa stops sticking to the sides of the pan & gets a little thick, stop stirring the halwa. When you stop stirring, you will see bubbles forming on the halwa, that is when you know your halwa is done & that you need to turn off the flame.
H. Do not cook the halwa till it becomes too thick. It will thicken a while after its done. If you let it thicken on the gas, then by the time it cools down, your halwa will become hard & chewy. So turn off the gas at the right moment. Take a little on your ladle & see, the halwa will look glossy & no more grainy & when you taste it, it will melt in your mouth. If you need to make burfis with this, then cook till it gets a little more thicker.
How To Check The Halwa For Doneness
1. You will see bubbles on the halwa, that is when you need to turn off the flame.
2. When u move the spatula from one end to the other end of the pan & try to take some halwa on the spatula, it should feel a little heavy. It should only feel a little heavy & not too much. If it feels too heavy or difficult to take some halwa on the spatula, then it means you have cooked it too much & by the time your halwa cools down, it will become hard & chewy.
3. Take a little halwa on your finger to see if it's sticky. If it's not sticky, then your halwa is done.
4. Try to take a little & roll it in between ur fingers. If your able to make a ball out of it, then it's done.
5. Using your ladle, take some halwa & drop it from a height, it needs to fall like that of dosa batter, a little thick but flowy. That is again an indication that your halwa is done.
6. Take a little halwa and pat it on a parchment paper & when you try to remove it, it should come off easily & not stick to the paper.
You will be able to do 3, 4 & 6 only after the halwa has cooled down completely.
After the halwa is cooled, If you still find it sticky, put it back in the pan & add 2-3 tbsp ghee & stir it well till all the ghee is absorbed.
Notes
1. Do not boil the almonds for more than a minute, otherwise, it will become too soft.
2. You can reduce or increase the quantity of sugar if you want to.
3. Cook only on a low flame. Do not increase the flame at any point of time.
4. Cook the halwa only on a heavy bottomed pan or a non stick pan, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan & burn the halwa.
5. I have also made this halwa with just 3 tbsp ghee & it still tasted very good. So, if you are calorie conscious, then you can reduce the quantity of ghee :) when you reduce the ghee, your halwa will not turn out glossy but it will still taste good.
6. Add the ground almond mixture only after the sugar in the water completely dissolves.
