Badam Halwa from Almond Flour

Badam Halwa is said to be the king of all sweets is a delicacy made with almonds and ghee. It is mildly sweet and flavored with saffron. 

My son does not have a sweet tooth and prefers only selected sweets that are mildly sweet and this is one of them.

This makes a great gift for the festive season as well and I usually make this during diwali it navarathri. You can wrap them up in parchment paper as small packets or in small boxes so they are single serve.

The traditional method calls for soaking the almonds and peeling them and then grinding them to a coarse paste before proceeding to make the Halwa. The below recipe uses store bought almond flour and reduces the prep time to a minimal. I have given the preparation using almonds in the notes section.

The taste remains the same in both the methods.

Ingredients Required:

Almond Flour - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/2 to 3/4 cup depending on your sweet tolerance

Milk - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1/2 cup 

Saffron - big pinch

How to make:

Soak the saffron in a tblsp of milk and set aside.

In a heavy bottom pan, add 1/4 cup of milk and the sugar. Bring to a boil till the sugar melts.

Add the almond flour and bring the mixture together.

Add the remaining milk and saffron.

Start adding ghee in intervals and keep mixing the Halwa till it leaves the pan and come together. 

The stage where the Halwa does not stick to the sides of the pan or when you try taking a small amount in your hand you should be able to make a ball without sticking to your fingers.

The whole process takes less than 20 minutes and add the full amount of ghee in stages.

Remove from pan and allow to cool down a little before you start packing them as small packets in parchment paper or small containers.

Keeps well for a week.

How to make with whole Almond?

If you do not have almond flour the same Halwa can be made with whole almonds. Traditional method of making the Halwa uses whole almonds 

Soak 3/4 cup of almond flour for an hour. Peel them and grind them coarse with 1/4 cup of milk.

In a heavy bottom pan, add the remaining milk and sugar and continue as the above recipe.

Notes:

The taste is the same whether you use almond flour or whole almonds but much easier with almond flour.

Adjust the sugar as per your taste. The sweetness should be on the lesser side to bring out the flavor of badam.

The color is achieved only with saffron. If you want you can add some yellow food color.

Keep stirring the Halwa as it would burn easily.