Rajasthani Badam Halwa (Almond Pudding for ICC)

For this month's Indian Cooking Challenge, Valli gave us Vaishali's recipe for Badam Halwa/ Almond Pudding. My mom makes awesome badam burfi, but I have never tried badam halwa before, so I really wanted to make it before the deadline. I knew I had some whole almonds in the freezer and this is a great recipe to use them up before I go buying for more. Holiday season is a great time to stock up on nuts, flour & sugar since many of the stores have them on deep discounts. So if you have the pantry space, then this is the right time to go shopping for dessert & baking staples :-)

Sorry, I digressed. Coming back to this amazingly delicious badam halwa. Recipe had clear instructions to use non-stick pan to avoid sticking, so I used by brand new ceramic coated pan that I bought from India and it worked like a charm.

This is a rich and decadent dessert. My husband, my 2 year old and I have been eating a spoonful everyday and saving the rest for the next day because we don't want to get over -- it is that good. With just a few ingredients this is sure to be a hit with anyone. Thank you Valli & Vaishali for choosing this easy & yummy treat.

Ingredients:

Almonds - ½cup
Sugar - ½cup (adjust as per taste)
Milk - ~½cup
Ghee - ¼cup
Ground Cardamom - ¼tsp

Method:

• Soak almonds in water overnight. In the morning, remove the peel and grind them along with just enough milk to make a smooth paste.
• Melt ghee in a nonstick pan, add the ground almond paste and cook on medium-low flame until the mixture turns pinkish and gets fragrant, about 12~15 minutes. There is a change in the consistency of almond paste -- it starts off being smooth and silky, but the mixture becomes slightly crumbly and dry.
• Add the milk, sugar and ground cardamom. Stir well and cook till the ghee starts to ooze out from the sides, this take another 10~12 minutes. Serve hot, cold or at room temperature.