Badam Halwa

Ingredients

• 250 g raw almonds
• 370 ml full-fat milk, divided (120 ml for grinding, 250 ml for cooking)
• 100 g ghee, divided
• 150 g sugar
• 1 pinch saffron strands, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
• ½ tsp green cardamom powder
• 2 tbsp pistachios, thinly sliced, for garnish
• 1 tbsp flaked almonds, for garnish

Instructions

1. Boil 500 ml water, pour it over the almonds in a bowl and leave them to soften.
2. Drain the almonds and slip off the skins by pinching each one. Discard the skins.
3. Grind the peeled almonds with 120 ml cold milk to a thick, slightly coarse paste. It should look like wet sand, not a smooth butter.
4. Heat 4 tbsp of the ghee (about 50 g) in a heavy pan over low-medium heat. Add the almond paste and stir constantly until it smells nutty and turns a pale golden colour.
5. Pour in the remaining 250 ml milk and the saffron milk. Stir well and cook until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides.
6. Add the sugar. The mixture will loosen at first, so keep stirring until it thickens again and turns glossy.
7. Add the remaining ghee a spoonful at a time, then the cardamom. Cook until the halwa is thick and shiny and ghee shows around the edges. Remove from the heat.
8. Spoon into a serving dish, top with pistachios and flaked almonds, and serve warm.

Tips

• Peel the almonds while they are still warm. Cold almonds hold their skins and the halwa will taste slightly bitter and look dull.
• Grind to a coarse paste. A very fine paste turns pasty, while a coarse one gives the halwa some texture.
• Keep the heat low to medium and stir constantly. Almond paste catches on the base of the pan very easily.
• The halwa thickens further as it cools, so take it off the heat while it is still soft and glossy.