Badam ka Halwa

North India's almond fudge: ground almonds cooked slowly in ghee and milk with saffron and cardamom

Origin: North India (Mughlai tradition)

From the journey of Almond.

Badam ka halwa is the prestige almond sweet of the North Indian winter and the festive table, a dense, glossy, ghee-rich fudge of ground almonds cooked down slowly with milk and sugar and perfumed with saffron and cardamom. It belongs to the Mughlai tradition, the Persianate court cuisine the Mughals carried into India, in which the almond, badam, by its very Persian name, was the luxury nut of celebration, ground to enrich and thicken the milk sweets of the imperial kitchen. It is a sweet made for cold weather and for occasions: Diwali, weddings, and the depth of winter, when its warmth and richness are most prized. The almond found a natural Indian home in Kashmir, whose valleys grow the country's finest, and the Mughlai kitchens of the plains turned it into the great repertoire of badam sweets, the halwa, the barfi, the kheer, and the almond milk badam doodh. Badam ka halwa is the richest of them, demanding patience above all: the blanched, ground almonds must be cooked in ghee over a low flame, stirred without pause, until the paste darkens, turns glossy, and releases the fat, the sign that it is done. Saffron tints it gold and cardamom scents it, and it is finished with slivered almonds and sometimes edible silver leaf. Served warm in small portions, badam ka halwa is the almond at its most opulent, a sweet of the old courts that still crowns the Indian celebration.

Ingredients

Halwa

250 g almonds
150 g sugar
120 g ghee
250 ml whole milk, warm
1 pinch saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
0.5 tsp ground cardamom

To finish

2 tbsp slivered almonds, to garnish
edible silver leaf (vark), optional

Method

Soak the almonds in boiling water for 20 minutes, then slip off the skins. Grind the blanched almonds with a little of the warm milk to a coarse, slightly grainy paste.
Heat the ghee in a heavy, wide pan over a low to medium flame. Add the almond paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 to 15 minutes as it dries, darkens to pale gold, and becomes fragrant.
Pour in the remaining warm milk a little at a time, stirring it in; the paste will sizzle and tighten. Add the sugar and the saffron milk and keep stirring.
Continue to cook, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, the mixture thickens to a glossy mass, and the ghee begins to separate and pool at the edges, 10 to 15 minutes more.
Stir in the ground cardamom. Spoon into a serving dish, level the top, and scatter with slivered almonds; lay on silver leaf if using.
Serve warm. It firms as it cools and can also be set in a tray and cut into diamonds like barfi.

Notes

Badam ka halwa keeps for up to a week, covered, in the refrigerator; reheat gently with a few drops of milk to loosen. For a richer, denser sweet, use khoya (reduced milk solids) in place of some of the milk. The same base, set firm in a greased tray and cut into diamonds, becomes badam barfi.

The Gastrographer

Name: Badam ka Halwa
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: North India
Ingredients: 250 g almonds; 150 g sugar; 120 g ghee; 250 ml whole milk, warm; 1 pinch saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk; 0.5 tsp ground cardamom; 2 tbsp slivered almonds, to garnish; edible silver leaf (vark), optional

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control