Badam Almond Halwa Indian Dessert Recipe

Badam Almond Halwa Indian Dessert Recipe

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Prep: 4 hrs 20 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 4 hrs 50 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings

Badam halwa, made from ground almonds, milk, ghee, and cardamom, is a dessert fit for kings. While the recipe doesn't call for many ingredients, and the process isn't complicated, it takes love and time to make a good badam halwa. You literally need to stand over the pot and stir constantly to prevent the halwa from scorching or burning. Don't let that scare you off though, as the end result is well worth the effort, and the process itself just requires some mindful, attentive stirring.

Treat your family and friends to badam halwa, and they will love you for it.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Badam Almond Halwa Indian Dessert

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Put the almonds in a deep bowl and add enough hot water to them to cover them. Leave them to soak for 3 to 4 hours.

    almonds soaking in a bowl

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Once the almonds have soaked, remove their skins. To do this, press each almond between a thumb and forefinger and slide your thumb forward. This will make the almond slip out of its skin. Do this for all the almonds. Discard the skins.

    almonds with the skins removed

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Reserve a few almonds for garnishing. Slice them into slivers and set aside. Put the remaining almonds into a blender and add the milk to them. Blend the mixture to form a coarse paste (the same consistency as sooji/rawa).

    blended almonds

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  5. Set up a deep, heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. When it is hot, add 3 tablespoons of ghee to it.

    pan with ghee

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  6. When the ghee melts, add the almond-milk mixture to it. Stir well.

    almond mixture with the ghee in the pan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  7. Now add the sugar to the mixture and stir to mix well.

    almond mixture in a pan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  8. Add the saffron strands and mix well.

    Add the saffron strands to the almond mixture in the pan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  9. Cook the mixture over medium heat, constantly stirring to prevent it from scorching or burning. It can happen very easily, so be extra careful. Stir constantly. (At one stage, as the liquid in the mixture begins to dry up, it will bubble and splash, so be very careful while stirring as droplets can burn you badly. It might help to wear an oven glove/ mitt to protect your hand from the splatters during this stage.)

    almond mixture cooking in a pan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  10. Once the splattering stops (a sign that the halwa is almost done), add the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee and the food coloring and stir well.

    almond mixture with ghee and food coloring

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  11. Keep cooking the mixture until most of the moisture in it dries up. It will start to come away from the sides of the pan now, and you will also see a small amount of the ghee beginning to separate from it.

    almond mixture cooking in a pan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  12. You will know the halwa is ready when it no longer sticks to the pan at all. In fact, when you look at the bottom of the pan, it will be clean.

    almond mixture cooking in a pan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  13. Take the halwa off the heat and spoon it onto a flat platter or plate to cool.

    halwa on a plate

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  14. Serve warm or at room temperature in bowls, garnished with a pinch of thin almond slivers and the cardamom.

    Badam Almond Halwa Indian Dessert Recipe

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
745 Calories
41g Fat
90g Carbs
14g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 745
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 41g 52%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 24mg 8%
Sodium 328mg 14%
Total Carbohydrate 90g 33%
Dietary Fiber 7g 24%
Total Sugars 80g
Protein 14g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 222mg 17%
Iron 2mg 13%
Potassium 498mg 11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)