Badam Halwa / Almond Halwa

Badam Halwa / Almond Halwa is a very rich sweet which is generally made in marriages or during special occasions. Halwa in general is made with the nutty paste, ghee and sugar syrup. Taste of any Halwa would be delicious if its slightly warmed before eating. A pinch of saffron strands would definitely enhance the taste of this rich halwa and also its flavour. Though it takes good amount of preparation time, the final output is really worthy for that time. My sister gave me a tip to fasten the process. With her experience, she told me that the almond paste made with water takes lesser time to get cooked and come to the Halwa consistency than the paste made with milk and water. Amount of ghee to this Halwa is not more if its added at the end of the process. So, I can confidently say that the process can never go wrong and also its not eating so much ghee. So happily we can enjoy few spoons of Almond Halwa during this festival time.

Ingredients

Almonds - 2 Cups

Sugar - 1 Cup

Ghee - 3-4 tbsp

Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp

Yellow / Kesar Orange food colour - 1 pinch

Saffron - A pinch in luke warm water.

Method

Blanching Almonds

Soak the Almonds in water overnight and peel the skin off the almonds the next day. This is the regular method which we generally follow for blanching. You can also soak them in warm water or hot water and peel their skin off after few hours. Follow any method whichever is simpler and easier for you.

Making Almond Paste

Grind the blanched almonds using a mixer grinder to a fine, smooth paste by adding little water. I don't add milk while grinding the almonds at all. Keep the almond paste ready.

Making Sugar Syrup

In a thick bottomed vessel, add 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 a cup of water and make a thick sugar syrup. Add a pinch of food colour to the sugar syrup.

Making Saffron Syrup

In a small cup, add 2 tsp of hot milk and add a pinch of saffron strands. Leave them for few minutes. Then you would see the saffron strands melted and the colour of the milk would have turned kesar yellow/orange. Keep this syrup ready.

Halwa Preparation

• Transfer the Almond paste into a thick non-stick kadai / round pan. Cook the paste by closing the lid for sometime and stir the paste constantly.
• Add the sugar syrup into the paste and mix them well. Stir the mix continuously so that the almond paste thickens and come to the Halwa consistency. This would take some good amount of time. So, patiently stir the mixture in the kadai. You can fasten the process by closing the lid and cooking them on a low flame. This would thicken the paste to some level and then stir the mix again by opening the lid for sometime.
• Add the powdered Cardamom powder and the saffron syrup into the Halwa Mix.
• Check the consistency of the Almond Halwa now. If its almost closer to the Halwa consistency, add 3 tbsp of ghee into the Halwa. Stir them again for sometime and finally the Almond Halwa would come in shape with good aroma and taste.
• Switch off the flame. Transfer the Halwa into a suitable container and sprinkle some fried cashew nuts if required. Also, you can sprinkle few saffron strands just before serving...

Variations

Instead of cooking and stirring the Halwa mix in the stove, you can microwave the Halwa mix and fasten the process too.

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer Butter Masala, a rich creamy gravy dish is a very popular North Indian Side dish. Fresh Paneer cubes inside the rich, creamy tomato gravy makes the dish more exotic and the wonderful flavours of the Indian spices add more flavour to the dish.  I tasted the same "Paneer Butter Masala" in various places like "Sagar.." hotels in Bangalore, in trains, in many good restaurants in South India and in various restaurants in New Delhi, etc., Every version of this dish has its own taste and preparation style. I am sharing my version with all of you, though many of you would be preparing and enjoying this dish in your own way.  As its my daughter's favourite, I make this often for her.

Ingredients

Fresh Paneer Cubes - 2 Cups

Onion - 1 Big

Tomato - 2 Medium

Green Chillies - 1 Medium

Cashew Nuts - 1 Handful ( Optional ) ( You can substitute this with Almonds )

Turmeric Powder  - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala Powder  - 3 tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Sugar - A pinch

Salt - To Taste

Ginger Garlic Paste -  1 tbsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Butter or Ghee - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds ( Jeera ) - 1 tsp

Fresh Cream - 2 tsp ( Optional )

Coriander Leaves - To Garnish

Method

• In a big non-stick vessel \pan, shallow fry the Paneer cubes with 1 tsp of oil and keep them aside.
• Cut the onions, tomato and green chili and fry them on the same vessel with little bit of oil and make a smooth paste of those using a mixer grinder by adding a handful of Cashew nuts to this mixture. If you don't like to use cashews, substitute this with a handful of almonds and make a fine, smooth grounded paste.
• In the same vessel, add butter or ghee and the remaining oil. When it gets heated up, add the cumin seeds first.
• Then, add the Ginger Garlic paste into the oil and fry them on a low flame till the raw smell completely vanishes.
• After its done, add the grounded paste into the non-stick vessel. Add all the powders as mentioned above along with Salt and a pinch of sugar.
• Mix everything well and let them cook on a medium flame for sometime. When the oil gets separated from the mixture, its an indication that the tomato gravy is almost done.
• Add the fried paneer cubes into the gravy now and close the lid. Let it cook for a minute.
• Switch off the flame and finally add the fresh cream to the Paneer Butter masala and mix it well.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and add few drops of fresh cream on the top just before serving.
• It goes well with roti, chappathi or with any variety of  rice pulav.

Tips \ Variations

If you fry the tomatoes and onion before grinding, the preparation time for making the gravy is lesser.

You can always substitute Cashews with Almonds and also the fresh cream at the end is totally optional. Add fresh cream only if its made for a party or for a larger crowd. Fresh cream adds richness, sweetness to the side dish.

You can increase or decrease the spice powder levels according to your taste buds.