Badam Halwa

Badam halwa is a delicious dessert made with puréed almonds

Ingredients

3 cups Almonds(Badam)
1 cup Ghee
1 cup Milk
2 tsp Saffron
3 cups Sugar
1 pinch of Yellow food color

Method

1. Soak almond/badam for 2-3 hrs (suitable if soaked overnight) & peel off the skin or boil them for 30 mins incase of last minute preparation.
2.Put the peeled almonds in a blender and add milk to it .It should be enough to cover them.
3.Blend it into a coarse paste .Avoid thin texture of paste due to excess of milk.
4. Heat the pan & add 2 tbsp ghee to it .As ghee melts add badam mixture & give a quick stir.
5. Add sugar
6. Constantly stir the mixture as it can stick & burn from bottom.
7. Add Saffron & constantly stir as it boils from bottom.(Food color is optional if required)
8. Add additional ghee while its boiling.Constant stirring is a must till ghee starts oozing out.
9. Once halwa seperates out ghee its time to put it in a container & is ready to be served.
10. Garnish it with grated almonds/badam.

Alternative Tip:- dilute the sugar by making sugar syrup & then adding it to the badam mixture.

Nutritional Value

Almonds are a unique food in that they are among the best whole food sources and the best nut; these are packed with mono unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and most of that is oleic acid one of the two good fats responsible for lowering LDL cholesterol and rich source of vitamin E (containing 24 mg per 100 g) in the form of alpha-tocopherol. Almonds are low in saturated fat and, are cholesterol free. In addition, almonds are an excellent source of magnesium, copper, manganese, riboflavin (B2) and vitamin B, contains a healthy mix of essential micro-nutrients—vitamins and minerals. Almonds are also a good source of phosphorus and calcium, which are important minerals for bone health.

Almonds are the best source of protein providing 6 grams in one ounce, nearly as much as in one ounce of red meat. Also, research shows that the protein in almonds is high quality and highly digestible. An analysis of the protein provided in one ounce of almonds showed that almonds have a Protein Digestibility Combined Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of 0.44, which means that the protein in almonds is able to be efficiently digested, absorbed and utilized similar to black beans, lentils and peanut meal. Along with the quality protein in almonds, there are 3 grams of dietary fiber per ounce. Of this, about 80 percent of the fiber is insoluble and 20 percent is soluble fiber.