Badam Halwa is a fudgy, nutty pudding of sorts, made using a simple mix of ground almonds, ghee, milk and sugar. But this simple mix leads to an incredibly rich, moreish dessert with a distinct caramel flavour to it. It's also surprisingly quick to prepare, making it great as an emergency dessert (we've all been there)!
I absolutely adore how deep the colour of this halwa turns out. The key to getting it this hue is shared in the tips section further in the post!
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❓ What kind of almonds should I be using for this recipe?
In this recipe, you'll need to use either:
(i) almond flour (also known as almond meal), which is readily available in larger supermarkets,
OR
(ii) make this yourself at home using skinned almonds, ground in a coffee grinder until it is completely smooth. They need to be skinned - you can either purchase them this way or remove the skin yourself. You can do this by soaking the almonds in water for 30+ minutes to soften the skin, then removing them by hand. Air dry them before grinding - if they're wet, you'll end up grinding it into a paste, not powder.
🥜 Using different nuts instead of almonds
Can you use this recipe as a base for other nut halwas? Yes, absolutely! This recipe is the perfect template for any kind of nutty halwa your heart desires - just sub out the ground almonds for any ground nut (or even seed) of your choice, such as:
- cashews
- walnuts
- pistachios (*I'm not drooling, I'm not drooling, you are*)
- hazelnuts
- peanuts
- sesame seeds
- flaxseeds
- a combination of any of these nuts!
Just make sure they're not salted - a salted halwa is a very niche take on dessert, and I'm not quite sure I can endorse it.
💡 Useful tips + how to store
- The beauty of this halwa is in its rich, deep hue of golden brown. The key to achieving this is to really sauté the halwa well when you're in the final stages of the recipe. You want to keep going and sauté the heck out of it.This keeps roasting the almonds, and you'll be rewarded with this decadent dessert with a rich colour AND its fragrant aroma.
- This is a pretty rich, heavy dessert - much more so than Sooji ka Halwa or Gajar ka Halwa. It may be worth keeping that in mind when you're deciding how much to make, or what to serve it with.
- A suggestion - Badam Halwa goes really well served alongside vanilla ice cream. The ice creams helps cut through the richness of the halwa.
- Ideally, you want to serve Badam Halwa immediately. This halwa does NOT store great for a long time - it can become dry and crumbly. To negate this, you would need to return the halwa to a pan, add some milk and heat it over a medium-high heat, until the milk condenses and the halwa loosens up a bit.
📹 Video recipe
Most of my recipes do have instructional pictures, however this recipe instead has a dedicated video - yay! Check it out - and if you haven't already, please do subscribe to my channel!
I hope you try this recipe! The ROI on it is stellar, and it genuinely is SUCH a treat for those days when you want something rich, no holds barred.
Click here for more Pakistani dessert recipes like this!
Enjoy, with love x
📋 Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup (126 ⅘ g) ghee
- ⅔ cup (65 g) almond flour or skinless almonds ground at home
- 4 cardamoms
- ¾ cup (175 ml) whole cup milk
- ⅓ cup (65 g) sugar
- Nuts for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add ghee or oil to a pan over a medium heat. Add the flour to the ghee/oil and fry, stirring very often to prevent burning.
- Add in the cardamom and continue frying and stirring over a medium heat.
- After 5-7 mins, the almond aroma will be very strong and the colour will have changed to a deep golden shade. At this point, add the milk a little at a time, while stirring continuously.
- Add the sugar and to cook over a medium-high heat, stirring very often, until the mixture begins to condense into a thick, fudge-like consistency.
- The cooking is done when the mixture begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, is glossy and the ghee has risen to the top.
- Garnish with nuts (optional).
Video
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Paul
Hi Fatima,
I hope you are all well and that life is not too hectic.
This dessert loves lovely. Although I don’t have a sweet tooth I may make some as I know plenty of people who DO have very sweet teeth! I will try some too..
I have a soft block of Jaggery in the cupboard. Would this be a good alternative to granulated sugar?
I really adore Cardamoms, both green and black so will maybe increase the cardamom count.
I have my eye on your Chicken Karahi recipe. I’ll leave you stars when I get round to making it.
Thakyou.
Paul
Fatima
Hi Paul! Thank you for checking out the new recipe - I do hope you get around to trying it!
I reckon jaggery would work, although I haven't tried it myself. I don't foresee any potential problems. Hope you enjoy the Karahi - it's my most popular recipe on here!