Badam Halwa Recipe (South Indian Almond Halwa)

Badam halwa recipe @ South Indian style Almond halwa, is the ultimate royal sweet made with simple ingredients like blanched almonds, milk, sugar, ghee and fragrant saffron. With its melt-in-the-mouth texture and rich aroma, this easy and best sweet shop style sweet is a festive favorite for Diwali celebrations!

Badam halwa (Almond halwa) is one of the sweets I wanted to share in my space for long time. Last year, I tried making it for Sendhil’s birthday and our anniversary using stove top & microwave version but I din’t get it up to the mark. Of course it came out tasty but not perfect like in sweet stalls. Finally I watched Vahchef’s video & it helped me to make yummy, ghee dripping badam halwa. I made few changes in the method & recipe as per my convenience and I was very happy with the outcome. I have a craze for badam halwa since my childhood. Every year my dad used to buy badam halwa during Diwali just for me & my sis even though it is one of the costliest sweets those days.

As you all know, it is sold in small packets wrapped in butter paper. Nowadays each piece costs Rs.25 in which you can find only 2-3 spoons of halwa. Even now whenever I go to Salem, I tell Sendhil to buy a packet for me from Salem famous “Lakshmi sweets” and Krishna sweets and I taste each & every spoon of it guessing the ingredients and its quantity used.

Recently I tasted a packet of badam halwa from “Anna kutteera” hotel here in Bangalore. But its color was red and it was wrapped in a polythene sheet instead of butter paper as I shown in last picture. I am so happy that I can make my favourite badam halwa myself and no need to buy from outside anymore.

Friends, Do try this badam halwa without worrying about the quantity of ghee. It will come out great. It is no harm to have this sweet with so much of ghee once in a year and that too for Diwali, right ??. As people says, its really a sinful indulgence !! Here is my routine dialogue: To make this sweet perfect, do refer my “Notes” section before you start doing it. Ok, lets see how to make this yummy, rich Indian dessert Badam halwa with stepwise pictures below. Try it for this Diwali and treat your family.

Quick Notes for US & Abroad Kitchens

• Almond Selection: California raw almonds from Costco (Kirkland Signature) or Trader Joe’s work wonderfully. To save prep time, store-bought blanched slivered almonds or skinless whole almonds can be used directly without soaking or peeling.
• Electric Stovetop Heat Control: Cooking almond paste requires steady low heat. On electric coil or glass cooktops, maintain the burner on setting 2 or 3 (low). Electric elements hold strong residual heat, so keep stirring continuously with a silicone spatula to prevent the halwa from catching at the bottom.
• Cookware: A heavy-bottomed non-stick kadai or an enameled cast iron Dutch oven is ideal. This ensures even heat distribution and allows the halwa to glide smoothly off the sides once the ghee is absorbed.
• Saffron & Ghee: Quality saffron steeped in a tablespoon of warm whole milk gives that authentic wedding-style golden hue and aroma without requiring artificial food colors. Use pure cow ghee for the best flavor.

Badam Halwa Recipe (South Indian Almond Halwa)

Chitra

Rich n delicious Badam halwa to make your festivals/Occassions more special !

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Sweet, Sweets

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

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Main Ingredients

• ½ cup Badam / Whole almonds (levelled, approx. 75 g / 2.6 oz)
• ½ cup Milk (to grind badam, approx. 120 ml / 4 fl oz)
• ½ cup Sugar (approx. 100 g / 3.5 oz)
• ¼ cup Water (to melt sugar, approx. 60 ml / 2 fl oz)
• 2 tbsp Condensed milk (approx. 30 ml / 1 fl oz)
• ¼ cup Melted ghee (plus 2 tbsp extra / needs 1/2 cup maximum, approx. 90 ml / 3 fl oz)
• 1 pinch Saffron threads (few)
• ¼ tsp Cardamom powder or badam essence (optional, a pinch)
• 1 pinch Yellow food color (a big pinch, optional)

Instructions

 

• To peel the skin of badam and to grind it thick using less milk, follow this procedure. Boil badam in water for 1-2 minutes. Leave it in hot water for 5 minutes and remove the skin. It will come off easily ELSE roll boil badam in hot water for a minute, drain the hot water and show the badam under running tap water. Skin will come off easily.
• For grinding badam, take badam in a suitable mixie jar and grind it coarsely to the maximum without adding milk or water. Wipe the sides & lid of jar and again grind it adding less milk.wipe and add little more milk. Grind it to a slightly grainy paste. Here I used nearly 1/2 cup of milk for 1/2 cup of peeled badam.Remove the paste in a bowl and set aside.Soak saffron in a tbsp of milk.Add food color to this milk and keep aside.
  
• In the mean time, in another burner, melt 1/2 cup of sugar using 1/4 cup of water. No need to bring any consistency. Just stir the sugar and melt it completely.Switch off
  
• In a good non-stick kadai, add 1 tbsp of ghee and after its heated, simmer the flame to low completely and add the badam paste. Mix well till ghee is absorbed completely. Badam paste will absorb all the ghee and thickens. Now add saffron ,food color mixed milk to the badam paste. Mix well.
  
• After the color is well distributed with the mixture, add the sugar water. Mix well. Add condensed milk.
  
• Mix till all the sugar is absorbed by badam and mixture turns liquid. Keep the flame low. Keep mixing else it will burn in the bottom very quickly. When the mixture starts to boil with bubbles,add 1/2 tbsp of ghee. Initially big bubbles will form in the center. The mixture may splutter, take care. Keep mixing with the ladle staying nearby. After 30 seconds, again add 1/2 tbsp of ghee and mix well. Ghee will be absorbed by halwa. Repeat this until you finish half of the ghee.
  
• All big bubbles will subside & Halwa will thicken leaving small air bubbles. Keep mixing in low flame. Again add 1/2 tbsp of ghee and halwa will start to leave the sides of pan. Do not switch off now. Keep adding 1/2 tbsp of ghee in regular interval and mix well.
  
• At one stage,say in 2 minutes, halwa will stop taking ghee & it will start to ooze out little ghee in the sides of pan.i.e. when you move the halwa all over the pan, you will see the kadai shining with ghee in the sides..U can find traces of ghee in the sides of non-stick pan. Switch off the flame now, add the remaining ghee and remove the halwa in a bowl.
  
• The thing is halwa should leave the sides of pan & oozes little ghee in the pan. Do not wait for more ghee to come out. Remove as soon as you see halwa turning glossy. No problem if the halwa is sticky because it will thicken after it cools down. Just remove & keep in a serving bowl. Leave it untouched for 2-3 hours until it cools down completely.
• Suppose if you keep mixing for long time after it starts to leave the ghee, halwa will become chewy after it cools down. So be careful. This halwa may not take all the 1/2 cup of ghee. It will take around 1/4 cup + 2-3 tbsp of ghee. Keep in mind, as soon as you see traces of ghee in the sides, remove it & switch off the flame. Add the remaining ghee on top of halwa if you wish.

Notes

• Do the entire process only in low flame. Though it takes more time to cook in low flame,it will be safe. Beginners please follow this tip else halwa might burn in the bottom.
• Secondly keep stirring with the ladle without moving away. Stay nearby because the entire procedure gets over in 15 minutes based on the quantity you use.
• Lastly remove the halwa as soon as it starts to leave ghee in sides of pan.No problem even if the halwa is slightly sticky. It will set once it cools down. If you feel, it is very sticky even after cooling down, you can heat the halwa anytime adding few spoons of ghee and bring it to right consistency. But if you over do the mixing, it will become chewy after cooling down which you cannot troubleshoot.
• I din’t notice the time taken to reach the final stage. I will update it when I make it next time.
• Use mentioned quantity of ghee. If you want to reduce, halwa will turn sticky. At the same time, no need to use 1/2 cup of ghee. It takes 1-2 tbsp lesser. I have given a rough measure. It may vary.
• Color of halwa may vary slightly based on the quantity of saffron & food color you use.

Keyword Almond halwa recipe, Badam halwa, Badam halwa recipe, Badam halwa vahchef’s recipe, How to make badam halwa

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Enjoy this delicious dessert for Diwali & other special occasions and treat your family.

For more traditional festive ideas, check out my complete collection of South Indian Diwali Sweets and Snacks Recipes.