2010 Badam Halwa Adventure!

Last birthday, I wanted to surprise my husband with some dessert..and my eyes caught hold of a big box of Badam(Almonds).. I rushed to Internet, browsed few sites, saw some videos, and prepared Badam Halwa for the first time in my life!!

With limited resources, i managed to complete it..I didn't tell the name of the dessert I made.I asked my husband to close his eyes, and asked him to guess the name of the sweet he was tasting..ops..he said it was milk sweet.

Hey, that was not what I wanted to hear! anyways, he agreed it tasted like a dessert!

During last diwali my passion to cook badam halwa grew stronger..i wanted to prepare the dish for my in-law's house and my parents..i really wanted to prove my capacities...

i got almost 1 kg of almonds..all excited i prepared the badam paste..this time , I was confident..since I already prepared the dish earlier..but it was after I prepared the dish , I realized, that I was over-confident...I put ghee..and sugar to prepare the sugar syrup..oh no..!! it turned into caramel..hey, but that's not at all how halwa needs to be prepared!!..then i added the badam paste and I screwed it very well!!..i left the new unknown dish incomplete..and returned to in-laws...

2 days later, the badam returned to my in-law's home..in a different color, different shape..my mother added gram flour and gave a new life to the incomplete dish I left at mom's home.

Since then, my hubby was making fun of my Badam capabilities..he said..if he wanted to scare his boss or put some one in place..in his office..he told he'd give them the Badam I made.. He said, if I prepared Badam dish..he'll come home late..mm...he made much fun of me....for quite a while..

I got saffron in a nearby shop..

I was stacking the badam ingredients in my kitchen.

Yesterday...I felt quite bored...my eye stuck the badam box, kept on top of our fridge..

I couldn't stop myself from experimenting it...I took quite a less quantity of badam..In half hour, I prepared the dish...I tasted it ..wow..it melted like sugar..wow..the saffron did the magic..color, consistency everything was perfect..

My hubby came from office..i told him, I prepared a surprise sweet for him...He guessed it right ..my hubby was like " Oh noo..!! not again..!".

I made him open his mouth and put the sweet into his mouth..He smiled..He loved it..We had 1 cup of badam halwa..each.. couldn't stop eating it...

It was a success story..Today Badam met its happy ending..(into our mouth :) )

Moral of the story..: keep trying, stop not until u achieve success!!

Though I have troubled and tortured my dear and near ones..with my Badam delight..today it was a Hit ..Here goes my recipe :

Badam Halwa Recipe:

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• 1.5 cups Badam - microwave them for about 2 min and leave them soaked.Peel the skin and leave it soaked for about 2-3 hours. Grind the badam with milk into a coarse paste.

• 2 cups Milk + 2 cups Sugar - boil the milk till it reduces to 50%.

• Now add the magic ingredients into the milk : cardamom + saffron about 12-15 strands.Boil the milk with these, with constant stirring..after about 5-10min..the flavor of these 2 would blend well into the milk.

• Now add the badam paste into the condensed milk.Let it reduce to 50%..keep stirring constantly..add 1 cup of ghee and keep stirring..and let it reduce to 50%..let the paste come to a nice halwa texture..similar to upma.

• allow it to cool..take your cup and enjoy the most delicious mouth watering badam halwa.