Almond fudge (Badam Halwa)

Almond fudge known as badam halwa in India is one of my fathers favorite sweets. Every time he visits an Indian restaurant he definitely looks for this item on the menu hoping that the restaurant offers this item. So when he visited me last time it was an absolute no brainer for me to decide to make this sweet for him. That first attempt at making this sweet tested my patience....why?? does it take that long to make this fudge ....not at all. This is a pretty quick and simple sweet to make but the first time I attempted it, I was not aware that soaking almonds in hot water helps to peel the skin easily, instead I soaked almonds in regular cold water and struggled to peel the skin which took a long while, hence the reference to my patience being tested.

Anyway since then I have made this sweet many many times and it is now among my favorite sweets too. This simple sweet which requires a minimum of ingredients can be made easily and tastes absolutely divine. The other good thing about this sweet is that it can easily be veganized making it ideal for those that are avoiding diary for any reason and it is made entirely with almonds having no flour, making it ideal for those that are avoiding flour or gluten.

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Ingredients and method to make almond fudge

1 cup of whole raw almonds

3/4 cup of sugar (or a little less for a milder sweetness)

a pinch of good quality saffron

4 tsp of clarified butter (ghee) or according to taste (optional)

milk as required (optional) (approximately 1/4 -1/2 cup)

Heat sufficient water ( it should be enough to cover all the almonds) on high heat until it comes to near boiling temperature.

Remove from heat and add raw whole almonds to the water. Let almonds soak in hot water for about 15 to 30 minutes.

Remove each almond carefully (remember it could still be pretty warm/ hot) and just press the almond slightly or rub the skin slightly and the skin peels off entirely.

Continue this process until all almonds are skinned.

Grind almonds in a blender adding water or milk as required to make a smooth paste ( I used milk this time)

Keep ground almond paste aside.

Warm 2 tsp of milk and add a pinch of saffron to it and let the saffron dissolve in that.

Add almond paste, sugar and saffron + milk mixture together in a heavy bottomed pan and place on medium to medium high heat and stir frequently.

Add clarified butter / ghee to this mixture at this point and mix well.

Keep a lid handy as more moisture in the mixture will cause the mixture to splatter.

If this happens just close with a lid, leave a very small gap for the moisture to evaporate and let the mixture evaporate a little.

Keep stirring until the mixture thickens and the mixture starts to leave the sides and comes together in the center. I remove mine when a little cooled mixture is able to be rolled, then I know it is done.

Remove from heat and cool a little.

Store in an airtight container and you can keep this without refrigeration for a period of about 3 - 4 days without problems.

Notes

In case you are making a vegan version of this sweet use water instead of milk while grinding almonds.

Also add saffron directly to the almond paste + sugar mixture when it is placed on heat and Skip the clarified butter ( it does not make much difference to the taste of this dish)

This fudge always tends to be on the softer side, it is not one that is going to be very hard.