Gajar ka halwa or Carrot halwa is a delectable Indian sweet/pudding made using red carrots…
Badam Halwa Parcels
Badam Halwa Parcel is a traditional South-Indian style rich halwa made using almonds that are packed in small butter paper parcels. This halwa is extremely popular in wedding catering and other functions where it is served as part of the breakfast or meals.
This halwa is soft, smooth and aromatic and has a melt in mouth texture. It’s unique and neat packaging in small parcels not only adds to the visual appeal and creativity, but it helps in portion control and needless to say tastes divine. If you want to make a rich, innovative and decadent dessert with just 1 cup of almonds, look no further! I personally like making this sweet for Deepavali, as it is a great gifting option to friends and family.
Badam halwa is quick, simple and easy recipe and made using only 5 ingredients – Almonds, Milk, Sugar, Ghee and Saffron. It also does not involve technical complexity unlike other sweets and a good choice for beginners.
Traditionally, this halwa is made by soaking almonds, peeling them and grinding along with milk to a smooth paste. The ground paste is cooked along with sugar and ghee and saffron is infused to enhance the taste, colour and flavour.
Almonds can be either soaked overnight or in boiling hot water for 1 hour, and it should be easy to peel. To be honest, if there is one time consuming step in this entire recipe, it is the peeling of almonds. If you want to avoid the hassle of soaking and peeling almonds, you can make use of almond flour as well which is easily available in countries like the US.
Coming to the ratio of ingredients, I use 1 cup of almonds, 1.25 cup of milk, 0.75 cup of sugar and roughly 0.5 cup of ghee for this recipe. This ratio works just right in terms of sweetness and texture.
Use a good quality butter paper, slightly greased with ghee to neatly pack small portion of halwa as parcels. The parcel not only helps to portion the sweet for individuals, but also helps to give a shape and a set texture once cooled. It also helps in slightly increasing the shelf life as it is tightly packed.
However if you ask me, can this recipe be made without the additional step of making the parcels, the answer is ‘Yes’. You can scoop out small spoons and serve the same halwa in a bowl. But bear in mind, unlike other halwa, this is quite rich and heavy, so you would not be able to consume in same quantities as other halwa like moong dal halwa or sooji halwa! Although a sweeth tooth person like me can devour in minutes 🙂
This halwa has a shelf life of 5 to 6 days at room temperature. I do not recommend storing this in fridge, as the ghee in halwa would solidify and alter the texture.
Badam Halwa Parcels
Badam Halwa Parcels or Badam Halwa is a catering style halwa made using almonds which are packaged into small parcels
Ingredients
- 1 cup Almonds
- 1.25 cup Milk
- 0.75 cup Sugar
- 0.5 cup Ghee roughly 8 tablespoons
- Saffron a large pinch
Instructions
- Soak 1 cup of almonds or badam in boiling hot water for one hour.
- Add saffron to some hot milk to let it infuse.
- Peel the skin of almonds.
- Transfer the peeled almonds to a mixer jar. Add half cup of milk and grind well.
- Next, add another half cup of milk to grind to a fine paste.
- Add the remaining 0.25 cup of milk to adjust the consistency of the paste. Mix well.
- Heat a heavy bottom kadai and add 4 to 5 tablespoons of ghee. Add the ground paste and mix.
- Cook on medium flame until the raw smell is gone and the colour slightly changes.
- Next, add sugar and mix well. You can use a small whisk to avoid lumps. The consistency of halwa will loosen at this stage and then start thickening.
- Once the halwa starts slightly thickening, add the saffron infused milk and mix well. Cook for couple of minutes.
- Now gradually add 3 to 4 tablespoons of ghee (1 tablespoon at a time), and keep cooking until the halwa comes together as one mass. The halwa should not drop easily from the ladle
- Transfer the halwa to a bowl greased with ghee. Let it cool. Once cooled, you should be able to make into soft balls. This is the right consistency.
- Use square pieces of butter paper and grease some ghee on it. Add one large tablespoon of halwa on it and fold as a parcel.
- Repeat the process for remaining halwa.
Notes
- Soaking almonds overnight or in hot water helps peel the almonds easily. If you want to avoid this step, you can make use of almond flour.
- Cook the almond mixture on medium flame while stirring continuously. The mixture tends to stick to the pan and might quickly turn brown or burn if left unattended.
- Sauteing the almond paste in ghee gives a good aroma to the halwa.
- You can adjust the amount of ghee while cooking. If the ghee is less, the halwa might turn out dense.
- Turn off the stove once the halwa reaches the correct consistency which is when the halwa comes together as one mass.
- Once the halwa cools, you should be easily able to roll them into soft balls.
- Applying small amount of ghee on butter paper prevents sticking of halwa to the paper.
- Store in an air tight container at room temperature in cool and dry area.
If you liked this recipe or have tried it, please share your feedback, comments and suggestions in the below comments. Do share the recipe with your friends and family.
