'Halwa' or 'Sheera' is like a specialty on several occasions in my family be it a birthday, pooja, family get together, festivals and even on Sundays sometimes. We make Sooji(semolina), Atta (flour), Gajar (carrots), Dudhi (bottlegourd) and many other types of HALWA (SHEERA) in my home. I think the most common Halwa that you'll notice being made in almost every Indian Home would be SOOJI (SEMOLINA) & ATTA (FLOUR)...I still remember as a kid when that first whiff of the ghee being warmed up and the whole house filled the fragrance of whichever Halwa or Sheera being made. I use to get so excited as a child and even now whenever we make it.
The reason why we don't make this delicacy often is because of the amount of GHEE & SUGAR that goes into any type of HALWA. But it's alright to indulge in some extra calories on some special days. I really wanted to make some different kind of Halwa than the usual ones being made in my home. So this was the perfect week as it was my husband's birthday as well as the Month of Ramadan is coming to end this Saturday plus it's the MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND.It is my way to share something sweet to end your fasts or celebrating special occasion or even having family/friends visit you in this coming weekend (ofcourse maintaining social distancing and being careful ) with a mouthful of this BADAM HALWA or ALMOND HALWA goodness.
Normally it's made with almond paste or crushed almonds but to make my work easier I used blanched ALMOND FLOUR that's readily available in the market and it's a lot easier when you don't have the patience to soak almonds overnight. I made it 2-3 times in different ways to get the perfect texture I wanted in last few days and the one I am sharing is my favorite one. So here is a quick list of ingredients and detailed recipe...
PREP TIME: 10 MINS COOK TIME: 30 MINS SERVES- 4-6
INGREDIENTS:-
2 Cups Blanched Almond Flour (I get it from Costco)
1 cup Sugar (add little less than a cup if you prefer less sugar)
1 cup Milk
few strands of saffron
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
3 tablespoon sooji (Semolina)(optional)
skip the sooji if you don't want crunchy texture
6-7 Table spoons Ghee
*In a thick bottom pan, add the ghee and let it warm up on medium heat. Once the ghee is heated add the sooji and let it cook till its dark pink or light brown in color.
*You can skip the sooji if you don't like crunchy texture to your halwa in the end or if you are making it for kids.
*Add the almond flour to ghee with sooji and if you didn't put sooji just lower the heat and add in the almond flour.
*Lower the heat and constantly keep stirring till you see almond flour changing color to light brown in color.
*Add in the cardamom powder at this time and keep stirring so it doesn't stick to the pan and burn just like you make your regular halwa.
*In a bowl add the milk and saffron and microwave for 2 min. Then Remove the milk and add in the sugar and mix well till sugar dissolves. Meanwhile keep stirring the almond flour in the ghee which is roasting on low-medium flame.
*Add in the saffron sugar milk and keep stirring to get rid of all lumps and cook till you see the ghee oozing out from the sides.
*You can go ahead and turn off the gas at this point of cook further till the halwa starts to get grainy and thick if you like little grainy texture of the halwa.
*Serve warm for best taste. SLIDE BELOW FOR PICS.....
