i had made the almond halwa or badam halwa as we call it in hindi for dussehra festival, but could not post the recipe at that time. so had decided that will post it before diwali.
sweets and sweets is what we see during the diwali festival. when we were kids, our neigbours would gift us both savory and sweet diwali treats and they would be sooo much that all of us would get bored of these after 2-3 days 
i always preferred the savory ones over the sweet mithais. amongst the sweet mithai, i used to only like cashew barfi or kaju katli. till today it is my favorite.
i plan to make kaju katli this time for diwali along with some vegan gulab jamuns too. plan to make some chaklis too.
okay, now coming back to this almond halwa. it is a super light and not at all a heavy dessert. there is very less oil in the halwa. in this halwa you won’t see oil or ghee oozing out from anywhere.
the predominant taste and flavor in this badam halwa is only of almonds and almonds.. if you are fond of almonds then you will like this almond halwa.
instead of ghee, i have added coconut oil. the almonds over power the aroma of the coconut oil and you won’t even know there is coconut oil in the halwa.
though you can add sunflower oil or add ghee if you prefer. made with simple ingredients this is a super light healthy almond halwa.
step by step method for making almond halwa follows:
1: soak or blanch the almonds. what you see below is almonds soaked overnight and drained. blanching the almonds would help in peeling them easily. soaked ones take a lot of time. so i did not peel the almonds.
2: blend the almonds in a blender to a smooth puree. take the almond puree in a wide pan.
3: start cooking the almond paste on a low to medium flame.
4: keep on stirring the paste at intervals. the paste splutters, so be careful while stirring.
5: the paste would start becoming dry and will become thick. this is how the paste appears after 12-13 minutes.
6: at this stage add sugar.
7: stir and then add water.
8: again stir.
9: add oil.
10: stir and let the mixture cook for some 20 minutes more. be ready to exercise your wrist muscles with the constant stirring
11: thickened a bit…9 minutes after adding oil.
12: has become lumpy and thickened very well. after 10 minutes. the mixture has to become lumpy and it should stick to each other. if you add more oil or ghee you will see the oil separating out at this stage very clearly.
13: time to add crushed cardamom and saffron… mix well and switch off the fire.
14: now you can serve the halwa warm or hot in serving bowls. or spread the hot halwa evenly on a greased plate or baking tray. if you want you can apply silver paper (varaq) on top of the halwa. i avoid all these things due to contamination in the varaq.
15: once the halwa cools, then slice in square or diamond shapes.
16: serve and enjoy.
quick update: i came to know that my camera body is alright, but the lens is damaged. so brought online a new lens and it came today. was so happy to see the camera working again… a blogger’s delight… made mathris today for karwa chauth and shot the final pics with the new lens. have a look here.
printable version and recipe details of almond halwa below:
- 11/2 cups almonds/badam soaked overnight or blanched
- 2 cups water
- 2 pinch of saffron/kesar
- 5-6 green cardamon crushed
- ½ cup water or milk
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- blend the soaked almonds with 2 cups water to a smooth paste.
- take the almond paste in a pan.
- cook till the mixture thickens and dries.
- now add sugar.
- stir.
- add water and stir again.
- keep on stirring.
- add oil.
- stir and cook till the whole mixture becomes lumpy and thick.
- lastly add saffron and cardamom and stir.
- pour on a greased plate or pan.
- let the halwa cool.
- slice in diamond or rectangular shapes.
- you can also refrigerate the halwa and then slice them.
- stays good for 5-6 days in the refrigerator.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
You should have removed the skin.. that way ur halwa will look more appealing.. badam halwa should look light yellow in color.. the paste doesnt look too fine.. looks grainy.. anyways, badam halwa will taste good no matter color or texture..!
i agree the halwa looks more appealing without the skin. it looks grainy because of the skin.
These look so yummy! Are these soft or similar to kaju katli in texture?
My hubs had made something similar with dry almonds. He ground them into a powder and followed this cooking process adding very less water and no oil. It cooks faster and reaches a consistency between chikki and barfi.
I want to try out your soaking method next time.
they have a texture similar to kaju katli but not exactly. but tastes very good. these are not at all like chikki. i would love to try your hub’s version.
good one!! seems easy to prepare.
Looks so delicious and so healthy too. Kids will love it
Have you tried using Almond Flour ? I roast almond flour in ghee for 7 minutes on very low heat, add sugar and milk till it gets to a halwa consistency. Tastes delicious !
never tried almond flour for making sweets. thank vatsala for sharing this tip and i will make the almond hawla next time using this method.
Sounds very delicious. Amazing how little oil you have used here.
It looks damn tempting..send me some….
Amazing very healthy and vegan almond halwas my mouth is salivating already
Dassana that just looks delicious, been thinking of making this halwa too for Diwali, but I just can’t bring myself to use coconut oil. Im terrified I will only taste the oil if I use it!
since very less coconut oil is used, you won’t get the taste of it. also the presence of almonds overpowers the taste of the coconut olive completely. you can also use ghee or some non aromatic oils like sunflower or canola oil.