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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Almond Cake "Almond Halwa/Badam Halwa"

"Ten Little Monkeys jumping on the bed
      One fell down and broke his head
  Mama called the doctor and the doctor said-
     'No more monkeys jumping on the bed'
Nine Little Monkeys jumping on the bed
....
Eight Little Monkeys jumping on the bed
....                                                              "
This is one of my son's favorite Nursery Rhyme...It is a very popular Rhyme and am not sure if he or I love it more..

Wondering why I am quoting that poem? That is what happened to my poor little son yesterday night. He jumped on the bed and bumped his head on the bed frame. And now he has a big "goose egg" on the back of his head. He howled and I bawled..We all had a rough night.Now I am at home with my little boy closely monitoring his behavior and double-checking with his Pediatrist periodically. I made Chocolate Chip Pancakes for him. Poor thing deserves a little pampering. And now he is watching his current favorite Tom&Jerry movie -- Fast and the Furry...  .... ...I have to say I hate being helpless.

BM#12Day2: Halwa -- Meet the sweet treat of my childhood days.Oh, how I adore these goopy, jiggly, slippery sweet things. Halwa is an elevated salutation to Ghee and Sugar. A good halwa just melts into one's mouth and slips into the pit of the belly giving you a shiver of excitement while it is making that journey from mouth to throat. He He..This Halwa was made ages ago by my Mother-In-Law and me ofcourse. I was assisting her cause making this is quite a strenuous process. One needs to have strong arms as it took nearly 45 minutes of non-stop stirring if I remember it right. The result was so totally worth it!

Ingredients:
  • 1-1/2 Cups Blanched Almonds
  • 1/2 Cup Milk Powder or Maida Flour (to thicken the Halwa and give it body)
  • 1-3/4 Cups Store-bought or Homemade Ghee
  • 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
  • 2 Cups Milk, at room temperature
  • 3 Cups Granulated Sugar + 1/2 Cup Water 
  • Yellow Food Color, optional
Procedure:
  • Blanch the almonds and wipe it clean with paper towel.
  • Add the almonds and milk to a blender jar and grind it.
  • The mixture has to be smooth and of velvety consistency.
  • In a Kadai, add the Olive Oil and the Maida Flour/Milk Powder. Fry it.
  • The flour should be browned like in the picture. Scoop and save it on a plate.
  • Add the sugar and water to the kadai and warm it on a low flame.
  • Sugar starts melting. Keep stirring.It will completely liquefy.
  • Once the sugar is completely liquified, add the almond paste and the flour/milk powder paste.
  • Keep the flame at medium or medium-low. Never increase the heat. And the continuous stirring begins from now. Even if left idle for a few seconds, the mixture will develop a crust. That should never happen.
  • In another Kadai, warm Ghee in batches. Once it reaches to a smoking point pour it over the almond mixture.
  • Always make sure that the ghee is near the smoking point cause when you pour into the almond mixture it should sizzle, like in the picture below. Add the ghee in 2 batches.
  • Add food coloring at about 30 minutes into stirring.
  • The mixture should thicken but never develop a crust. 
  • Once it starts leaving the side of the pan, at around 40 minutes, switch off the stove. Remove the Kadai from the stovetop.
  • Smear ghee onto a wide plate. Immediately pour the almond mixture  into the plate and level it with a silicone spatula.Let it cool for 15-20 minutes.The plate that I used had 12" diameter.
  • Using a pizza wheel cut into square or diamonds.
  • This time I decided to make diamond cuts cause its what we prefer.
  • Roughly yields about 50 pieces.



Ghee, Nut and Maida Flour Halwa - 
 Linking to
-  Kid's Delight hosted by Edible Entertainment
Enjoy!

25 comments:

  1. Looks so yummy and awesome. I never tried halwa on my own. but your stepwise pictures are giving me some courage to do so..

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  2. Rich and tempting sweet..perfectly made,love it

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  3. Hope the lil fella is feeling OK now.
    Halwa pieces are calling out to me to be picked up. Lovely presentation and I'm sure that the taste is worth every second of the stirring. Yummm.

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  4. Mouth watering indeed! I can't help but drool over the halwa :)

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  5. Hope ur lil one is doing well now, take care CL..Halwa looks absolutely irresistible,droolworthy for the sure.

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  6. Perfectly done.... yummy and nice clicks

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  7. Hope your lil one gets better soon. Halwa looks delicious.

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  8. wht a coincidence, my son had a rough day at school , has a bruise on face, loved ur halwa, the pics look fab.

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  9. Hope the lil one is doing better now..The halwa looks super perfect. Very well done !!

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  10. Thats realt very tempting... ummmm mouth full water cant talk yummm

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  11. Thats realt very tempting... ummmm mouth full water cant talk yummm

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  12. the halwa looks so yum...just making me drool..would you like to link it with my DESSERTS event

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  13. Cool Lassi(e): Tempting halwa, but this can be made without blanche also right.

    Too sad for your son. Even I had a tougher night yesterday my older son 7 3/4 yrs was suffering from throat ache and fever, my little son who is just 8 months old will never sleep at all properly either in the day or in the night. So sad of Hema, that's me I have to take care of both of them, my hubby could help once but I went without sleep the whole night. :(. I guess that's one more experience in our life but I am in office today. My in-laws will take care of both of them. Am i going to fast asleep soon, no idea? Sorry da, after seeing u typing I also thought to type my incident. Thanks to listen.

    Ongoing Event: MurariAnniversary-Giveaway-2012

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  14. very nice presentation.

    from philippines

    http://www.ohbite.blogspot.com/2012/01/be-real-barako-with-baklava.html

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  15. Wonder tutorial! Hope your son's better. Waiting to read your chocolate chip pancakes!

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  16. I can easily devour a few pieces in under a minute, susan

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  17. awww those flowers add such a dainty touch to the halwa :)

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  18. Hope your lil one is better now..take care...this halwa is my altime fav!

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  19. Hope your son is better now. :)
    Burfis look really delectable. Never tried with maida / milk powder addition. Next time have to give it a try.

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  20. love this halwa...beautiful clicks!!...v well presented!!

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Thanks a bunch for your valuable comments and continued support.They are very much appreciated. Yes,like "Rain on Dry Land" and like "Oasis in Desert Sand".
XoXo, Cool Lassi(e)