Badam halwa

Merry Christmas. we all get into holiday mood. My kids love to have Christmas tree and decorate the tree with their gifts under the tree :). I have promised them to do next year.

Actually I did this halwa for Diwali and was lying in the draft. So thought for posting it on Christmas. Badam halwa - a grand and rich sweet. You can do this with almonds alone. But I added besan flour and cashews. The taste was perfect. Since I distributed this sweet to my friends I packed in wax paper, you can do this in parchment paper or butter paper too. Cut the paper and give to your kids, they will enjoy packing and eating in this way of serving. Give a try you will love it.....

Ingredients:

• Almonds - 1 cup
• Cashew - 1 cup
• Besan flour - 1 cup
• Sugar - 3 cups
• Water - 3/4 cup
• Clarified butter(ghee) - 1 and 1/4 cup

Method:

Soak almonds and cashews for an hour separately. If almonds are not blanched remove the skin. Heat a wide pan with a tsp of ghee and roast the besan flour till aroma rises. After it cools, sieve it. Take 1/4 cup of ghee and mix with roasted flour. Grind the cashew and almond into a smooth paste by adding little water.

In a wide pan, heat the sugar and water. When the sugar reaches one string consistency, add the cashew-almond paste and besan mixture.

Keep stirring. Add the remaining ghee little by little till it leaves the sides.

For individual servings, keep a tbsp of halwa in butter or wax paper and fold the sides first. Then close the top sides and press firmly. 

Halwa tastes good while serving warm, it can be microwaved for 30 seconds before serving.  

Note:

• One string consistency forms after the simple syrup consistency. Wet your fingers and dip the syrup between thumb and fore fingers. A thin one string will be formed between the fingers.
• Since the cashew and almonds are oil in nature, they don't absorb more ghee, even if you add more than that all the ghee starts leaving out.
• Most of the wax paper or parchment paper can be microwaved, check before microwaving. 
• You can do this halwa with any combo, badam-cashew or badam-besan flour or badam alone.